NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Slender-billed Grackle
Quiscalus palustris (Swainson, 1827)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The slender-billed grackle (Quiscalus palustris) is an extinct species of grackle in the Icteridae (New World blackbirds) family of birds. The species was closely related to the western clade of the great-tailed grackle, 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 to central Mexico, especially in the Valley of Mexico and the Toluca Valley. Early observations recorded by Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún 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 around the turn of the 20th century.
Wikipedia contributors, Slender-billed grackle; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:55:01.615390+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Quiscalus palustris (Swainson, 1827)
- Name authority
- (Swainson, 1827)
- Common name
- Slender-billed Grackle
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Quiscalus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extinct
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyIcteridae
- genusQuiscalus Vieillot, 1816
- speciesQuiscalus palustris (Swainson, 1827)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Quiscalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Boat-tailed GrackleQuiscalus major Vieillot, 1819 | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nicaraguan GrackleQuiscalus nicaraguensis Salvin & Godman, 1891 | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Carib GrackleQuiscalus lugubris Swainson, 1838 | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Greater Antillean GrackleQuiscalus niger (Boddaert, 1783) | IcteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Scaphidurus palustris Swainson, 1827 Swainson, 1827 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=562673 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4R7KF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.