CLASS AVES

Great-tailed Grackle

Animals Kingdom (Animalia)

• Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

• Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

• Birds (Class Aves)

A large blackbird, the male Great-tailed Grackle shimmers in iridescent black and purple, and has a long tail. The more brown females are about half the male's size. Both sexes have distinctive yellow eyes as adults. Great-tailed grackles prefer to roost and forage in large groups. They are known to eat insects, lizards, aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates, fruit, grain, and grass seed. Great-tailed grackles have an unusually large repertoire of vocalizations that are used year-round.