Slender-billed Grackle
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The slender-billed grackle (''Quiscalus palustris'') is an extinct species of grackle in the
Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have black as a predominant ...
(New World blackbirds)
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of birds. The species was closely related to the western clade of the
great-tailed grackle The great-tailed grackle or Mexican grackle (''Quiscalus mexicanus'') is a medium-sized, Social animal, highly social passerine bird native to North America, North and South America. A member of the Family (biology), family Icteridae, it is one o ...
, from which it diverged quite recently, around 1.2 million years ago. It weighed 2.5 oz to 5 oz. The slender-billed grackle was
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to central
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, especially in the
Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...
and the
Toluca Valley The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca V ...
. Early observations recorded by Franciscan friar
Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún ( – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he jour ...
in the 16th-century manuscript '' General History of the Things of New Spain'' indicate that the species was found in cultivated areas and towns. Later records indicated that it might be a marsh specialist. The species became
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
around the turn of the 20th century.


Habitat

Marsh from both The Valley of Mexico and The Valley of Toluca. The slender-billed grackle was originally known from the Rio Lerma area in Mexico. It has not been recorded since 1910. Several records of the slender-billed grackle are known from three different habitats, such as wetlands, cultivated plots, and human settlements. Slender-billed grackles inhabited marshes and borders of the lakes. Emergent aquatic vegetation was commonly used for nesting material by the slender-billed grackles.


Nesting

The slender-billed grackle usually nested in marshes and aquatic vegetation; however, as the population in Mexico increased, the species was able to adapt to the changes in the environment and learned to nest in towns and cultivated plots. The slender-billed grackle hatched its eggs in reeds.


Diet and Behavior

The diet of the slender-billed grackle consisted of animals, plants, and fruits. It mainly ate worms, flies, and maize. The slender-billed grackle also tended to group and form flocks. The males would proclaim their breeding territory by noisy displays.


Human interaction

When the initial European settlers came to central Mexico, they observed that the Aztecs targeted the slender-billed grackle; the reason for this is partially unclear. Some speculate that they were targeted because they were seen as pests that ate their crops, while others believe it was to use their feathers for headdresses. They chose to use their black tail feathers rather than their bright green feathers for reasons still unknown. Also during Izcalli, the Aztecs' month in which they sacrificed a variety of animals to their gods, they chose to use this bird for sacrifice to their fire god. The reason for this is not yet known to historians, but many believe it was because they were abundant and considered a nuisance.


Extinction

The slender-billed grackle is believed to have become extinct around the turn of the 20th century, after disappearing from the Valley of Mexico. The only known habitats for the slender-billed grackle were the marshes and wetlands of Mexico. Reports of grackles nesting in urban areas also exist, but this is believed to have been a response to the loss of habitat due to the conversion of marshes to farmland. Slender-billed grackles had also been observed nesting in cultivated farmland near towns, but much of this land was cultivated marshland. Slender-billed grackles had also been hunted extensively by local populations for use in rituals. The grackles were collected in areas near the towns, as they were gathered the day before rituals were to be held.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1178213 Quiscalus Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1827 Extinct birds of North America Endemic birds of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Taxa named by William Swainson