The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is a big, brash blackbird, shimmers in iridescent black and purple, and trails a tail that will make you look twice. The rich brown females are about half the male’s size. The female is brown with a pale breast. Both sexes have distinctive yellow eyes as adults. Great-tailed grackles prefer to roost and forage in large groups, particularly in the non-breeding months. In the winter foraging tends to occur in single sex groups. The Boat-tailed Grackle is closely related, but a different species.
