Icterids or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae, of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behavior, and coloration. The name, meaning "jaundiced ones" comes from the Ancient Greek ikteros via the Latin ictericus. This group includes the New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the bobolink, meadowlarks, grackles, cowbirds, oropendolas, and caciques.
The avian genus Quiscalus contains seven of the 11 species of grackles, gregarious passerine birds in the icterid family. They are native to North and South America.
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
The moriche oriole is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It is unrelated to Old World orioles. It is a breeding resident in the tropics of eastern South America. This bird is noted for its close association with the palm Mauritia flexuosa.
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 red-breasted meadowlark is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It was formerly named red-breasted blackbird but is not closely related to the red-winged blackbird group.
The genus Sturnella are North American grassland birds called meadowlarks. The genus was previously lumped with the South American meadowlarks now placed in the genus Leistes.
The giant cowbird is a large passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. It may have relatively recently colonised the latter island. It is a brood parasite and lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
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.
Agelaius is a genus of blackbirds in the New World family Icteridae. Established by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816, it contains five species:
Idiopsar is a genus of Neotropical seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.
The unicolored blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. Found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay, its natural habitat is swamps and nearby grassland. It is a fairly common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it a "least-concern species".
The yellow-hooded blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in grassy and brush areas near water in northern South America, and is generally fairly common. It is sexually dimorphic, and the genders resemble the respective genders of the larger yellow-headed blackbird of North America, though the male yellow-hooded blackbird lacks white in the wings.
The chestnut-capped blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Paraguay, and Uruguay, where its natural habitats are swamps, ricefields and pastureland. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rates its conservation status as "least concern".
The scarlet-and-white tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Colombia and northern Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The male is highly distinctive and has bright scarlet upperparts, darker red wings and undertail coverts, and white underparts with a scarlet median stripe running down the throat and belly. Females are patterned like the males, but are olive-brown instead of scarlet.
The Martinique oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is endemic to Martinique, French West Indies. Martinique is a part of the Lesser Antilles, and is located in the Eastern Caribbean.
The black-cowled oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is common and widespread in the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from southern Mexico to western Panama. It lives primarily in humid or semihumid forest, as well as in clearings, along forest edges, in plantations, in semi-open areas with scattered trees and bushes, and in gardens. The adult male is black, with yellow on the belly, shoulder, rump, wing lining, and crissum. The female's plumage varies depending on location. In the south of its range, it is similar to that of the male. In the north, its crown and upperparts are olive-yellow, while its face, throat, upper breast, wings, and tail are black.
The golden-collared honeycreeper is an uncommon species of Neotropical bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Iridophanes.
Chihuahuan meadowlark, also known as Lilian's meadowlark, is a bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern portion of the United States. It was formerly usually treated as a subspecies of the eastern meadowlark.
The saffron-cowled blackbird is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is the only species placed in the genus Xanthopsar. It has bright yellow underparts and black or dark brown upperparts. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and in Uruguay at the Quebrada de los Cuervos. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and pastureland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
