Greater Antillean Grackle

The Greater Antillean grackle is 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 12 in) long. Males weigh about 67 to 100 g (2.4 to 3.5 oz) except those of Q. n. crassirostris which average 112 g (4.0 oz). Females weigh about 50 to 72 g (1.8 to 2.5 oz) except those of Q. n. crassirostris which average 79 g (2.8 oz). Males have a long graduated tail which it holds in a "V" shape; females' tails are shorter and held flat. Adults of both sexes of all subspecies are entirely black; males are glossy and most females are less so. The nominate subspecies Q. n. niger is the smallest. Nominate males have a purple gloss on their head and upperparts and a greenish gloss on their flight feathers and tail. The other subspecies of the Greater Antillean grackle differ from the nominate and each other thus:

Q. n. caribaeus: males have a bluish gloss Q. n. gundlachii: both sexes have a violaceous gloss Q. n. caymanensis: males have purplish-blue gloss on the head and upperparts, greenish blue gloss on the uppertail coverts, and bronze-green gloss on the wings Q. n. crassirostris: males have violet gloss on head and upperparts, blue gloss on upper- and undertail coverts, and greenish bronze gloss on upperwing coverts Q. n. bangsi: males have bluer gloss than crassirostris; females are brownish Q. n. …

The subspecies of the Greater Antillean grackle are found thus:

Q. n. caribaeus: Pinar del Río Province in far western Cuba, on Isla de Juventud (Isle of Pines), and nearby cays Q. n. gundlachii: Cuba except Pinar del Río Province, Jardines de la Reina off the southern coast, and cays off the northern coast Q. n. caymanensis: Grand Cayman Q. n. bangsi: Little Cayman; extirpated from Cayman Brac Q. n. crassirostris: Jamaica Q. n. niger: Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic) Q. n. brachypterus: Puerto Rico including Vieques The Greater Antillean grackle inhabits a variety of landscapes, most of which are open. These include savanna, pastures and cultivated areas, light woodlands, scrublands, marshes, mangroves, and parks and gardens in human-inhabited areas. It "often roosts in towns and cities" and several thousand may roost together. Sources differ on its elevational range. One simply says "lowlands". Another says it ranges from sea level to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). A third says that the nominate subspecies is mostly below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) but as high as 2,200 m (7,200 ft) while Q. n. crassirostris is mostly in the lowlands; the source does not address the other subspecies.

The Greater Antillean grackle is omnivorous. Common foods include insects and other arthropods, wild and domestic fruits and seeds, small vertebrates like lizards, and the eggs and chicks of small birds. It regularly forages in flocks.