Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Blue-Headed Grackle, Brewer's Blackbird, Glossy Blackbird
Common Names in French:
Quiscale De Brewer
Common Names in German:
Purpurstärling
Common Names in Japanese:
テリムクドリモドキ
Common Names in Spanish:
Tordo Ojo Amarillo
Description
Family Fringillidae
A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong , stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.
Physical Description
Adult Female: Face : Eye Color: dark brown Tail: dark gray brown with green sheen.Adult Summer Male: Head : black with purplish sheen Face: Eye Color: yellow Neck: black with purplish sheen Body: black with greenish blue sheen.
Size/Age/Growth
About 8.75 to 10.25 inches long, with a wingspan of 14 to 16 inches. Adults weigh about 2.4 ounces .
Habitat
Vegetation: arid lowland scrubs, pastures and agricultural lands, arid lowland scrubs, second-growth scrub • Maximum Elevation: 1,300 meters • Foraging Strata: Midstory • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low
Ecology:
List of Habitats
:14.2Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland
14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest
Biology
Diet
Primarily:
Insects Seeds
Lesser Quantities of: Fruit
Reproduction
- Breeding Habitat : N/A
- Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
- Nest Type: Open-cup
- Clutch Size: 3-7
- Length of Incubation : 12-14 days
- Days to Fledge : 13-14
- Number of Broods: 1, occasionally 2
Migration
Northern birds migrate
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
)
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
)
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
)
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
)
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
)
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
)
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
(
)
- Goodrich, 1930
- Class:
Aves
(
)
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Birds
- Subclass:
Neornithes
(
)
- Gadow, 1893
- Infraclass:
Neoaves
(
)
- Superorder:
Passerimorphae
(
)
- Order:
Passeriformes
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Perching Birds
- Suborder:
Passeri
(
)
- Parvorder:
Passerida
(
)
- Superfamily:
Passeroidea
(
)
- Family:
Fringillidae
(
)
- Buntings, Finches
- Subfamily:
Emberizinae
(
)
- Subfamily:
Emberizinae
(
- Family:
Fringillidae
(
- Superfamily:
Passeroidea
(
- Parvorder:
Passerida
(
- Suborder:
Passeri
(
- Order:
Passeriformes
(
- Superorder:
Passerimorphae
(
- Infraclass:
Neoaves
(
- Subclass:
Neornithes
(
- Class:
Aves
(
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Unambiguous Synonyms
- Euphagus cyanocephalus (Wagler, 1829)
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.
Similar Species
Brown-Headed Cowbird, Rusty Blackbird
Members of the genus Euphagus
There are approximately 7 species in this genus:
E. carolinus (Rusty Blackbird) · E. carolinus carolinus · E. carolinus nigrans · E. cyanocephalus (Brewer's Blackbird) · E. cyanocephalus minusculus · E. ferrugineus · E. magnirostris
Bibliography
- Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
- Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
- Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
- Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
- BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
- BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
- Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
- Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Notes
Contributors
- BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 4, 2006.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 17, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 22 providers.
- Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
- Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
- Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 17, 2008:
- Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
- Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
- Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
- Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
- Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
- Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
- New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
- Royal Ontario Museum: Bird specimens
- Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
- UCLA-Dickey Bird Collection (UCLA-Dickey): Bird specimens
- UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
- University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3851007
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179094
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13819671
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179094
- IUCN ID: 54170
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBXB5020
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13647
