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Great-tailed grackle
Species of bird in North America / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a medium-sized, highly social passerine bird native to North and South America. A member of the family Icteridae, it is one of 10 extant species of grackle and is closely related to the boat-tailed grackle and the extinct slender-billed grackle.[2] In the southern and southwestern United States, the grackle is sometimes referred to simply as a "blackbird" or (erroneously) a "crow"[3] due to its glossy black plumage; however, grackles form their own unique genus that is separate from other "blackbirds", such as the red-winged and Brewer's blackbirds, despite being in the same family (Icteridae). Superficially, Brewer's blackbird is one of the most visually similar species to grackles.
Great-tailed grackle | |
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Male, Honduras | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Icteridae |
Genus: | Quiscalus |
Species: | Q. mexicanus |
Binomial name | |
Quiscalus mexicanus (JF Gmelin, 1788) | |
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Range of Quiscalus mexicanus |
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In some parts of México, the grackle is sometimes referred to in Spanish as cuervo ("raven"; "crow"), although it is not a member of the crow genus (Corvus) nor of their family (Corvidae).