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Chestnut-headed oropendola | |
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in Turrialba, Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Icteridae |
Genus: | Psarocolius |
Species: | P. wagleri |
Binomial name | |
Psarocolius wagleri (Gray, GR, 1844) | |
Range of P. wagleri | |
Synonyms | |
Psarocolius waglerii( lapsus ) |
The chestnut-headed oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri) is a New World tropical icterid bird. The scientific name of the species commemorates Johann Georg Wagler, who established Psarocolius, the oropendola genus.
The male is 35 cm (14 in) long and weighs 225 g (7.9 oz); the smaller female is 28 cm (11 in) long and weighs 125 g (4.4 oz). The wings are very long. Adult males are mainly black with a chestnut head and rump and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. The iris is blue and the long bill is whitish. Females are similar, but smaller and duller than males. Young birds are duller than adults and have brown eyes. The populations south of an area around the border of Honduras and Nicaragua are sometimes separated as a subspecies P. w. ridgwayi, but the separation of this form has been questioned.
The distinctive songs of the male include a gurgle followed by a crash guu-guu-PHRRRRTTT. Both sexes have loud chek and chuk calls.
It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southern Mexico to central Costa Rica, both slopes of southern Costa Rica and Panama, and the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and north-eastern Ecuador. Though it usually stays below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) ASL, it has also been recorded as much as 1,300 m (4,300 ft) ASL, for example in the Serranía de las Quinchas of Colombia. It may in be more common at such high altitudes at particular times or in particular places, but its altitudinal movements are insufficiently understood. [2] The species is common across its large range and is not considered threatened by the IUCN. [1]
The chestnut-headed oropendola inhabits forest canopy, edges and old plantations. It is a quite common bird in parts of its range, seen in small flocks foraging in trees for large insects, fruit and berries.
It is a colonial breeder which builds a hanging woven nest of fibres and vines, 60–100 cm (24–39 in) long, high in a tree. There may be 40–50 females and only 4–5 males in a colony. The female lays two dark-marked pale blue eggs which hatch in 17 days and fledge in 30. Botflies (Oestridae) are the main cause of nestling mortality, but brood parasitism by giant cowbirds (Molothrus oryzivorus) also occurs, and the young cowbirds will feed on the fly larvae.
The rose-breasted grosbeak, colloquially called "cut-throat" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). It is primarily a foliage gleaner. Males have black heads, wings, backs, and tails, and a bright rose colored patch on their white breast. Males and females exhibit marked sexual dimorphism.
The white hawk is a bird of prey breeding in the tropical New World of the family Accipitridae. Though it is commonly placed in the subfamily Buteoninae, the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under review.
The crested oropendola, also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago. If the genus Gymnostinax for the Montezuma oropendola and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus.
The speckled tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname and the extreme north of Brazil. There are also sight records from French Guiana.
The yellow-rumped cacique is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in much of northern South America from Panama and Trinidad south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil. However, they have been sighted as far north as Nayarit state in Mexico.
The short-tailed swift is a bird in the Apodidae, or swift family.
The yellow-chinned spinetail is a passerine bird found in the tropical New World from Trinidad and Colombia south to Argentina and Uruguay. It is a member of the South American ovenbird family Furnariidae.
Oropendolas are a genus of passerine birds, Psarocolius, in the New World blackbird family Icteridae. They were formerly split among two or three different genera and are found in Central and South America.
The bronzed cowbird, once known as the red-eyed cowbird, is a small icterid.
The Montezuma oropendola is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemala. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Nicaragua and Honduras and northwestern and southwestern Costa Rica. It is among the oropendola species sometimes separated in the genus Gymnostinops. The English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
The melodious blackbird is a New World tropical bird.
The subtropical cacique is a passerine bird species in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in the lower reaches of the northern Andes.
The ruddy pigeon is a largish pigeon which breeds from Costa Rica south to western Ecuador, Bolivia, and central Brazil. It belongs to a clade of small and rather plain species of Patagioenas with characteristic calls that constitute the subgenus Oenoenas. Like the other New World pigeons, it was formerly united with their Old World relatives in Columba, but today the New World genus Patagioenas is recognized as distinct again.
The white-fronted nunbird is a species of near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
The barred forest falcon is a species of bird of prey in subfamily Herpetotherinae of family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It occurs from southern Mexico south through most of Central America and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The saffron-headed parrot is a Near Threatened species of bird in subfamily Arinae of the family Psittacidae, the African and New World parrots. It is found in Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.
The black-chested jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The Baudó oropendola is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is endemic to Colombia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, which are threatened by destruction. As it is only known from a small number of locations, its conservation status has been assessed as "endangered" by the IUCN.
The black oropendola is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in Colombia and Panama. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The green oropendola is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in wooded habitats in the Amazon basin and Guianas of South America, and is generally common. Uniquely among the oropendolas, the green oropendola has a pale bill with an orange tip. Male oropendola weigh around 400 grams, while females are in the 200 gram range. This is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its status as being of "least concern".