Orange-backed Troupial
Icterus croconotus
Big orange-and-black oriole with bare skin around the eye. Bright orange with black tail, wings, and face, light yellow eyes, and a white wing patch. Sexes similar. Distinctive in the Amazon basin, where it is the only large orange-and-black oriole. Found in secondary growth, forest edges, and suburban areas, often near water. Listen for its song, a slow series of whistles.
Identification
The orange-backed troupial grows to a length of about 23 cm (9 in). In colour it is bright orange apart from a black face, bib, wings and tail, and a small white patch on the secondary wing feathers. It has an orange streak on its shoulder and a small blue ring of bare skin surrounds the eye. The bib has a neat lower edge which helps to distinguish it from the Venezuelan troupial, which has a shaggy base to the bib and a much larger white streak on the wing. The song consists of a number of loud, musical phrases, mostly with two syllables.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Icterus croconotus
- Authority
- (Wagler, 1829)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Icterus
Range and habitat
The orange-backed troupial is found in tropical South America east of the Andes where it is a non-migratory species. Its range extends from southern Guyana, southern Colombia and eastern Ecuador and Peru, through eastern and central Brazil to Bolivia and northern Paraguay. It inhabits forest edges, clearings, riparian woodland, secondary forest, and scrubby woodland at altitudes up to about 750 m (2,500 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The orange-backed troupial often forages in pairs, feeding on fruits, insects and other arthropods found at all levels in the canopy. It also sips nectar from wild flowers, including Erythrina. It breeds in July and August in Colombia, and between November and March in Bolivia and Paraguay. It tends not to build its own nest but often pirates the nest of a yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus cela).
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Campylopterus falcatus
Large, distinctive hummingbird. Males have bright blue underparts with maroon tail and downcurved bill. With a quick view, might be confused with a violetear or Green-backed Hillstar, but tail color and entirely blue underparts are distinctive. Females are grayer on the belly with a grayish mustache stripe; note maroon tail. Occurs in the subtropical zone of the Andes from Venezuela to Ecuador. Visits feeders, but also found in forests and edges.
Sooty Owl
Tyto tenebricosa
Medium-sized dark-gray owl with prominent facial disc and white speckles through the plumage. This handsome species inhabits rainforest, wet eucalypt forest, and surrounding habitats. Its pale feet seem too large for its body. The northern subspecies is smaller and paler. Main calls include a high-pitched "falling-bomb" whistle and insect-like squeaks and trills.
Versicolored Barbet
Eubucco versicolor
Brightly colored barbet of montane forest. Males are green with a yellow breast, a red belly band, and a red head; the color of the whisker can be blue or yellow depending on the subspecies. Females have a blue face and a greener body. Both sexes have a pale greenish-yellow bill. Often found singly or in pairs with mixed-species flocks, foraging in the mid-story and canopy of humid forest. Listen for a musical purr with a punctuated introductory note: “PA-prrrrr.”
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