Greater Antillean grackle

The Greater Antillean grackle is a grackle found throughout the Greater Antilles, as well as smaller nearby islands. Like all Quiscalus grackles, it is a rather large, gregarious bird. It lives largely in heavily settled areas.

Distribution

Region

Caribbean

Typical Environment

Occurs across the Greater Antilles, including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Cayman Islands, as well as some nearby islets. It thrives in urban and suburban settings, agricultural landscapes, mangroves, coastal scrub, and open woodlands. Often found near water, harbors, and beaches where food is plentiful. Adaptable to human presence, it readily colonizes parks, gardens, and roadside groves.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 1500 m

Climate Zone

Tropical

Characteristics

Size27–33 cm

Wing Span35–45 cm

Male Weight0.12 kg

Female Weight0.09 kg

Life Expectancy7 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

The Greater Antillean grackle is a bold, highly gregarious blackbird common around towns, farms, and coastal areas throughout the Greater Antilles. Males are glossy and larger than females, which are browner and more subdued. They often form large communal roosts and readily exploit human-altered environments, scavenging around markets, beaches, and parks.

Gallery

Behaviour

Temperament

social and bold

Flight Pattern

strong direct flier with short rapid wingbeats and brief glides

Social Behavior

Often seen in noisy flocks, especially at feeding sites and communal evening roosts in trees or mangroves. Nests are typically placed in small colonies in palms or other trees, with pairs defending immediate nest areas. Displays include tail-fanning and body posturing by males during courtship.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

Vocalizations are a mix of sharp squeaks, metallic clicks, whistles, and harsh croaks. Males deliver loud, varied songs from exposed perches, often during display. Calls carry well in urban soundscapes.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Greater coucal

The greater coucal or crow pheasant, is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspecies, some being treated as full species. They are large, crow-like with a long tail and coppery brown wings and found in a wide range of habitats from jungle to cultivation and urban gardens. They are weak fliers, and are often seen clambering about in vegetation or walking on the ground as they forage for insects, eggs and nestlings of other birds. They have a familiar deep resonant call which is associated with omens in many parts of its range.

Greater crested tern

The greater crested tern, also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its four or five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. This large tern is closely related to other species in its genus, but can be distinguished by its darker, battleship-grey upperparts, white forehead even in full breeding plumage, and greenish-tinged yellow bill colour.