Carib Grackle
Quiscalus lugubris
Carib Grackles are known to dip hard food, such as dry bread or crackers, into water to soften it before consumption.
- Scientific name
- Quiscalus lugubris
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Icteridae › Quiscalus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Open country, gardens, parks, agricultural land, and urban centers.
- Diet
- Omnivorous: insects, small lizards, fruit, seeds, and anthropogenic food waste.
- Range
- Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana
- Size
- 24-28 cm in length; males are significantly larger and glossier than females.
- Lifespan
- 5-10 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Minimal; primarily faces risks from pesticide exposure and occasional human conflict in agricultural zones.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. These birds are bold and highly habituated to humans. They may approach closely for food; do not feed them processed human scraps. Maintain a respectful distance during nesting season to avoid defensive swooping.
The Carib grackle ( Quiscalus lugubris ) is a New World tropical blackbird, a resident breeder in the Lesser Antilles and northern South America east of the Andes, from Colombia east to Venezuela and north-eastern Brazil.
Photo: Nicolas Olejnik, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/9537d596-3f59-4c6b-9ca0-67327590cade.md