- Greater Antillean Grackle
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Greater Antillean Grackle Puerto Rico subspecies
Q. n. brachypterusConservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae Genus: Quiscalus Species: Q. niger Binomial name Quiscalus niger
(Boddaert, 1783)The Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger) is a grackle found throughout the Greater Antilles and the Cayman Islands as well as smaller, nearby islands. Like all Quiscalus grackles, it is a rather large, gregarious bird. The 27 cm long male is glossy black with a large tail; the 24 cm long female has a smaller tail and is similar in colour but less glossy than the male. It lives largely in heavily settled areas. It has a variety of local names such as Cling-cling or variations of this name in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It is commonly known as Toti in Cuba, Chango in Puerto Rico or as Chinchilín (onomatopoeic for its song) in the Dominican Republic.
There are seven subspecies, each restricted to one island or island group. They differ from the nominate Hispaniola subspecies niger in size, bill size, and colour tone.
See also
- Fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Rican birds
- List of Vieques birds
References
- BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Quiscalus niger Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22 November 2006.
- Bond, James. Birds of the West Indies. (fifth edition). Houghton-Mifflin, 1993.
- Jaramillo and Burke, New World Blackbirds ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
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