Greater Antillean grackle

Last updated

Greater Antillean grackle
Greater antillean grackle (Quiscalus niger gundlachii).JPG
Q. n. gundlachii in Cayo Coco, Cuba
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Quiscalus
Species:
Q. niger
Binomial name
Quiscalus niger
(Boddaert, 1783)
Quiscalus niger map.svg
Range of Q. niger

The Greater Antillean grackle (Quiscalus niger) 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. [2] It lives largely in heavily settled areas.

Contents

Names

It is known as the 'kling-kling' in Jamaica, 'chinchilín' in the Dominican Republic, as 'ching ching' in the Cayman Islands and as a 'chango' in Puerto Rico. [3] Most local names seem to derive from onomatopoeiac descriptions of the bird's calls.

Taxonomy

The Irish physician, naturalist and collector Hans Sloane stayed in Jamaica between 1687 and 1689. During his visit, he collected specimens and made notes on the plants and animals. [4] Based on these notes, the ornithologist John Ray published a short description of the Greater Antillean grackle in 1713, using the Latin name Monedula tota nigra [5] but it was not until 1725, more than 35 years after his visit, that Sloane himself published a description of the grackle. He reported that it was common on the road between St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town) and Passage-Fort (Portmore). [6]

In 1775 the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon described the Greater Antillean grackle in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux . [7] The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. [8] Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Oriolus niger in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. [9] Buffon's specimen was probably collected in the French colony of Saint-Domingue which occupied the western end of Hispaniola (what is now Haiti). In 1921 the American ornithologist James L. Peters restricted the type locality to Port-au-Prince in Haiti. [10]

The Greater Antillean grackle is now one of seven species placed in the genus Quiscalus (six extant and one extinct), that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816. [11] [12] The genus name is from the specific name Gracula quiscula coined by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus for the common grackle; the specific niger is Latin for "black". [13] [14]

There are seven subspecies, each restricted to one island or island group. [12] They differ in body size, bill size, and colour tone.

Description

The 27 cm (11 in)-long male is glossy black with a large rudder-like tail; the 24 cm (9.4 in)-long female has a smaller tail and is similar in color, but less glossy than the male. The eye is yellow and is the only non-black body part. The Greater Antillean grackle is a generalist eater; it eats fruits, bread, plant matter, and both small vertebrates and invertebrates alike.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-billed blue magpie</span> Species of bird

The red-billed blue magpie is a species of bird in the crow family, Corvidae. It is about the same size as the Eurasian magpie, but has a much longer tail, one of the longest of any corvid. It is 65–68 cm (25.5–27 in) long and weighs 196–232 g (6.9–8.2 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common green magpie</span> Species of bird

The common green magpie is a member of the crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. In the wild specimens are usually a bright and lush green in colour, slightly lighter on the underside and has a thick black stripe from the bill to the nape. Compared to the other members of its genus, the white-tipped tail is quite long. This all contrasts vividly with the red fleshy eye rims, bill and legs. The wings are reddish maroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed lapwing</span> Species of bird

The black-headed lapwing or black-headed plover is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, although it has seasonal movements. It lays two or three eggs on a ground scrape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western plantain-eater</span> Species of bird

The western plantain-eater, also known as the gray plantain-eater or western gray plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds restricted to Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieter Boddaert</span> Dutch physician and naturalist

Pieter Boddaert was a Dutch physician and naturalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-naped woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The white-naped woodpecker is woodpecker which is a widespread but a scarce breeder in the Indian Subcontinent. It is associated with open forest and scrub with some trees. It nests in a tree hole, laying one or two white eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed parakeet</span> Species of bird

The long-tailed parakeet or Burung Bayan Nuri in Malay is a parakeet endemic to the regions of Andaman and Nicobar islands, Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. It is allopatric with the congener, the Red-breasted parakeet, Psittacula alexandri, except in the Andaman islands where they occur together.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great-billed parrot</span> Species of bird

The great-billed parrot also known as Moluccan parrot or island parrot, is a medium-sized, approximately 38 cm long, green parrot with a massive red bill, cream iris, blackish shoulders, olive green back, pale blue rump and yellowish green underparts. The female is typically smaller than the male, but otherwise the sexes are similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater striped swallow</span> Species of bird

The greater striped swallow is a large swallow that is native to Africa south of the equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madagascar ibis</span> Species of bird

The Madagascar ibis, also known as the Madagascar crested ibis, white-winged ibis or crested wood ibis, is a medium-sized, brown-plumaged ibis. It has bare red orbital skin, yellow bill, red legs, white wings and its head is partially bare with a dense crest of green or gloss blue and white plumes on the nape. The Madagascar ibis is the only member of the genus Lophotibis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon hornbill</span> Species of bird

The Luzon hornbill, sometimes called Luzon tarictic hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is endemic to forests on Luzon and nearby islands in the northern Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of P. panini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet-necked lory</span> Species of bird

The violet-necked lory is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found in the northern Maluku Islands and west Papuan islands. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variegated antpitta</span> Species of bird

The variegated antpitta is a species of bird in the family Grallariidae. It is found in southeastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, the Guianas and the northern Amazon Basin. Its range extends to Venezuela in the northwest; in the Amazon Basin, it is found in the downstream half of the basin, as well as in the Atlantic outlet region of the neighboring Tocantins-Araguaia River drainage to the southeast. A minor disjunct population is in Peru, and an Argentinian population is found in the tongue of land between Paraguay and southern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulvous shrike-tanager</span> Species of bird

The fulvous shrike-tanager is a South American bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmeted pygmy tyrant</span> Species of bird

The helmeted pygmy tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded tanager</span> Species of bird

The hooded tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusty-collared seedeater</span> Species of bird

The rusty-collared seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The olive woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine magpie-robin</span> Species of bird

The Philippine magpie-robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It used to be considered a subspecies of the Oriental magpie-robin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet flycatcher</span> Species of bird in South America

The scarlet flycatcher or austral vermilion flycatcher is a species of flycatcher, closely related to the vermilion flycatcher. It is found in southeastern Bolivia and Brazil, Paraguay to Argentina and Uruguay. It is recognized as a species by some taxonomic authorities, including the International Ornithologists' Union. Others still consider it to be a subspecies of the vermilion flycatcher.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Quiscalus niger". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22724323A132175099. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22724323A132175099.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Bond, James (1993). Birds of the West Indies (fifth ed.). Houghton-Mifflin. ISBN   978-0618002108.
  3. Douglas, Marcia B. (Marcia Bernice), 1961-. Electricity comes to cocoa bottom. OCLC   30995689.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. MacGregor, Arthur (23 September 2004). "Sloane, Sir Hans, baronet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25730.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. Ray, John (1713). Synopsis methodica avium & piscium (in Latin). London: William Innys. p. 185, No. 28.
  6. Sloane, Hans (1725). A voyage to the islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica. Vol. 2. London: Printed for the author. p. 299 No. XIV.
  7. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1775). "Le troupiale noir". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 5. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. p. 301.
  8. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de; Martinet, François-Nicolas; Daubenton, Edme-Louis; Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie (1765–1783). "Troupiale noir, de St. Domingue". Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle. Vol. 6. Paris: De L'Imprimerie Royale. Plate 534.
  9. Boddaert, Pieter (1783). Table des planches enluminéez d'histoire naturelle de M. D'Aubenton : avec les denominations de M.M. de Buffon, Brisson, Edwards, Linnaeus et Latham, precedé d'une notice des principaux ouvrages zoologiques enluminés (in French). Utrecht. p. 31, Number 534.
  10. Peters, James L. (1921). "A review of the grackles of the genus Holoquiscalus" (PDF). Auk. 38 (3): 435–453 [445]. doi:10.2307/4073768. JSTOR   4073768.
  11. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 36.
  12. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Oropendolas, orioles, blackbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  13. Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 109.
  14. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p.  270, 328–329. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.