The great-tailed grackle was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[6] The bird was also been mentioned in 1770 by the French author Antoine-Joseph Pernety in his work Histoire d'un voyage aux Isles Malouines.

[10] Males are iridescent black with a purple-blue sheen on the feathers of the head and upper body, while females are brown with darker wings and tail.

[14] Great-tailed grackles originated from the tropical lowlands of Central and South America, but historical evidence from Bernardino de Sahagún shows that the Aztecs, during the time of the emperor Ahuitzotl, introduced the great-tailed grackle from their homeland in the Mexican Gulf Coast to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in the highland Valley of Mexico, most likely to use their iridescent feathers for decoration.

[19] Great-tailed grackles can solve The Crow and the Pitcher puzzle - a problem involving a tube that is partially filled with water and a floating, out-of-reach piece of food.

[21][22] Eggs are bright blue to pale bluish gray in color, marked with swirls and splotches that range from dark brown to black.

You can now hear the Zanate's vocals as the Seven Passions (Love, Hate, Fear, Courage, Joy, Sadness, and Anger) of life."

Mexican artisans have created icons in clay, sometimes as whistles that portray the sea turtle with the zanate perched on its back.

[26] In Austin, Texas, it is commonly found congregating near the city's numerous food trucks, and grocery store parking lots.

[27] The great-tailed grackle has become an icon in the city, and especially on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, to the extent that local radio station KUT offers grackle-themed socks as a popular gift for its supporters.