Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
Great-tailed Grackle, male, 4/18/08, "Rail Road," Galveston Island, TX
Both Great-tailed and the similar Boat-tailed Grackles are found along the Texas Gulf coast. This one is Great-tailed; a male Boat-tailed here would have brown eyes.
Great-tailed Grackle, female, 1/18/08, Red Hill, Salton Sea, Imperial Co
Great-tailed Grackle, male, 5/21/05, Laguna Grande, Seaside, Monterey Co
Great-tailed Grackles have expanded their range into Northern California in recent years, and they are found regularly here now, though still not in large numbers.
Great-tailed Grackle, female, 4/16/08, Galveston Island, TX
The more constrasty pattern on the head, and the almost white eye, mark this Texas Gulf coast female as Great-tailed rather than Boat-tailed.
Great-tailed Grackle, male displaying, 4/27/10, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ
The Great-tailed Grackles were in courting mode when I visited Arizona in April 2010. On the lawn at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson, this male was displaying along with many others, and the female below was gathering pine needles, apparently a nesting material.
Great-tailed Grackle, female with nesting materials, 4/27/10, Agua Caliente Park, Tucson, AZ