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Bird

Boat-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus major

Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 17 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
17

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
17
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Florida 17

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

1 of 17

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach; Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Southeast Florida Beach; South Florida Shell Hash Beach; Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation; Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach; Southwest Florida Beach; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland; Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland; East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904)In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
Year-roundMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FloridaOn the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

The Great Florida Marsh
Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier; South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum)Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"
Year-roundOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Fort George Island, Florida
Year-roundOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum)Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; South Florida Cypress Dome; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress DomeFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

Year-roundSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

Year-roundCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore; Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

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.

Year-round

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

Year-roundFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Mangrove swamps

Tidal forests and thickets of red, black and white mangrove along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores.

Year-round

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundSouthwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock; East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Year-roundOnly within 1,000 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay
Other habitats in its models (34)

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

In Florida 3

  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Year-round.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Year-round.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round.
Elsewhere in the South (14)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round.
  • Louisiana Beach Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Texas Coastal Bend Beach Year-round.
  • Upper Texas Coast Beach Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
Northeast (5)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Sandy Beach Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (12)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round, only within 1,000 m of water.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 67 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 13

Plant genera in its diet records (6)
  • Zea Seeds. 6 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Brasenia Seeds. 4 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Sorghum Seeds. 4 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Lemna 2 diet records. 5 native plants in Florida
  • Morella Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Hydrocotyle Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Florida

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, 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.

Boat-tailed Grackle uses many habitats in Florida; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 128

Plants 187

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Florida

Swamps

Birds 94

Plants 353

All of swamps in Florida

Maritime forests and thickets

Birds 53

Plants 48

All of maritime forests and thickets in Florida

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources