Watercolor portrait of Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus
Common Creaky display song

Learn to identify the Great-tailed Grackle by ear. Master the "kreeee-klik-glup!" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.

“kreeee-klik-glup!”

What the Great-tailed Grackle sounds like

The male’s main song is a wild mix of whistles, rattles, and rusty-hinge sounds. It often comes with fluffed feathers, raised wings, and a tail spread like a fan.

How to tell it apart

Listen for: “kreeee-klik-glup!”

Where you'll hear it

Great-tailed Grackles live year-round across much of the southern and southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Their range has spread dramatically northward in the last century, especially anywhere people add water and open habitat.

Look for them around wetlands, farm fields, city parks, shopping centers, and roadside ponds. They love open places with water nearby, but they’re just as happy prowling lawns and parking lots for snacks.

They’re around all year in much of their range, but spring and summer are peak drama season. Males display with puffed feathers, raised wings, and that huge tail flared wide, while fall and winter can bring noisy communal roosts in the thousands.

How to recognize it by sight

Big, bold, and impossible to ignore, the Great-tailed Grackle struts through parking lots, marsh edges, and neighborhoods like it owns the place. Males gleam glossy black-purple in the sun, with a long keel-shaped tail and bright yellow eyes; females are much smaller and rich brown, with a paler throat and eyebrow.

Similar species

Common Grackle

Smaller overall, with a shorter tail and less dramatic proportions.

Boat-tailed Grackle

Very similar, but mostly coastal in the southeastern U.S.

Bronzed Cowbird

Chunkier and shorter-tailed, without the exaggerated keel-shaped tail.

Great-tailed Grackle song FAQ

What does a Great-tailed Grackle sound like?
The male’s main song is a wild mix of whistles, rattles, and rusty-hinge sounds. It often comes with fluffed feathers, raised wings, and a tail spread like a fan. Listen for the "kreeee-klik-glup!" phrase.
How do I tell a Great-tailed Grackle from a Common Grackle?
Common Grackle: Smaller overall, with a shorter tail and less dramatic proportions. Adult Common Grackles also have pale yellow eyes, so eye color is no shortcut. Look instead for their shorter tail and more compact body; juveniles of both species can have darker eyes. More often found in eastern habitats; Great-tailed looks lankier and bolder.
When is the best time to hear a Great-tailed Grackle?
They’re around all year in much of their range, but spring and summer are peak drama season. Males display with puffed feathers, raised wings, and that huge tail flared wide, while fall and winter can bring noisy communal roosts in the thousands.