Oropendola

Oropendola
Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Icteridae
Genus:	Psarocolius Wagler, 1827
Type species
Oriolus cristatus Gmelin, 1788
Species
See text
Synonyms
Gymnostinops Sclater, 1886 (but see text)

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.

All the oropendolas are large birds with pointed bills, and long tails which are always at least partially bright yellow. Males are usually larger than females.

The plumage is typically chestnut, dark brown or black, although the Green oropendola and olive oropendola have, as their names imply, an olive coloration to the head, breast and upper back. The legs are dark, but the bill is usually a strikingly contrasting feature, either pale yellow, or red-tipped with a green or black base. In several species there is also a blue or pink bare cheek patch.

Oropendolas are birds associated with forests or, for a few species, more open woodland. They are colonial breeders, with several long woven basket nests in a tree, each hanging from the end of a branch.

These gregarious birds eat large insects and fruit. They are very vocal, producing a wide range of songs and calls, sometimes including mimicry.

Systematics

Oropendola nests in Limon, Costa Rica

The following species are recognised in the genus Psarocolius:

Genus Oropendola – Wagler, 1827 – six species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Black oropendola	Psarocolius guatimozinus (Bonaparte, 1853)	northwestern Colombia and the extreme southeastern part of Panama	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Chestnut-headed oropendola	Psarocolius wagleri (Gray, GR,, 1844) Two subspecies P. w. ridgwayi P. w. wagleri	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.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Russet-backed oropendola	Psarocolius angustifrons (Spix, 1824) Seven subspecies P. a. alfredi P. a. angustifrons P. a. atrocastaneus P. a. neglectus P. a. oleagineus P. a. salmoni P. a. sincipitalis	Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Dusky-green oropendola	Psarocolius atrovirens (Lafresnaye & D'Orbigny, 1838)	Peru (Huánuco) to Bolivia(Santa Cruz)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Green oropendola	Psarocolius viridis (Müller, 1776)	Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Crested oropendola	Psarocolius decumanus (Pallas, 1769) Four subspecies P. d. insularis P. d. decumanus P. d. maculosus P. d. melanterus	from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

Former species

Four species of oropendola were formerly classified within the genus Gymnostinops; alternatively, the crested oropendola (and possibly others) would have also been placed here (Price & Lanyon 2002):

• Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma)
• Baudo oropendola (Psarocolius cassini)
• Olive oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus)

Price & Lanyon (2002) used mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data to research oropendola phylogeny. As can be observed from morphology, the band-tailed (Ocyalus latirostris) and the casqued oropendolas (Psarocolius oseryi) are the most distinct species. Genetically, they appear to be more closely related to the caciques, and both species would be classified in the genus Ocyalus. Furthermore, the casqued oropendola could be separated into Clypicterus, forming what would then become a monotypic genus (like Ocyalus).

References

• ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
• Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
• Jaramillo, Alvaro & Burke, Peter (1999): New World Blackbirds. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
• Price, J. Jordan & Lanyon, Scott M. (April 2002). "A robust phylogeny of the oropendolas: Polyphyly revealed by mitochondrial sequence data" (PDF). Auk. 119 (2): 335–348. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0335:arpoto]2.0.co;2.
• Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4

External links

• Oropendola videos, photos and sounds - Internet Bird Collection