- Cacicus cela
Identification
Male 28 cm (11 in); female 23 cm (9 in)
- Black overall plumage
- Bright lower back, yellow rump, upper tail coverts, lower belly and wing epaulets
- Long tail
- Blue eyes
- Pale yellow pointed bill
Female: smaller and duller than the male; juvenile resembles the female, with dark eyes and a brown bill base.
Distribution
Central and South America
Central America: Panama, Trinidad
South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are three subspecies[1]:
- C. c. vitellinus:
- C. c. flavicrissus:
- C. c. cela:
Habitat
Open woodland or pastures with large trees; gallery and forest edges, savanna and plantations.
Behaviour
Breeding
They breed colonially, with up to 100 other pairs using the same tree, which may also house a wasp nest.
The sac-shaped nest is built by the female, who also incubates the eggs and takes care of the young.
The suspended nest is about 30-45 cm long. The clutch consists of 2 white to pale blue eggs with dark blotches. Incubation last 13-14 days with the young fledging after 34-40 days.
Diet
The diet consists of insects, arthropods, fruit and nectar.
Vocalisation
They have a wide range of calls, imitating not only a number of other birds, but also monkeys and otters.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
- AvianWeb
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow-rumped Cacique. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-rumped_Cacique
