Quiscalus niger
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Greater Antillean grackle (Quiscalus niger) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in the Greater Antilles from Cuba to Puerto Rico and in the Cayman Islands southwest of Cuba.
The Irish physician, naturalist and collector Hans Sloane stayed in Jamaica between 1687 and 1689. During his visit, he collected specimens and made notes on the plants and animals. Based on these notes, the ornithologist John Ray published a short description of the Greater Antillean grackle in 1713, using the Latin name Monedula tota nigra but it was not until 1725, more than 35 years after his visit, that Sloane himself published a description of the grackle. He reported that it was common on the road between St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town) and Passage-Fort (Portmore).
In 1775 the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon described the Greater Antillean grackle in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-colored plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ciénaga de Zapata | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Los Haitises National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 3 | Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | |
| 4 | Jaragua National Park | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal - Bird Collection | 🇬🇷 Greece |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Antillean Grackle sighting in Havana on a given day, based on 1,095 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 183 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May–July
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Antillean Grackle in Havana on a given day, against about 30% in January and November, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater Antillean Grackle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Greater Antillean Grackle sightings, Havana ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 70%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Antillean Grackle is recorded against all the birds logged in Havana (1,095 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
