Icterids or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae, of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behavior, and coloration. The name, meaning "jaundiced ones" comes from the Ancient Greek ikteros via the Latin ictericus. This group includes the New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the bobolink, meadowlarks, grackles, cowbirds, oropendolas, and caciques.
The avian genus Quiscalus contains seven of the 11 species of grackles, gregarious passerine birds in the icterid family. They are native to North and South America.
The common grackle is a species of large icterid bird found in large numbers through much of North America. First described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, the common grackle has three subspecies. Adult common grackles have a long and dark bill, pale yellow eyes, and a long tail. Adults often have an iridescent appearance on their head, especially males. Common grackles can be found widely across North America east of the Rocky Mountains.
The boat-tailed grackle is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the Southeastern United States.
The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle is a medium-sized, highly social passerine bird native to North and South America. A member of the family Icteridae, it is one of 10 extant species of grackle and is closely related to the boat-tailed grackle and the extinct slender-billed grackle. In the southern and southwestern United States, the grackle is sometimes referred to simply as a "blackbird" or (erroneously) a "crow" due to its glossy black plumage; however, grackles form their own unique genus that is separate from other “blackbirds”, such as the red-winged and Brewer's blackbirds, despite being in the same family (Icteridae). Superficially, Brewer’s blackbird is one of the most visually similar species to grackles.
The nine-primaried oscines is a group of bird families in the suborder Passeri (oscines) of the Passeriformes. The composition of the group has changed since the term was introduced but is now considered to consist of seven major families—Fringillidae, Emberizidae, Cardinalidae, Thraupidae, Passerellidae, Parulidae and Icteridae—plus some small families. When Fringillidae is omitted the remaining six families are referred to as the "New World" nine-primaried oscines.
Grackles is the common name of any of 11 passerine birds native to North and South America. They belong to various genera in the icterid family. In all the species with this name, adult males have black or mostly black plumage. Baby birds like to feed by screeching.
The unicolored blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. Found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, its natural habitat is swamps and nearby grassland. It is a fairly common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it a "least-concern species".
The pale-eyed blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru where its natural habitat is swamps. An inconspicuous bird of very local occurrence, it was first described in 1969 by American ornithologist Lester L. Short.
The red-bellied grackle is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. Its genus, Hypopyrrhus, is monotypic.
The Martinique oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is endemic to Martinique, French West Indies. Martinique is a part of the Lesser Antilles, and is located in the Eastern Caribbean.
The velvet-fronted grackle is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, monotypic within the genus Lampropsar. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical swamps and heavily degraded former forest.
The golden-tufted mountain grackle, also known as the golden-tufted grackle, is a species of bird in the family Icteridae.
The Colombian mountain grackle, is a species of bird in the family Icteridae.
The Jamaican blackbird is a species of bird in the New World blackbird and oriole family Icteridae. It is the only species (monotypic) in the genus Nesopsar. The species has sometimes been included in the genus Agelaius, but molecular systematics have shown it not be closely related to any living New World blackbird or grackle. The species is endemic to Jamaica, where it is restricted to Cockpit Country, some central areas and the Blue and John Crow Mountains.
The Nicaraguan grackle is a species of passerine bird belonging to the genus Quiscalus, a genus of grackles in the New World blackbird family, Icteridae. It is found only in Nicaragua and northernmost Costa Rica.
The slender-billed grackle is an extinct species of grackle in the Icteridae family of birds. The species was closely related to the western clade of the great-tailed grackle, from which it diverged quite recently, around 1.2 million years ago.
Gregory Pepper, born Gregory Andre Perets, is a musician based in Guelph, Ontario and signed to Fake Four Inc.
Auguste Boissonneau was a French ornithologist and ocularist. In the latter field he was a pioneer of ocular prosthesis.
