Crested Oropendola
Encyclopedia
The Crested Oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus, 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 (Price & Lanyon 2002).
It is a common bird, seen alone or in small flocks foraging in trees for large insect
s, fruit
and some nectar. The male is 46 cm long and weighs 300g; the smaller female is 37 cm long and weighs 180g.
The plumage of the Crested Oropendola has a musty smell due to the oil from the preen gland.
:
s which hatch in 15–19 days, with another 24–36 days to fledging.
Each colony has a dominant male, which mates with most of the females following an elaborate bowing display. There may be 15-30 females and only 3-4 males. Outside the breeding season, this species is quite mobile, with some seasonal movements.
The distinctive songs of the male include a liquid vibrato CreeeEEEoooooooooo. Both sexes have a loud clack call.
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
tropical icterid 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...
. It is a resident breeder in lowland 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...
east of the Andes, from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
south to northern Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, as well as on Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
. If the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Gymnostinax for the Montezuma Oropendola
Montezuma Oropendola
The Montezuma Oropendola, Psarocolius montezuma, 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...
and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus (Price & Lanyon 2002).
It is a common bird, seen alone or in small flocks foraging in trees for 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, 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,...
and some nectar. The male is 46 cm long and weighs 300g; the smaller female is 37 cm long and weighs 180g.
The plumage of the Crested Oropendola has a musty smell due to the oil from the preen gland.
Description
Adult males are mainly black with a chestnut rump and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a long narrow crest which is often difficult to see. The iris is blue and the long bill is whitish. Females are similar but smaller, duller, and crestless.Taxonomy
There are four subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
:
- P. d. insularis of Trinidad and Tobago has much chestnut edging on the feathers of the wings and back.
- The nominate subspecies P. d. decumanus occurs from Colombia south to the AmazonAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. - P. d. maculosus breeds south of the Amazon. It is browner, and has yellow feathers scattered through the body plumage.
- The northern form P. d. melanterus of Panama and western Colombia is very similar, differing only in the amount of chestnut feather tipping, and is of dubious status.
Behaviour
The Crested Oropendola inhabits forest edges and clearings. It is a colonial breeder which builds a hanging woven nest, more than 125 cm long, high in a tree. It lays two blotched blue-grey eggEgg (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 which hatch in 15–19 days, with another 24–36 days to fledging.
Each colony has a dominant male, which mates with most of the females following an elaborate bowing display. There may be 15-30 females and only 3-4 males. Outside the breeding season, this species is quite mobile, with some seasonal movements.
The distinctive songs of the male include a liquid vibrato CreeeEEEoooooooooo. Both sexes have a loud clack call.
External links
- Crested Oropendola videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection