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Cacique (bird)
Encyclopedia
The caciques are passerine
bird
s in the New World blackbird family. Members of the family are resident breeders in tropical South America
and north to Mexico
. All of the group are in the genus Cacicus, except the aberrant Yellow-billed Cacique
(Amblycercus holosericeus), which constitutes a monotypic
genus. Judging from mitochondrial DNA
cytochrome b
and NADH dehydrogenase
subunit
2 sequence
(Price & Lanyon 2002), the aberrant oropendola
s Band-tailed Oropendola
(Ocyalus latirostris) and Casqued Oropendola
, Psarocolius oseryi (Ocyalus oseryi?) seem to be closer to the caciques.
The caciques are birds associated with woodland or forest. Most are colonial breeders, with several long, hanging, bag-shaped nests in a tree, each suspended from the end of a branch. Some species choose a tree that also contains an active wasp
nest as a deterrent to predators (e.g. toucan
s), and females compete for the best sites near the protection of the wasp nest. The egg
s are incubated by the female alone.
These are slim birds with long tails and a predominantly black plumage
. The relatively long pointed bill is pale greenish, yellowish or bluish, depending on species, and most caciques have blue eyes (at least when adult). The female is typically smaller than the male.
Two species have the black plumage enlivened by a red rump, five have a yellow rump and in some cases yellow on the shoulders or crissum. The two remaining species are all black with no bright colour patches. A single species, the Yellow-winged Cacique
, has extensive yellow to the tail, but otherwise all caciques have largely black tails (something that separates from the larger oropendola
s).
Caciques eat large insect
s and fruit
. Most are gregarious and typically seen in small groups. They are very vocal, producing a wide range of songs, sometimes including mimicry.
Most remain fairly common and are able to withstand some habitat modifications, but two west Amazonian
species, the Ecuadorian
and Selva Cacique
s, are notably local and scarce.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s in the New World blackbird family. Members of the family are resident breeders in tropical South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and north to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. All of the group are in the genus Cacicus, except the aberrant Yellow-billed Cacique
Yellow-billed Cacique
The Yellow-billed Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is monotypic within the genus Amblycercus....
(Amblycercus holosericeus), which constitutes a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus. Judging from mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
cytochrome b
Cytochrome b
Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
and NADH dehydrogenase
NADH dehydrogenase
NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme located in the inner mitochondrial membrane that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from NADH to coenzyme Q...
subunit
Protein subunit
In structural biology, a protein subunit or subunit protein is a single protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules to form a protein complex: a multimeric or oligomeric protein. Many naturally occurring proteins and enzymes are multimeric...
2 sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
(Price & Lanyon 2002), the aberrant oropendola
Oropendola
The oropendolas comprise two or three genera of South and Central American passerine birds in the New World blackbird family.All the oropendolas are large birds with pointed bills, and long tails which are always at least partially bright yellow...
s Band-tailed Oropendola
Band-tailed Oropendola
The Band-tailed Oropendola is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is in the genus Ocyalus, usually considered monotypic, though the Casqued Oropendola might also be included herein....
(Ocyalus latirostris) and Casqued Oropendola
Casqued Oropendola
The Casqued Oropendola is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is in the monotypic genus Clypicterus though it seems to be very close to the Band-tailed Oropendola and might be included in Psarocolius....
, Psarocolius oseryi (Ocyalus oseryi?) seem to be closer to the caciques.
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
nest as a deterrent to predators (e.g. toucan
Toucan
Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...
s), and females compete for the best sites near the protection of the wasp nest. The egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are incubated by the female alone.
These are slim birds with long tails and a predominantly black plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
. The relatively long pointed bill is pale greenish, yellowish or bluish, depending on species, and most caciques have blue eyes (at least when adult). The female is typically smaller than the male.
Two species have the black plumage enlivened by a red rump, five have a yellow rump and in some cases yellow on the shoulders or crissum. The two remaining species are all black with no bright colour patches. A single species, the Yellow-winged Cacique
Yellow-winged Cacique
The Yellow-winged Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
, has extensive yellow to the tail, but otherwise all caciques have largely black tails (something that separates from the larger oropendola
Oropendola
The oropendolas comprise two or three genera of South and Central American passerine birds in the New World blackbird family.All the oropendolas are large birds with pointed bills, and long tails which are always at least partially bright yellow...
s).
Caciques eat large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
. Most are gregarious and typically seen in small groups. They are very vocal, producing a wide range of songs, sometimes including mimicry.
Most remain fairly common and are able to withstand some habitat modifications, but two west Amazonian
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
species, the Ecuadorian
Ecuadorian Cacique
The Ecuadorian Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family.It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
and Selva Cacique
Selva Cacique
The Selva Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family.It is endemic to Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
s, are notably local and scarce.
Species of Cacicus
- Yellow-rumped CaciqueYellow-rumped CaciqueThe Yellow-rumped Cacique, Cacicus cela, 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.-Description:...
, Cacicus cela - Red-rumped CaciqueRed-rumped CaciqueThe Red-rumped Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is a species of the Amazon Basin and the Guyanas in northern South America, and is only coastal there in the Guyanas and the Amazon River outlet to the Atlantic; a separate large disjunct range exists in all of southeastern...
, Cacicus haemorrhous - Scarlet-rumped CaciqueScarlet-rumped CaciqueThe Scarlet-rumped Cacique is a passerine bird species in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds from eastern Honduras to Panama and in the Pacific lowlands of South America from western Colombia south to Ecuador, and in the lower reaches of the northern Andes...
, Cacicus uropygialis- Subtropical Cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis) uropygialis
- Scarlet-rumped Cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis) microrhynchus
- Pacific Cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis/microrhynchus) pacificus
- Selva CaciqueSelva CaciqueThe Selva Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family.It is endemic to Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Cacicus koepckeae - Golden-winged CaciqueGolden-winged CaciqueThe Golden-winged Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay....
, Cacicus chrysopterus - Mountain CaciqueMountain CaciqueThe Mountain Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela...
, Cacicus chrysonotus- Southern Mountain Cacique, Cacicus (chrysonotus) chrysonotus
- Northern Mountain Cacique, Cacicus (chrysonotus) leucoramphus
- Ecuadorian CaciqueEcuadorian CaciqueThe Ecuadorian Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family.It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Cacicus sclateri - Solitary Black Cacique or Solitary Cacique, Cacicus solitarius
- Yellow-winged CaciqueYellow-winged CaciqueThe Yellow-winged Cacique is a species of bird in the Icteridae family. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
, Cacicus melanicterus
External links
- Cacique videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection