#icteridae

[birdblues]

Sandhill Crane & Red-winged Blackbird

[herpsandbirds]

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), males, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, Wyoming, USA

photograph by K. Theule/USFWS

[alonglistofbirds]

[2599/11080] Common grackle - Quiscalus quiscula

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Emberizoidea Family: Icteridae (icterids)

Photo credit: Henry Trombley via Macaulay Library

[snototter]

A Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) in Lake Meyer Park, Iowa, USA

by Larry Reis

[dougdimmadodo]

Boat-Tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

Family: American Blackbird Family (Icteridae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Native to the southeastern USA, the Boat-Tailed Grackle shares much of its range with the closely related Common Grackle, but can be distinguished from its relative thanks to its larger size (Growing to be around 40cm/15.7 inches long compared to the around 32cm/12.6 inch long Common Grackle) and its considerably longer, broader tail, which is present in both sexes but more prominent in males. Found largely in coastal habitats (although they may also be found near large inland bodies of water or in human settlements where they feed on abandoned food scraps), members of this species roost in large, loosely organised flocks that may contain hundreds of individuals, and which scatter during the day to feed on seeds, fruits, insects, eggs and small vertebrates such as frogs, fishes and occasionally smaller birds before gathering back together at dusk. Boat-Tailed Grackles mate in the early spring (with a male establishing a strictly-guarded territory and producing a high-pitched mating call to invite a large number of females into it) and nest during the late spring and early summer (with several females constructing small, cup-shaped nests among dense elevated vegetation within close proximity to one another to increase the likelihood of potential predators and egg thieves being spotted, and 3-5 pale, speckled and striped eggs being laid in each nest.) Females of this species have pale brown bodies and dark brown wings, while males (such as the individual pictured above) are nearly twice the size of females and possess iridescent black feathers that reflect light in such a way that they may appear purple, blue or green if seen under bright sunlight. As is true of many grackles the males of this species are frequently mistaken for crows (with the word grackle being derived from the Latin graculus, meaning “jackdaw”, in reference to the two small species of Eurasian crows known collectively as jackdaws), but despite their superficial similarities grackles and crows are not closely related (with grackles and their fellow American Blackbirds being more closely related to the American Sparrows of the family Passerellidae.)

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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/9601-Quiscalus-major

(Side note: Some of the sources I’ve read about grackles seem to suggest that they’re among the most common passerine birds in North America, but I’m curios as to how true that is. I don’t suppose anyone who sees this post and lives in/has been to America can confirm or deny this?)

[allblackbirds]

Southern Mountain Cacique (Cacicus chrysonotus)

© Dennis Mersky

[nightmare-birds]

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)

© Achim

[shiny-and-sparkling-birds]

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

© Van Remsen

[birds-that-screm]

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

© Van Remsen

[flight-freeze-frame]

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

© Brad Imhoff

[naturalist-journal]

[birdblues]

Scott’s Oriole

[herpsandbirds]

Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, South TX, USA

photograph by Sandy Hurwitz

[alonglistofbirds]

[2292/11080] Chestnut-headed oropendola - Psarocolius wagleri

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Emberizoidea Family: Icteridae (icterids)

Photo credit: Carlos Sanchez via Macaulay Library

[snototter]

A Montezuma Oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) sits in a tree in Costa Rica

by Terry Laws

[proton-wobbler]

Loser's Bracket: Round 2, Poll 3

Images: Dickcissel (Marc Favre); Rook (Anonymous); Nightjar (Dubi Shapiro); Finch (Marc Gardner)