Yellow-winged Cacique
Cassiculus melanicterus
Spectacular and conspicuous black-and-yellow bird of tropical lowlands in west Mexico. Favors deciduous forest and edges, plantations, and hedges with tall trees; often in towns and villages, especially near streams and rivers. Usually in flocks, moving through the canopy to feed at flowering and fruiting trees, but also feeds readily on the ground; often associates with flocks of jays. No similar species in range. Note the raised crest that flares up like a floppy fountain spray.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cassiculus melanicterus
- Authority
- (Bonaparte, 1825)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Cassiculus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Red-browed Treecreeper
Climacteris erythrops
A gray-brown treecreeper with a rusty red eyebrow and pale throat and chest. Belly strongly streaked white.Viewed from behind, gray head contrasts with browner back. (White-throated Treecreeper has a brownish head and brownish back.) In flight, shows a broad pale wing-bar. Works its way up tree trunks. Usually found in very wet eucalypt forests; overlaps in habitat with White-throated Treecreeper. Calls are more raspy and insect-like than in White-throated Treecreeper.
Guayaquil Woodpecker
Campephilus gayaquilensis
Large woodpecker found in both dry and humid forest in western Ecuador, northwestern Peru, and far southwestern Colombia. Note red head, white “V” on black back, white neck stripes, and barred lower underparts. On female, white neck stripe extends to beak. Similar to Lineated Woodpecker, but Guyaquil Woodpecker’s back stripes converge in a “V”, and it lacks a dark mask around the eye. Often perches on dead trees, and periodically pounds out a loud, powerful burst of knocks.
White-chinned Woodcreeper
Dendrocincla merula
Widespread but generally rare across much of northern South America. A medium-sized, plain brown woodcreeper with a bluish eye and limited white throat (sometimes nearly lacking). Completely unstreaked, so unlikely to be confused with anything but Plain-brown Woodcreeper, which has a stronger face pattern (especially a dark mustache) and lacks the bluish eye of White-chinned. Almost always seen near swarms of army ants, singly or in pairs. Occurs in lowland forest.
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