Boat-tailed Grackle
Encyclopedia
The Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) is a passerine
bird
of the family Icterid
ae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the southeastern USA
. It is found in coastal saltwater marsh
es, and, in Florida
, also on inland waters. The nest is a well-concealed cup in trees or shrubs near water; three to five egg
s are laid.
The male Boat-tailed Grackle is 42 cm (16.5 in) long. Adult males have entirely iridescent
black plumage
, a long dark bill, a pale yellowish or brown iris and a long keel-shaped tail. The 37 cm (14.6 in) long adult female is shorter tailed and tawny-brown in colour apart from the darker wings and tail.
Young males are black but lack the adult's iridescence. Immature females are duller versions of the adult female and have blotches or spots on the breast.
The eye color of the Boat-tailed Grackle varies with range. Gulf Coast and inland birds have dark eyes, where as Atlantic birds have pale eyes.
The Boat-tailed Grackle was first described by French naturalist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
in 1819. Its specific epithet major means "larger" in Latin. Despite its restricted range, there are four subspecies of the Boat-tailed Grackle, differing in size and iris colour. The Boat-tailed Grackle was once considered the same species as the Great-tailed Grackle
. The Great-tailed species is of slightly smaller body size, but has a longer tail and lacks this species' distinct domed head shape.
These birds forage on the ground, in shallow water, or in shrubs; they will steal food from other birds. They are omnivorous
, eating insect
s, minnow
s, frog
s, eggs, berries
, seed
s, and grain
, even small birds.
Boat-tailed Grackles have established significant populations in several United States
Gulf Coast cities and towns where they can be found foraging in trash bins, dumpsters, and parking lots.
This bird's song is a harsh jeeb, and it has a variety of typically grackle-like chatters and squeaks.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the family Icterid
Icterid
The Icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. The family is extremely varied in size, shape, behavior and coloration...
ae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the southeastern USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is found in coastal saltwater marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, and, in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, also on inland waters. The nest is a well-concealed cup in trees or shrubs near water; three to five egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are laid.
The male Boat-tailed Grackle is 42 cm (16.5 in) long. Adult males have entirely iridescent
Iridescence
Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...
black plumage
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
, a long dark bill, a pale yellowish or brown iris and a long keel-shaped tail. The 37 cm (14.6 in) long adult female is shorter tailed and tawny-brown in colour apart from the darker wings and tail.
Young males are black but lack the adult's iridescence. Immature females are duller versions of the adult female and have blotches or spots on the breast.
The eye color of the Boat-tailed Grackle varies with range. Gulf Coast and inland birds have dark eyes, where as Atlantic birds have pale eyes.
The Boat-tailed Grackle was first described by French naturalist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot was a French ornithologist.Vieillot described a large number of birds for the first time, especially those he encountered during the time he spent in the West Indies and North America, and 26 genera established by him are still in use...
in 1819. Its specific epithet major means "larger" in Latin. Despite its restricted range, there are four subspecies of the Boat-tailed Grackle, differing in size and iris colour. The Boat-tailed Grackle was once considered the same species as the Great-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
The Great-tailed Grackle is a medium-sized, gregarious passerine bird native to North and South America. A member of the Icteridae family, it is of the ten extant species of grackle and is closely related to the Red-bellied Grackle and the Velvet-fronted Grackle...
. The Great-tailed species is of slightly smaller body size, but has a longer tail and lacks this species' distinct domed head shape.
These birds forage on the ground, in shallow water, or in shrubs; they will steal food from other birds. They are omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, eating insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, minnow
Minnow
Minnow is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait. More specifically, it refers to small freshwater fish of the carp family.-True minnows:...
s, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, eggs, berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, and grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, even small birds.
Boat-tailed Grackles have established significant populations in several United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Gulf Coast cities and towns where they can be found foraging in trash bins, dumpsters, and parking lots.
This bird's song is a harsh jeeb, and it has a variety of typically grackle-like chatters and squeaks.