Great-tailed Grackle Similar Species Comparison

Adult male

Long-legged, slender blackbird with a long V-shaped tail, a flat-headed profile, and a stout bill. Males are iridescent black with piercing yellow eyes.

Female

Long-legged, slender blackbird, with a flat-headed profile. Females are dark brown above, paler below, with a buff-colored throat and stripe above the eye.

Adult male

Adult male

Adult males have a long V-shaped tail with an iridescent bluish purple body.

Female

Females are dark brown above, paler below, with a buff-colored throat and stripe above the eye.

Adult male

Loud and social bird. Males defend their territories and threaten rival males by ruffling up their feathers, spreading their tail, and pointing their bill skyward while shrieking.

Adult male

Loud, social birds that can form flocks numbering in the tens of thousands. Males often display with bills pointed skyward.

Habitat

Found in agricultural fields, feedlots, suburbs, golf courses, cemeteries, parks, and neighborhood lawns.