Quiscalus mexicanus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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). The great-tailed grackle was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crows in the genus Corvus and coined the... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 5 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | |
| 6 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 9 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecological Center of Sonora | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Parque Zoológico de León - Zooleón | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zoológico Los Coyotes | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Dallas World Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Fish Spa Acuario Fantasia | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great-tailed Grackle sighting in San Francisco on a given day, based on 3,105 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 148th most-seen of the 375 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great-tailed Grackle in San Francisco on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of San Francisco's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 110 mm in December.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great-tailed 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.
34th of 39
Of the 39 cities where we can rate Great-tailed Grackle sightings, San Francisco ranks 34th at under 5%. The best odds are in Torreón (México, about 90%), Monterrey (México, about 90%) and León (México, about 90%).
Same family: Icteridae
The closest relatives of the Great-tailed Grackle that you can see in San Francisco (family Icteridae, New World Blackbirds and Orioles) are Red-winged Blackbird (about 10%), Brown-headed Cowbird (about 10%) and Brewer's Blackbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great-tailed Grackle is recorded against all the birds logged in San Francisco (3,105 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.
