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Bird

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Lives in Arkansas all year and nests here. Found in 24 of 75 counties, across 8 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
24 of 75 counties
Habitats
8

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
24 of 75 counties
Habitats
8
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Arkansas 8

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 8

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
SummerWinterMississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterOzark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland; Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland; Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterOzark-Ouachita Riparian

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterSuccessional Shrub/Scrub (Other)

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterWest Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods; Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods; West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterArkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland; Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie; West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie; West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field
Other habitats in its models (150)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Arkansas. Those recorded in Arkansas first, the rest by region.

In Arkansas 4

  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (30)
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Coahuilan Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Dry-Mesic Slope Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Mesic Canyon Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Llano Uplift Acidic Forest, Woodland and Glade Summer and winter.
  • Louisiana Beach Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Oriental Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southwestern Great Plains Canyon Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Upper Texas Coast Beach Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Sandhill Steppe Summer and winter.
Midwest (9)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Northern Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Open Freshwater Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Saline Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Sand Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
West (81)
  • Apacherian-Chihuahuan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Apacherian-Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland and Steppe Summer and winter.
  • California Central Valley and Southern Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • California Central Valley Mixed Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • California Central Valley Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • California Coastal Closed-Cone Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • California Coastal Live Oak Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
  • California Lower Montane Blue Oak-Foothill Pine Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
  • California Maritime Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • California Mesic Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • California Mesic Serpentine Grassland Summer and winter.
  • California Montane Jeffrey Pine-(Ponderosa Pine) Woodland Summer and winter.
  • California Montane Woodland and Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • California Northern Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • California Xeric Serpentine Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern California Mixed Evergreen Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Chihuahuan-Sonoran Desert Bottomland and Swale Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Colorado Plateau Blackbrush-Mormon-tea Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Colorado Plateau Mixed Low Sagebrush Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Great Basin Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Great Basin Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Alkaline Closed Depression Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Interdunal Swale Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Juniper Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Mat Saltbush Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe Summer and winter.
  • Klamath-Siskiyou Lower Montane Serpentine Mixed Conifer Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Klamath-Siskiyou Upper Montane Serpentine Mixed Conifer Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Klamath-Siskiyou Xeromorphic Serpentine Savanna and Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Encinal Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Juniper Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Madrean Upper Montane Conifer-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Dry-Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Mesic Serpentine Woodland and Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Mixed Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Serpentine Fen Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Serpentine Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Seep Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Subalpine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer and winter.
  • Mogollon Chaparral Summer and winter.
  • North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
  • North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • North American Warm Desert Riparian Mesquite Bosque Summer and winter.
  • North American Warm Desert Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Northern California Claypan Vernal Pool Summer and winter.
  • Northern California Coastal Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Northern California Mesic Subalpine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Alpine-Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Bigtooth Maple Ravine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Foothill Limber Pine-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak-Mixed Montane Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Riparian Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern California Coastal Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Southern California Oak Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Southern Colorado Plateau Sand Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Juniper Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Montane-Subalpine Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Temperate Pacific Freshwater Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Temperate Pacific Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
  • Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Closed Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (26)
  • Developed, High Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Marsh Systems Summer and winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
  • North American Warm Desert Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Summer and winter.
  • Rocky Mountain Montane Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • South Texas Sand Sheet Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Arkansas

  • Year-round: nests here, in 24 of 75 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 12

Plant genera in its diet records (3)
  • Paspalum 1 diet record. 12 native plants in Arkansas
  • Sorghum 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Arkansas
  • Zea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Arkansas

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Arkansas, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 100

Plants 888

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Arkansas

Prairies and grasslands

Birds 48

Plants 187

All of prairies and grasslands in Arkansas

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 36

Plants 152

All of dry forests and woodlands in Arkansas

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources