Quiscalus lugubris
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The Carib grackle (Quiscalus lugubris) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found throughout the Lesser Antilles, across northern South America from Colombia to extreme northeastern Brazil, and on several islands off South America's northern coast.
The Carib grackle was formally described in 1838 with its current binomial Quiscalus lugubris. For a time the Carib grackle and the Greater Antillean grackle (Q. niger) were placed in the genus Holoquiscalus; they now are believed to form a superspecies.
The Carib grackle has these eight subspecies: Male Carib grackles average 26 cm (10 in) long and females about 22 cm (8.7 in). Males weigh 66 to 80 g (2.3 to 2.8 oz) and females 49 to 58 g (1.7 to 2.0 oz). Males of all subspecies have a long keel-shaped ("V") tail; females' tails are shorter and flat. Adult males of the nominate subspecies Q. l. lugubris are completely black with a violet gloss on most of the body; it is slightly less strong on the underparts. The gloss is more violet-blue on the wing coverts and greener on the flight feathers. Adult females have dull... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Caroni Swamp | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 3 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 4 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 5 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 7 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 9 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maracaibo | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 2 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 4 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 6 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aviario Nacional de Colombia | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Carib Grackle sighting in Darién National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 344th most-seen of the 397 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Carib Grackle in Darién National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and September–May, the lowest months. That is one of Darién National Park's wettest months, with about 440 mm of rain against 100 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Carib Grackle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Carib Grackle sightings, Darién National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombia, about 40%), Caroni Swamp (Trinidad and Tobago, about 30%) and Main Ridge Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Carib Grackle is recorded against all the birds logged in Darién National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
