First nesting record of the Great-tailed Grackle in Oregon

摘要

We report here the first published record of the Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) breeding in Oregon. During the third week of May 1994, a pair of Great-tailed Grackles was observed at the headquarters of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, ca 55 km SSE of Burns, Harney Co., Oregon. They remained in the area for several months through the summer. The male was the most visible, often seen calling and singing from the tops of a small stand of Russian olives (Eleagnus angustifolia) surrounding a spring-fed pond. On 7 July, the female was observed carrying food into a Russian olive tree. Both the male and female frequently were observed the following week, often picking dead insects from parked vehicles around the headquarters area. On 13 July, their nest was located by the authors in one of the Russian olive trees. The male was present and performed distraction displays. The nest was ca 3 m above the ground and 4.8 m from water. It consisted of an outer structure attached to the tree at three spots which supported a smaller bowl inside. The outer structure of the nest consisted of Hardstem bulrush (Scirpus acutus) and the inner bowl was made up of sedges (Carex spp.) and grasses. The nest measured 14 cm from the top of the outer structure to the bottom and 15 cm wide across the outer structure and inner bowl. On 15 July, one nestling was found in the nest and both male and female were present performing distractive displays. On 29 July, the nest bowl was empty and the nestling had fledged. The family group remained at the headquarters area through late October.