#quiscalus major

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Boat-tailed Grackle

Photo: Judy Gallagher

"Until the 1970s, this big blackbird was considered to be the same species as the Great-tailed Grackle, but the two forms overlap on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana without interbreeding. The Boat-tail is a more aquatic creature, nesting in marshes, scavenging on beaches. Except in Florida, it is seldom found far away from tidewater. Boat-tailed Grackles nest in noisy colonies, the males displaying conspicuously with much wing-fluttering and harsh repeated calls."

- Audubon Field Guide

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[birdblues]

Boat-tailed Grackle

[herpsandbirds]

Boat-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus major), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, TX, USA

photograph by Rob Heifner

[spinus-pinus]

Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major

6/20/2022 Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida

[rachelsrandomsphotos]

Female Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

Taken at the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL

[thelostcanyon]

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major), Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Chambers County, Texas.

[swede1952]

Grackle on the Rocks

This boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major) was hunting along the bayou in the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana

"When you smell saltwater on the East Coast, it’s time to look out for Boat-tailed Grackles. The glossy blue-black males are hard to miss as they haul their ridiculously long tails around or display from marsh grasses or telephone wires. The rich, dark-brown females are half the size of males and look almost like a different species. Boat-tailed Grackles take advantage of human activity along our increasingly developed coast, scavenging trash and hanging out in busy urban areas away from predators." - allaboutbirds.org

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[zoology-time]

Boat-tailed Grackle (male and female), Quiscalus major

[unseeliej]

The Magical Meaning of Grackles

The first time I saw a grackle, I mistook it for a crow for a split second. It was only when I noticed its long tail and absolutely furious facial expression that I was like, “Oh.” While grackles are typically pretty gregarious birds, we have a single male boat-tailed grackle (Quiscalus major) that visits the back yard here. He’s very pretty — black at first blush, but iridescent shades of…

[shiny-and-sparkling-birds]

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

© Van Remsen

[ahb-writes]

[birds-that-screm]

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

© Van Remsen

[spinus-pinus]

Boat-tailed Grackle Quiscalus major

6/20/2022 Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida

[rachelsrandomsphotos]

Male Boat-Tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

Taken at Gleason Park in Indian Harbour Beach, FL

[occasionallybirds]

Eat and run

Boat-tailed Grackle, female (Quiscalus major)

May 13, 2022

Corolla, North Carolina