Adult male. Photo: Sandrine Biziaux-Scherson/Audubon Photography Awards
Quiscalus mexicanus
| Conservation status | Still expanding its range and increasing in numbers. Competition with this species may have played a part in the extinction of the Slender-billed Grackle in central Mexico many years ago. |
|---|---|
| Family | Blackbirds and Orioles |
| Habitat | Groves, thickets, farms, towns, city parks. Found in many kinds of open and semi-open country, mostly in the lowlands, including farmland, marshes, irrigated fields, suburban lawns, brushy areas. Avoids true desert situations but may be common around streams or ponds in dry country. |
Forages mostly on the ground, or by wading in very shallow water. Also forages in trees and shrubs, especially searching for nests to rob. Generally feeds in flocks.
3-4, sometimes 5. Pale greenish blue, irregularly marked with brown, gray, and black. Incubation is by female only, about 13-14 days. Young: Fed by female only. Young leave the nest about 3 weeks after hatching.
Fed by female only. Young leave the nest about 3 weeks after hatching.
Omnivorous. Diet is extremely varied; includes many insects, also spiders, millipedes, snails, crayfish, tadpoles, small fish, lizards, eggs and nestlings of other birds, and sometimes adult birds. Also eats a wide variety of seeds, waste grain, berries, fruit, and nuts.
Nests in colonies, from a few pairs to hundreds at times. In courtship and territorial display, male perches in the open, fluffs out feathers, partly spreads wings and tail, rapidly flutters wings while making harsh calls. Also postures with bill pointed straight up, mainly as a threat display to other birds. Both males and females may have more than one mate. Nest site varies; usually in dense vegetation near water, including dense shrubs or low trees, but also in marsh or in tall trees. Often 2-20' above ground or water, but can be as high as 50'. Nest (built by female) is a bulky open cup made of twigs, grass, weeds, cattails, rushes, whatever materials are readily available; lined with fine grass. Mud or manure often added to base of nest. Females may steal nest material from each other.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
Few species are as polarizing as these urbanites, but one thing is indisputable: Their ubiquity is a sign of their adaptability and success.
Grackles going after your pancakes? Gulls want a fry? Some resorts and beaches have an answer: a raptor at your service.
An Aesopian experiment may clue us in to how adaptable the Great-tailed Grackle truly is.
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