Boat-tailed Grackle Boat-tailed Grackle
(Quiscalus major)
© 1999 David Sarkozi, Houston TX
Anahuac NWR April 17, 1999


Last updated 4/28/96

A year round resident of the coastal marshes of the UTC, the Boat-tailed Grackle is rarely found far from saltwater. Both Common and Great-tailed Grackles might be present with it.

Boat-tailed Grackle can be told from Great-tailed grackle by the color of the eye. The Boat-tailed Grackles of the Gulf Coast have dark eyes while the Great-tailed Grackles of the Gulf Coast have bright yellow eyes. With a little experience the shape of the head will also tell you which grackle you are looking at. The Boat-tailed Grackle has a much more rounded head than the Great-tailed Grackle.

Populations seem to be localized and range form uncommon to abundant with in the proper habitat. A reliable location for Boat-tailed Grackle is Anahuac NWR.

A breeding range map is available form the Breeding Bird Survey

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