Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major major) 9 April 2009, Grande Island, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Formerly lumped with the Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) the Boat-tailed Grackle replaces it on much of the Eastern Seaboard. This species overlaps the Great-tailed Grackle locally in coastal Texas and Louisiana where the two species occasionally hybridize. The mating system is harem polygyny in which female clusters defend the group territories. There is no pair-bond. Females mate promiscuously with relatively few alpha males. Two to four subspecies are currently recognized. Birds from Louisiana to Texas are considered nominate Q. m. major. Depending on population Boat-tails usually have dark eyes while Great-tailed have light eyes, but differences in proportion, vocalizations and display postures are probably more reliable field marks in areas where the two overlap. Incidentally the updated 6th edition of the Clements Checklist: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist seems to have the Atlantic and Gulf group names reversed. Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LZ5 / Nikon FieldScope 3 / 30X WA hand-held (no adapter)