Boat-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus major
Large, lanky blackbird with rounded crown and long tail. Males have ridiculously long tails, almost as long as their body, often held in a V-shape like the keel of boat. Males are glossy black. Females are brown, with subtle face pattern. Eye color ranges from brown along western Gulf Coast to yellow on Atlantic Coast. Strictly coastal, except in Florida where they occur inland (often around human development). Overlaps with similar Great-tailed Grackle on Texas coast, but occurs more strictly in coastal saltmarshes and has dark eye (not pale).
识别特征
The male boat-tailed grackle is 37–43 cm (15–17 in) long and weighs 165–250 g (5.8–8.8 oz). Adult males have entirely iridescent black plumage, a long dark bill, a pale yellowish or brown iris, and a long keel-shaped tail. The adult female is much smaller at 26–33 cm (10–13 in) long and a weight of 90–115 g (3.2–4.1 oz). She is also distinguished by her shorter tail and tawny-brown coloration, which covers the body apart from the darker wings and tail. The wingspan in adult birds is 39–50 cm (15–20 in). In standard measurements, this species measures 13–20 cm (5.1–7.9 in) along the wing bone, 11–20 cm (4.3–7.9 in) in tail length, 2–4.2 cm (0.79–1.65 in) along the culmen, and 3.6–5.8 cm (1.4–2.3 in) along the tarsus. On average, the boat-tailed grackle weighs about 10% more than the closely related great-tailed grackle, although the male great-tailed grackle has an even longer tail.<p>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, whereas Atlantic birds have pale eyes.
分类信息
The boat-tailed grackle was first described by French naturalist Louis 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 color. The boat-tailed grackle was once considered the same species as the great-tailed grackle. The great-tailed species is generally quite similar of slightly smaller body size but has a longer tail and lacks this species' distinct domed head shape. The common grackle, with which the boat-tailed species often overlaps along the Atlantic coastline, is noticeably smaller and shorter-tailed, as well as lacking the domed head shape. [citation needed]
- 学名
- Quiscalus major
- 命名信息
- Vieillot, 1819
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Icteridae
- 属
- Quiscalus
分布与栖息地
The boat-tailed grackle is found in coastal saltwater marshes and, in Florida, also on inland waters.[citation needed] In salt marsh areas, least bitterns will often associate with and make mixed colonies with grackles. Boat-tailed grackles have established significant populations in several United States Gulf Coast cities and towns, [citation needed] where they can be found foraging in trash bins, dumpsters, and parking lots.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- rising
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Cinnamon-crested Spadebill
Platyrinchus saturatus
A tiny flycatcher of forest understory. Generally difficult to see. Notably plain: brown above and yellowish-white below with a semi-concealed chestnut crown that is not visible under most field conditions. Note small size, plain face, and wide bill characteristic of spadebills. Inhabits understory of lowland rainforest, where it perches in low vegetation and makes short upward sallies to nab insects on the undersides of leaves. May follow mixed-species flocks but is more often found away from them. Most frequently heard call is a short, inflected squeak, often given in alarm as the bird flies away; song is a surprisingly loud, grating series of notes. Best told from other spadebills by plain plumage and lack of strong facial pattern.
Plum-headed Parakeet
Psittacula cyanocephala
A brilliantly-colored parakeet; males have a plum-colored head while females have grayish-blue head. Endemic to the Indian subcontinent where it can occur in any well-wooded area outside NE India and the high Himalayas. Similar to the largely non-overlapping Blossom-headed Parakeet, but shows a darker shade of plum or gray on the head and a white-tipped tail (not yellow). They also lack the red shoulder patch seen on Blossom-headed females. A yellow upper bill separates it from all overlapping parakeets. Call is a distinctive, short, and high-pitched “tui.”
Thyolo Alethe
Chamaetylas choloensis
A robust, chocolate-backed forest skulker with clean-cut pale underparts washed gray, and a distinctive white throat and outer tail tips. Singles and pairs are shy and inconspicuous residents in the dense under-story of mid-altitude forest, between 700–1900m. May follow army-ant swarms, where it loses its fear of humans. Calls a loud downslurred quavering “tiiyuuu” and harsh chitter in alarm. Similar White-chested Alethe differs from Cholo by having gray (not brown) face and rufous tail lacking white.
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