Gambel's Quail

I'm in Las Vegas on business and had the morning free today, so I decided to visit Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve as it has great reviews on the internet. It's similar to Fernhill Wetlands except it's in the desert.
The place was loaded with ducks and grebes, most of which I'm used to seeing in the Portland area. Especially this time of year.
The more interesting birds were the passeriformes I saw. They include Verdins, Say's and Black Phoebes, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers, a Crissal Thrasher and a possible Cassin's Kingbird. I'll be posting them as I work through the images, but I want to start with the Gambel's Quail I saw.
They were the first birds I saw. They greeted me on the road leading to the parking lot in front of the visitor's center. I only got mediocre pictures of them at that point, including some of them in a tree. It seemed odd to see Quail in a tree. I'm not sure if that is typical for other Quail.
I ran across more of the Quail as I walked the many trails around the ponds of water. They are hard to get good shots of as they run along the ground and hide in any brush they can find. I did manage to get a good shot of the one above as my day was coming to an end. It was perched in a tree, which seemed to be about the only thing that would keep them still.

Great-tailed Grackle

Update:
It was pointed out to me by Joel Geier that these were more likely shorter tailed Great-tailed Grackles rather than Common Grackles as Las Vegas is a bit out of range for a Common Grackle. He was kind enough to forward the issue to Martin Meyers of the Nevada Bird Records Committee. Martin verified that these are indeed Great-tailed Grackles. As he explained "The males in the photos show typical Great-tailed coloration, without the clean delineation between head color and body color (at hindneck and mid-breast) shown by all races of Common Grackle. Also, as you (Joel) pointed out, the bills on these birds are larger and more curved than typical of Common Grackle."
Thanks to Joel and Martin for setting me straight and teaching me something!

Original Post:
In the grass surrounding the parking lot of the hotel I stayed at in Las Vegas, there were many Grackles foraging for food. The interesting thing about them is that many, like the bird in the middle image, were missing most of their tails.
The top image above, shows a male with what I assume is fairly standard plumage. It was this bird, with its full tail, that led me to the conclusion that these were Common Grackles and not Great-tailed. The tail just doesn't seem long enough to be a Great-tailed.
After looking at the pictures I had taken and doing some research on the web, I'm fairly sure these birds are molting. As you can see in the second image from the top, this Grackle shows signs of molting on both the back of its head and on its wing. See Greg Gillson's site for a discussion on molting Grackles.

There were also many juvenile Common Grackles as can be seen in the bottom two images. Note that its bill appears to be crossed at the tip. I noticed this on several of the birds, though I haven't found any documentation about this on the web.