Scarlet-rumped Cacique

Photo by Gambia14
Canopy Tower, Panama

Cacicus uropygialis

Includes: Subtropical Cacique

Identification

23 cm. Long-winged bird, with a short tail, blue eyes, and a pale yellow pointed bill. Black plumage, scarlet patch on the lower back and upper rump. The female is smaller and a duller black than the male, and the juvenile bird has a brownish tone to the plumage and a brownish-orange rump.

Variation

The lower elevation form has a square to notched tail and is smaller with a smaller bill. The higher elevation Andean form (Subtropical Cacique) has a rounded tail and is bigger.

Distribution

The strict sense Scarlet-rumped Cacique is found from eastern Honduras to Panama and in the Pacific lowlands of South America from western Colombia south to Ecuador.
The Subtropical Cacique (subspecies uropygialis) is found on the east side of the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia (also along Western Andes), Ecuador, and Peru at higher elevation.

Taxonomy

Three subspecies accepted:

• C. u. microrhynchus from extreme northeast Honduras to eastern Panama
• C. u. pacificus from eastern Panama (Darien) to western Colombia and western Ecuador
• C. u. uropygialis in the Andes of Colombia to northwest Venezuela, eastern Ecuador and southeast Peru

pacificus and microrhynchus are sometimes split as Cacicus microrhynchus (Scarlet-rumped Cacique), uropygialis would be renamed as Subtropical Cacique then.

Habitat

The higher elevation form likes wet forests with lots of bromeliads but are also found in edges and clearing around such areas, at elevations of 900-2300 m asl. (sometimes 2600 m). The lower form is usually below 900 m asl and prefers more mature forest with less likelihood of being found in clearings.

Behaviour

It bag-shaped nest high a tree, suspended from the end of a branch, which usually also contains an active wasp nest. 2 dark-blotched white eggs are laid. The male will assist in feeding the young, but does not incubate.

The diet includes large insects, spiders and small vertebrates, and some fruit.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Scarlet-rumped Cacique. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Scarlet-rumped_Cacique

External Links

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