Hello tweets,

Ruth Sullivan just showed me her excellent photos of the grackle at the
Supermall. I didn't realize the "Great-tailed Grackle" that had been
repeatedly reported by people there was the same bird that Joseph Higbee
photographed! It is definitely not a Great-tailed Grackle (female
Great-tails are brown, not mostly blackish like this bird - sorry for all
who have already ticked that box on your list), nor is it a Brewer's
Blackbird (based only on size - its coloration is much like that of a
first-year male Brewer's at this time of year. Nor does it seem to be a
Common Grackle. Although it seems to be about that size, I can find no
plumages of Common Grackle that match this bird. The bird doesn't have a
graduated tail, which should eliminate any kind of grackle, but it does
seem to be molting at least one of its central rectrices. I am going to
scan the photos and get them on the museum web site very soon, and
hopefully other icterid aficionados can look at it.

Dennis

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
1500 N. Warner, #1088
Tacoma, WA 98416-1088
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html