Great-tailed grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
The great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a species in the family Icteridae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 115.9 g to 221.5 g and live up to 12.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the great-tailed grackle
- Weight
- 115.9 g – 221.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 12.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.3 – 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the great-tailed grackle
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the great-tailed grackle live?
Not recorded
What is the great-tailed grackle?
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).
From the Wikipedia article “Great-tailed grackle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great-tailed_grackle&oldid=1380715280), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the great-tailed grackle endangered?
The great-tailed grackle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the great-tailed grackle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyIcteridae
- genusQuiscalus
- SpeciesQuiscalus mexicanus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms Cassidix mexicanus, Cassidix mexicanus mexicanus, Corvus mexicanus, Megaquiscalus major, Megaquiscalus major macrourus, Megaquiscalus major major, Quiscalus macrourus, Quiscalus major macrourus, Quiscalus mexicanus macrourus
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- Great-tailed crow blackbirdEnglish
- quíscal cua de faisàCatalan
- vlhovec velkoocasýCzech
- gregl gynffonfawrWelsh
- KragegrackelDanish
- GroßschwanzgrackelGerman
- DohlengrackelGerman
- Grandavosta kviskaloEsperanto
- longvosta nigrikteroEsperanto
- TordoSpanish
- ChanateSpanish
- changoSpanish
- clarineroSpanish
- GalandraSpanish
- María mulataSpanish
- TalingoSpanish
- ZanateSpanish
- Zanate coligrandeSpanish
- Zanate GrandeSpanish
- Zanate mayorSpanish
- Zanate mexicanoSpanish
- pitkäpyrstöturpiaaliFinnish
- Grand QuiscaleFrench
- Quiscale à longue queueFrench
- lepezastorepi vranjakCroatian
- mexikói csónakfarkúHungarian
- Gracula codalungaItalian
- Gracchio messicanoItalian
- オナガクロムクドリモドキJapanese
- onagakuromukudorimodokiJapanese
- 큰꼬리찌르레기사촌Korean
- stambiauodegis kviskalasLithuanian
- lielastes pusvārnisLatvian
- ChʼagiitseenézíNavajo
- BåthaletrupialNorwegian Bokmål
- storhaletrupialNorwegian Bokmål
- LangstaarttroepiaalDutch
- storstjerttrupialNorwegian
- Zenata Rabo LargoPapiamento
- Zenata Rabu LarguPapiamento
- wilgowron meksykańskiPolish
- iraúna-mexicanaPortuguese
- rabo-de-quilha-mexicanoPortuguese
- Zanate-mexicanoPortuguese
- Большехвостый граклRussian
- Большой вороний дроздRussian
- vlhovec pobrežnýSlovak
- vlhovec člnkochvostýSlovak
- Dugorepi kukuruzarSerbian
- MexikobåtstjärtSwedish
- mexikansk båtstjärtSwedish
- Büyük Kuyruklu KiskalTurkish
- гракл великохвостийUkrainian
- 大尾鷯哥Chinese
- 大尾拟八哥Chinese
- 大尾擬八哥Chinese
Relatives of the great-tailed grackle
Other species in the same genus Quiscalus.
Common grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Boat-tailed grackle
Quiscalus major
Slender-billed grackle
Quiscalus palustris
Greater Antillean grackle
Quiscalus niger
Carib grackle
Quiscalus lugubris
Nicaraguan grackle
Quiscalus nicaraguensis
CompareGreat-tailed grackle vs Common grackleGreat-tailed grackle vs Boat-tailed grackleGreat-tailed grackle vs Slender-billed grackleGreat-tailed grackle vs Greater Antillean grackle
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the great-tailed grackle?
An adult great-tailed grackle weighs 115.9 g – 221.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the great-tailed grackle endangered?
The great-tailed grackle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the great-tailed grackle live?
The great-tailed grackle has a recorded lifespan of 12.5 years.
What kind of animal is the great-tailed grackle?
The great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tailed-grackle
“Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tailed-grackle.
@misc{great_tailed_grackle_2026,
title = {Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-tailed-grackle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}