boat-tailed grackle

noun

: a large grackle (Quiscalus major) of the coastal eastern U.S. having iridescent black plumage and a long, broad tail that is often folded into a keel shape

Inexplicably, boat-tailed grackles have eyes of varying color, depending on where they live. In Florida, their eyes are often dark. But along the Atlantic coast north of Florida their eyes are straw colored, while along the Gulf coast west of Florida to Louisiana, their eyes appear light colored.

—Roger Williams, The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), 27 July 2008

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