Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea
Familia: Icteridae
Genus: Psarocolius
Species: P. angustifrons - P. atrovirens - P. bifasciatus - P. cassini - P. decumanus - P. guatimozinus - P. montezuma - P. viridis - P. wagleri
Name
Psarocolius Wagler, 1827
Typus
Xanthornus decumanus Pallas, 1769 = Psarocolius decumanus
Synonyms
Eucorystes Sclater, 1883
Gymnostinops Sclater, 1886
Zarhynchus Oberholser, 1899
References
Systema Avium p.337
Vernacular names
English: Oropendolas
español: Caciques; oropéndolas
suomi: Kultapyrstöt
português do Brasil: Japús
中文: 拟椋鸟属
Oropendolas are a genus of passerine birds, Psarocolius, in the New World blackbird family Icteridae. They were formerly split among two or three different genera and are found in Central and South America.
All the oropendolas are large birds with pointed bills, and long tails which are always at least partially bright yellow. Males are usually larger than females.
The plumage is typically chestnut, dark brown or black, although the Green oropendola and olive oropendola have, as their names imply, an olive coloration to the head, breast and upper back. The legs are dark, but the bill is usually a strikingly contrasting feature, either pale yellow, or red-tipped with a green or black base. In several species there is also a blue or pink bare cheek patch.
Oropendolas are birds associated with forests or, for a few species, more open woodland. They are colonial breeders, with several long woven basket nests in a tree, each hanging from the end of a branch.
These gregarious birds eat large insects and fruit. They are very vocal, producing a wide range of songs and calls, sometimes including mimicry.
Systematics
Oropendola nests in Limon, Costa Rica
The following species are recognised in the genus Psarocolius:
Black oropendola (Psarocolius guatimozinus)
Chestnut-headed oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri)
Russet-backed oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons
Dusky-green oropendola (Psarocolius atrovirens)
Green oropendola (Psarocolius viridis)
Crested oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus)
Former species
Four species of oropendolas were formerly separated in the genus Gymnostinops. Alternatively, the crested oropendola (and possibly others) would also belong here (Price & Lanyon 2002):
Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma)
Baudo oropendola (Psarocolius cassini)
Olive oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus)
Price & Lanyon (2002) used mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence data to research oropendola phylogeny. As is fairly obvious from morphology, the band-tailed oropendola, Ocyalus latirostris and casqued oropendola, Psarocolius oseryi are the most distinct species of oropendolas. In fact, they appear to be more closely related to the caciques and both species would be classified in the genus Ocyalus. Alternatively, the casqued oropendola may be separated in Clypicterus, which like Ocyalus would then be a monotypic genus.
References
ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
Jaramillo, Alvaro & Burke, Peter (1999): New World Blackbirds. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
Price, J. Jordan & Lanyon, Scott M. (April 2002). "A robust phylogeny of the oropendolas: Polyphyly revealed by mitochondrial sequence data" (PDF). Auk. 119 (2): 335–348. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0335:arpoto]2.0.co;2.
Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
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