Listen to the Great-tailed grackle
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Great-tailed grackle
The Great-tailed grackle is a bird in the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 116 g.
What does the Great-tailed grackle sound like?
Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
The recordings here are labelled as calls, begging call and song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
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. In the southern and southwestern United States, the grackle is sometimes referred to simply as a "blackbird" or (erroneously) a "crow" 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.
In some parts of Mexico, 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).
Related birds in the genus Quiscalus
More from the family Icteridae
Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Brown-headed cowbird
Molothrus ater
Baltimore oriole
Icterus galbula
Venezuelan troupial
Icterus icterus
Shiny cowbird
Molothrus bonariensis
Yellow-headed blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Yellow-rumped cacique
Cacicus cela
Eastern meadowlark
Sturnella magna
Giant cowbird
Molothrus oryzivorus
Crested oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Yellow-billed cacique
Amblycercus holosericeus
Frequently asked questions
What does a Great-tailed grackle sound like?
You can hear 5 recordings of the Great-tailed grackle on this page, including its calls, begging call and song. Bird vocalisations are usually divided into songs – longer, often complex phrases used to defend territory and attract mates, sung mostly by males in the breeding season – and calls: short, simple sounds for contact, alarm, begging or flight.
Is the Great-tailed grackle endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Great-tailed grackle as “least concern”.
What family does the Great-tailed grackle belong to?
The Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Begging call · El Oro: Puerto Pitahaya, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Calls · El Oro: Puerto Pitahaya, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Calls · Esmeraldas: Same, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song, calls · Esmeraldas: Atacames Beach, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Paisaje sonoro de zanates y podadora en un jardín de la UAA by Luisalvaz – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q1234856 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Great-tailed grackle – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Channel City Camera Club /Susan T. Cook – CC BY 2.0