Great-Tailed Grackle - (Quiscalus mexicanus)

A variety of blackbirds have always been a part of Imperial Valley birdlife, the Great-Tailed Grackle however is fairly new. The first record of them in California was at the Salton Sea area in 1964. Since then, they have spread up the coast and inland. I once thought Great-tailed and Boat-tailed Grackle were different names for the same bird. I have since learned that they are two separate large-tailed birds! Great-tails have yellow eyes and Boat-tails have dark eyes. How did I learn so much about grackles? I found and read "The Blackbird Project" Web site by Alvaro Jaramillo, which details the "spread of the great grackles" and other blackbirds.

If you are interested in learning more about this bird online - I recommend you start with the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.html

They present photographs, songs, identification tips, maps, and life history information for North American birds - including the Great-Tailed Grackle and Boat-Tailed Grackle
OTHER OUTSIDE LINKS FOR THIS BIRD:

Grackle Mysteries - Lots of photo images and a discussion of the problem of species identification from the "Birding the World" Web site.

The following "WAV" format sound file is copyright protected by Doug Van Gausig of Sedona, Arizona, as part of the "Sounds of Nature" Web site:

http://www.naturesongs.com/gtgr2.wav - Grackle cackle (if you have a flock of these roosting near your bedroom, you won't need an alarm clock!)

FINAL GRACKLE NOTE: The grackles on our campus are large, numerous, noisy and messy. During the summer, you have to decide... Do I park under a tree so my car stays cool? Or do I park beside the tree so my car stays clean?