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
Common Redstart
Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Male handsome and distinctive, with black face and throat offset by white brow, bright orangey breast, blue-gray back. Female drab gray-brown overall except for bright tail. Female told from female Black Redstart by warmer, buffy-brown (not grayish) breast. Found in mixed and deciduous woodland, heathland with trees and hedges; often uses coastal scrub, thornscrub, and other drier habitats during the non-breeding season. Unobtrusive; tends to perch rather upright and has a distinctive habit of shivering its bright orangey tail. Pleasant song can include various whistles and warbles, as well as drier, buzzier phrases. Calls include hard “pik” notes and a rising “weet.”
Indian Robin
Copsychus fulicatus
A nondescript robin; males are primarily black with chestnut bottom feathers, although males in the northern population have brownish upperparts. Males also have a white shoulder patch and a relatively long tail. Females have completely brown upperparts, lack the male’s white shoulder patch, and have grayish-brown underparts. They are generally seen in pairs, foraging on the ground with the tail cocked up. Found in open country, at forest edges, around human habitation, and in scrub lands.
Greater Ani
Crotophaga major
Anis are bizarre black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, very deep and broad-sided bills. Greater is the largest ani, distinctive with its staring yellow eye and glossy blue, green, and purple sheen on the wings and tail. Always associated with water; especially apt to be found low in the forest edge around slow-moving rivers and lakes. Seen in family groups. Widespread in lowlands from Panama to Argentina.
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