Yellow-rumped Cacique
Cacicus cela
Common blackbird relative found in canopy of lowland forest and edges from Panama to Brazil. Mostly black with bright yellow rump, undertail, and wing patches. Sexes similar. Pale bill is long and pointed; eye is pale blue. Unmistakable in range: the only lowland cacique with extensive yellow plumage. Like many of its relatives, makes a huge variety of calls. Nests colonially, building hanging pouch-shaped nests.
Identification
The male is on average 28 centimetres (11 in) long and weighs about 104 grams (3.7 oz), with the female 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long and weighing approximately 60 grams (2.1 oz). The yellow-rumped cacique is a slim bird, with a long tail, blue eyes, and a pale yellow pointed bill. It has mainly black plumage, apart from a bright yellow rump, tail base, lower belly and wing "epaulets". The female is duller black than the male, and the juvenile bird resembles the female, but has dark eyes and a brown bill base.<p>The song of the male yellow-rumped cacique is a brilliant mixture of fluting notes with cackles, wheezes and sometimes mimicry. There are also many varied calls, and an active colony can be heard from a considerable distance.
Taxonomy
The yellow-rumped cacique was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Parus cela. Why Linnaeus picked this specific epithet is uncertain but it may be shorthand for the Ancient Greek kelainos meaning "black". Linnaeus mistakenly specified the Habitat as in Indiis (India). The type location was designated as Suriname by the Austrian ornithologist Carl Eduard Hellmayr in 1906. The yellow-rumped cacique is now placed in the genus Cacique that was introduced by the Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:<p>The first two subspecies may be a separate species, the saffron-rumped cacique.
- Scientific name
- Cacicus cela
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Cacicus
Range and habitat
The yellow-rumped cacique is a bird associated with open woodland or cultivation with large trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
This gregarious bird eats large insects (such as beetles, caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers and katydids), spiders (such as orb-weavers), nectar and fruit (such as chupa-chupa and figs).<p>It is a colonial breeder, with up to 100 bag-shaped nests in a tree, which usually also contains an active wasp nest. The females build the nests, incubate, and care for the young. Each nest is 30–45 cm long and widens at the base, and is suspended from the end of a branch. Females compete for the best sites near the protection of the wasp nest. The normal clutch is two dark-blotched pale blue or white eggs. Females begin incubating after laying the second egg; hatching occurs after 13 or 14 days. The young fledge in 34 to 40 days, usually only one per nest.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Empidonax flaviventris
Small flycatcher, extremely similar to several other species. Generally shy and inconspicuous; breeds in spruce forests often near boggy areas. Migrants tend to be found in denser wet areas within woods. Olive-greenish above with distinctive yellow wash on throat and belly. Black wings with bold white wingbars. Nearly identical to Western Flycatchers, but limited range overlap. Within range, main confusion species is Least Flycatcher. Bright yellow throat and belly is usually enough to identify Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, but some worn birds can be very similar. Song is similar to Least Flycatcher ("chebek") but more slurred, with a soft buzzy tone. Not frequently repeated like Least Flycatcher. Soft whistled call note, "pwee," unlike Least's sharp "whit" call.
Gray-breasted Wood-Wren
Henicorhina leucophrys
Very small, stub-tailed wren of humid highland and foothill forest. Typically in areas with thick cover, from brush piles to dense flower banks, where notoriously difficult to see well. Common call is a hard scolding rattle. Varied, rich whistled songs have a rollicking cadence, distinct from songs of other wrens in the same habitat. Note the boldly striped face, gray breast, rich dark-brown upperparts, and short tail. White-breasted Wood-Wren occurs in lowlands.
Northern Bobwhite
Colinus virginianus
Small and rotund with intricate brown, black, and white patterning. Some striking variation in plumage across range. Most males, including those in the eastern U.S., have bold black and white head pattern and heavy white spotting on belly. In Mexico, males can be entirely cinnamon-colored below and have a fully black head; some might have a white eyebrow or a dark chest band. Females are more consistent throughout range: look for buffy throat and eyebrow. Pairs or small groups are found in scrubby fields and brushy woods. Usually on the ground, but occasionally perches in trees when singing. The only quail native to the eastern U.S., where populations are declining sharply. Listen for distinctive “bob-WHITE!” whistle.
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