Great-tailed Grackle Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesGreat-tailed Grackle
Adult male
Long-legged, slender blackbird with a long V-shaped tail, a flat-headed profile, and a stout bill. Males are iridescent black with piercing yellow eyes.
© Darren Clark / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 11, 2016Female
Long-legged, slender blackbird, with a flat-headed profile. Females are dark brown above, paler below, with a buff-colored throat and stripe above the eye.
© Jamie Chavez / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 19, 2017Adult male
Adult males have a long V-shaped tail with an iridescent bluish purple body.
© terence zahner / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 28, 2017Female
Females are dark brown above, paler below, with a buff-colored throat and stripe above the eye.
© Cameron Eckert / Macaulay LibraryPuntarenas, March 24, 2017Adult male
Loud and social bird. Males defend their territories and threaten rival males by ruffling up their feathers, spreading their tail, and pointing their bill skyward while shrieking.
© Andrew Dreelin / Macaulay LibraryYucatán, July 11, 2015Not all videos have sound
Adult male
Loud, social birds that can form flocks numbering in the tens of thousands. Males often display with bills pointed skyward.
© sam hough / Macaulay LibraryArizona, March 06, 2016Habitat
Found in agricultural fields, feedlots, suburbs, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, and neighborhood lawns.
© Stacy Holt / Macaulay LibraryNevada, May 22, 2015Similar SpeciesBoat-tailed Grackle
Adult male
Overlaps with Great-tailed Grackle along the western Gulf Coast where Boat-tailed Grackles have dark eyes and Great-tailed Grackles have pale yellow eyes.
© Marie Chappell / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 23, 2016Similar SpeciesBoat-tailed Grackle
Female
Overlaps with Great-tailed Grackle along the western Gulf Coast where Boat-tailed Grackles have dark eyes and Great-tailed Grackles have pale yellow eyes. Females tend to be richer brown below than female Great-tailed Grackles.
© William Keim / Macaulay LibrarySouth Carolina, April 19, 2015Similar SpeciesCommon Grackle
Adult male
Common Grackles are substantially smaller, with shorter, flatter tails than Great-tailed Grackles.
© Suzanne Labbé / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 13, 2017Similar SpeciesBronzed Cowbird
Adult male
Bronzed Cowbirds are smaller and more compact with shorter tails than Great-tailed Grackles.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 20, 2011Similar SpeciesBronzed Cowbird
Female
Bronzed Cowbirds are smaller and more compact with shorter tails and bills than Great-tailed Grackles.
© Arlene Ripley / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 29, 2017Similar SpeciesBrewer's Blackbird
Adult male
Brewer's Blackbirds are smaller with a shorter bill and a shorter tail than Great-tailed Grackles.
© Mark Ludwick / Macaulay LibraryOregon, January 15, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Troupials and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Icteridae)
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