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Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
29.4205, -98.4595
Field Notes
Description:
This is a sizable bird that is black with yellow eyes and a straight black bill. It has long legs and a long tail.
Habitat:
These birds can be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Habitats include fields, parks, marshes, groves, thickets, open country areas, and inhabits large trees that are near a water source such as lakes or ponds.
Their diet includes: plants, grains, fruits, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals.
Nesting: Generally nests in high areas of trees or shrubs. Nests are cup shaped and large consisting of materials such as twigs, grasses, strips of ribbons or bags, and mud. Nest size measures 4-13 inches deep and 7.5 inches wide. They have 1-2 broods a year consisting of 1-5 eggs.
Ref:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great-tailed_Grackle/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-tailed-grackle
Notes:
Students spotted this guy on the playground around the picnic tables. It obviously wanted a snack. (This was a teachable moment about how to be careful when eating our snacks. Bread and or salty products are not a healthy food source for birds)
Interesting Facts:
In the Texas Rio Grande Valley roosts of up to half a million birds can be found in the sugarcane fields! (Wow, that's a lot of birds!!)
The oldest recorded bird was 7 years and 9 months old according to banding records.
Ref: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great-tailed_Grackle/overview
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