Habitat Use by Great-Tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) in Urban and Peri-Urban Habitats of San Marcos, Hays County, Texas

Authors

Corey M. King
Thomas R. Simpson, Department Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech UniversityFollow
John T. Baccus
M. Clay Green

Publication Date

12-1-2011

Abstract

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are habitat generalists occupying a wide variety of environments except dense forests and prairies lacking nearby water sources. Golf courses, campuses, lawns, parks, and avenue rights-of-way are inhabited in urban and suburban areas. However, examination of seasonal use of habitats in urban environments is limited. We documented seasonal use of urban and peri-urban habitats in San Marcos, Hays County, Texas. We compared habitat use by program Presence to apply the best fit model explaining occupancy within habitats. Principal components analysis suggested differences in woody vegetation among study sites. The best fit model incorporated occupancy, colonization, and detection with habitat type and time of day as covariates. We found Great-tailed Grackles selected developed areas (85%) over open (60%) and wooded (27%) habitats based on occupancy modeling.

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Recommended Citation

King, Corey M.; Simpson, Thomas R.; Baccus, John T.; and Green, M. Clay (2011) "Habitat Use by Great-Tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) in Urban and Peri-Urban Habitats of San Marcos, Hays County, Texas," Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society: Vol. 44: Iss. 1, Article 13.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tos_bulletin/vol44/iss1/13