What is an interesting fact about the great-tailed grackle?

The great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a very common bird found in North and South America. It is known for its shiny black feathers, long tail, and loud, raspy calls. While great-tailed grackles are abundant, there are some interesting facts about these birds that many people don’t know.

What is the Great-Tailed Grackle?

The great-tailed grackle is a medium-sized blackbird that is a member of the icterid family, which also includes birds like meadowlarks, orioles, and bobolinks. They have glossy black feathers that shine brightly in the sun. The long tail of the male great-tailed grackle can make up over half its total body length at 15 inches (38 cm).

Great-tailed grackles are native to Central and South America but expanded their range into North America in the late 1800s. They are now found year-round across the southern United States from California to Florida, and as far north as Idaho, Minnesota, and Maine. Though once only found near water, they have adapted well to human landscapes and are now common in parks, agricultural areas, and suburban neighborhoods.

What Do Great-Tailed Grackles Eat?

Great-tailed grackles are omnivores and have a very diverse diet. They eat a wide variety of both plant and animal material depending on what is available. Their diet includes:

• Insects – caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, ants, wasps, termites
• Spiders
• Snails
• Worms
• Small fish
• Frogs and lizards
• Rodents and nestling birds
• Eggs from other birds’ nests
• Grains – corn, rice, wheat
• Seeds and nuts
• Fruit
• Berries
• Nectar
• Human food waste

Their flexible diet allows great-tailed grackles to adapt to many habitats. They forage on the ground and in shallow water, as well as pick through trash cans and steal food from bird feeders.

Interesting Great-Tailed Grackle Facts

Here are some interesting facts about the behaviors and abilities of great-tailed grackles:

• They are excellent mimics – great-tailed grackles can copy sounds and calls of other bird species, dogs barking, bells, and even creaky gates.
• Males have a complex vocabulary – they make up to 39 different call types to defend their territory, attract females, and communicate.
• They can problem solve – great-tailed grackles are intelligent birds that can solve puzzles to obtain food.
• They roost communally – thousands of birds may gather together in large nighttime roosts, sometimes with other blackbird species.
• They decorate their nests – male great-tails decorate nests with brightly colored objects to attract females, including bottlecaps, yarn, and even paper money.
• They bathe frequently – the grackles will splash in puddles or shallow water to keep their feathers in good condition.

Range Expansion

One of the most fascinating facts about great-tailed grackles is how rapidly they expanded their range in North America after being introduced. Here is a timeline of their range expansion:

• 1800s – Native to Central America and the southwestern US & Mexico. Populations centered around the Colorado River and Rio Grande River drainages.
• 1900s – Began expanding east and north. By the 1970s they had reached Louisiana and were expanding up the Mississippi River Valley.
• 1970s-1990s – Rapid population growth and range expansion north and along the Atlantic Coast. They colonized areas like Florida, Virginia, and Maryland.
• 1990s-2000s – Continued expanding north all along the east coast up to Maine and inland into the Great Lakes region and Canada.
• 2000s-present – Now found year-round across most of the eastern half of the US. Still expanding and increasing in abundance in areas like Pennsylvania and New England.

Scientists think this rapid expansion was facilitated by the grackles’ adaptability to human-altered environments, habitat changes, and warmer climate. It is a remarkable example of how quickly birds can colonize new areas when conditions are right.

Adaptations for Survival

Great-tailed grackles have many physical and behavioral adaptations that allow them to thrive:

• Sleek black plumage – Their glossy iridescent feathers help regulate body heat and keep them cool in warm climates. Melanin pigments also make the feathers resistant to feather-degrading bacteria.
• Long tail – The male’s extra-long tail is used in mating displays to attract females.
• Strong beak – Their thick conical bill is adapted for their generalized diet of small prey, seeds, grains, and fruits.
• Sentinel behavior – One grackle will act as a lookout in trees or poles and warn others of danger.
• Mobbing predators – They work together to drive predators away by dive-bombing and calling loudly.
• Roosting together – Roosting in huge noisy flocks provides safety through numbers and shared vigilance.

These adaptations allow great-tailed grackles to find food, avoid predators, deal with extreme weather, and raise young successfully across their wide habitat range.

Reproduction and Nesting

Great-tailed grackles build nests in trees, bushes, or tall grass. The male selects the nesting site and uses decorative objects to attract a female. Once paired, the female builds the nest over 6-8 days while the male guards. The nest is a basket of grasses, bark, roots, and other fibers, lined with mud and softer materials.

Females lay 3-5 eggs which hatch after 13-15 days. Both parents feed the young through the fledging period of about 3 weeks. Great-tailed grackles have a longer breeding season than many birds, with nesting activity from March to July across their range. They often raise 2-3 broods per year.

Here is a table showing details of great-tailed grackle nesting biology:

Vocalizations and Sounds

Great-tailed grackles have a wide array of vocalizations used for communicating different messages. The males in particular have a large vocabulary used to defend territories and attract females.

Some of the most common great-tailed grackle calls include:

• Loud metallic chatter – Short fast notes used in flight. Sounds like cracking of an electric spark.
• Screeches – Harsh scraping notes made when alarmed or squabbling over food.
• Shrieks – Made during aggressive encounters between males over territory disputes.
• Whining – Softer whining notes used when juveniles beg for food.
• Warbles and whistles – Melodic sounds made by males during courtship.
• Imitations – Mimicry of calls of other species to deceive and compete with them.

These vocalizations are important for communication, territoriality, courtship, and parental care in grackle flocks.

Where to See Great-Tailed Grackles

Great-tailed grackles are very widespread and common now across much of the continental United States. Here are some good places to look if you want to spot them:

• Parks – Especially those with open grassy areas and trees for nesting, like city parks and golf courses.
• Water edges – Lakes, ponds, marshes, wetlands, flooded fields.
• Roadsides – Often forage along road shoulders.
• Agricultural areas – Look around farms, feedlots, and silos.
• Fast food parking lots – Scavenge for scraps in dumpsters and litter.
• Backyard feeders – Attracted to seeds, grains, meat, and sweets.

Once you learn to recognize their sharp raspy calls, you’ll find grackles are a conspicuous presence almost anywhere there are open grounds and access to trees for nesting.

Related Species

There are several other grackle species worldwide that are close relatives of the great-tailed grackle:

• Common Grackle – Found throughout eastern North America. Slightly smaller with more purple iridescence on the head and neck.
• Boat-tailed Grackle – Native to coastal areas of the southeastern US. Larger and darker black than great-tailed.
• Carib Grackle – Found on the Caribbean islands. Smaller with a shorter tail.
• Greater Antillean Grackle – Native to Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. Similar size to the great-tailed.

The great-tailed grackle itself has four subspecies divided between North and South America that vary slightly in size and coloration. Ornithologists recognize them as:

• Quiscalus mexicanus mexicanus – Northern Central America
• Quiscalus mexicanus prosopidicola – Southwestern US and Mexico
• Quiscalus mexicanus obscurus– Western Panama
• Quiscalus mexicanus nitens – Found in northern South America

Conservation Status

The global population of great-tailed grackles is estimated to be around 82 million individual birds. Populations have exploded in recent decades as they expanded their range across North America. They adapt readily to human activities and urban areas. As a result, great-tailed grackles are classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.

Damage and Problems

The large flocks of grackles that congregate in agricultural areas, as well as near homes and businesses can cause some damage or nuisance issues at times, including:

• Crop losses – May peck ripe fruits like citrus, berries, melons, and corn in the milk stage.
• Livestock feed loss – Will consume grain from feedlots and silos.
• Bird depredation – Raiding nests for eggs and chicks of songbirds, gamebirds, and waterfowl.
• Aggressive behavior – Swooping at people that get too close to nests.
• Droppings and feathers – Large roosts foul areas under trees and patio furniture.
• Trash scattering – Rip open garbage bags and cans in search of food.

However, serious widespread conflicts with humans are rare. The benefits they provide from eating crop pests like insects often outweighs minor damage. Loud noises, repellents, or hanging tin plates can deter them from becoming a nuisance at residences or businesses.

Importance to Ecosystems

Although they sometimes cause localized issues, overall great-tailed grackles play an important role in ecosystem function across their range:

• Pest control – Their large consumption of damaging insects like corn earworm moths and cotton bollworms reduces the need for pesticide applications.
• Seed dispersal – They disperse nut and fruit seeds over wide areas in their droppings.
• Soil turnover – Their ground foraging aerates and mixes soil enhancing conditions for plants.
• Nutrient cycling – Flocks transport marine nutrients from coastal areas into inland regions via their droppings.
• Indicator species – Their presence and success indicates habitat quality and food web health.

Scientists have calculated that ecosystem services provided by great-tailed grackles total around $260 million per year across North America.

Interesting Quirks

There are many small fascinating details that make the great-tailed grackle unique among birds:

• Their droppings have antiseptic properties – flocks at roosts repel bacteria and reduce odor.
• Males place food in the female’s mouth as part of courtship feeding.
• They can walk and even run on the ground with an awkward gait if needed.
• The long tail feathers help stabilize flight but moult and regrow each year.
• Their dark eyes have yellow irises, adding a splash of color to their plumage.
• Nestlings develop bright pink gapes to elicit feeding from parents.
• Males will forcibly copulate with juvenile females before they can reproduce.

These quirky behaviors illustrate just how unique and complex grackle biology and life history is.

Conclusion

The great-tailed grackle is an adaptable, intelligent, and fascinating bird species. While extremely common now, some of their unique biology like vocalizations, nest decorations, and range expansion are quite interesting. They provide important ecosystem services like pest control across North America despite causing some minor conflicts with humans at times. Watching the social behaviors of grackle flocks can be an entertaining birder pastime. The next time you see these shiny black birds, take a moment to appreciate the intriguing facts about them!