Quiscalus

Female great-tailed grackles Quiscalus mexicanus, copyright Linda Tanner.

Belongs within: Icteridae.

Quiscalus, the grackles, are a genus of gregarious, omnivorous birds found in southern North America and northern South America. Members of the genus have long wedge-shaped tails; males have iridescent black plumage whereas females are rusty brown.

<==Quiscalus Vieillot 1816 (see below for synonymy) B94
    |  i. s.: Q. aequatorialis SS66
    |         ‘Cassidix’ orizivora S18
    |           |--C. o. orizivora S18
    |           `--C. o. violea S18
    |--Q. palustris BKB15 [=Cassidix palustris FP64]
    |--Q. quiscula JF06
    |    |--Q. q. quiscula [incl. Q. quiscula stonei] YS68
    |    `--Q. q. versicolor [incl. Q. quiscula ridgwayi] YS68
    `--+--Q. lugubris BKB15
       |    |--Q. l. lugubris L81
       |    `--Q. l. fortirostris L81
       `--+--Q. nicaraguensis BKB15 [=Cassidix nicaraguensis FP64]
          `--+--Q. niger BKB15
             `--+--Q. major JF06
                `--Q. mexicanus JF06 [=Cassidix mexicanus FP64]

Quiscalus Vieillot 1816 [incl. Cassidix Lesson 1831, Chalcophanes Wagler 1827; Chalcophaninae, Quiscalinae] B94

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[JF06] Jønsson, K. A., & J. Fjeldså. 2006. A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds. Zoologica Scripta 35: 149–186.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. Catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Uyacali, Eastern Peru, with notes and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 175–201.

[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.

[YS68] Yang, S. Y., & R. K. Selander. 1968. Hybridization in the grackle Quiscalus quiscula in Louisiana. Systematic Zoology 17 (2): 107–143.