Psarocolius decumanus (Information about this image)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea
Familia: Icteridae
Genus: Psarocolius
Species: Psarocolius decumanus
Subspecies: P. d. decumanus – P. d. insularis – P. d. maculosus – P. d. melanterus
Name
Psarocolius decumanus (Pallas, 1769)
Synonyms
Xanthornus decumanus (protonym)
References
Spicilegia zoologica 1 fasc.6 p. 1 pl.1
Vernacular names
English: Crested Oropendola
español: Cacique crestado
português do Brasil: Japu
The crested oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus), also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the cornbird, is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in lowland South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia south to northern Argentina, as well as on Trinidad and Tobago. If the genus Gymnostinax for the Montezuma oropendola and its closest relatives were considered valid, this species would probably belong in that genus (Price & Lanyon 2002).
It is a common bird, seen alone or in small flocks foraging in trees for large insects, fruit, seeds and some nectar.[2] The male is 46 cm long and weighs 300 g; the smaller female is 37 cm long and weighs 180 g.
The plumage of the crested oropendola has a musty smell due to the oil from the preen gland.
Description
Adult males are mainly black with a chestnut rump and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a long narrow crest which is often difficult to see. The iris is blue and the long bill is whitish. Females are similar but smaller, duller, and crestless.
Taxonomy
On Trinidad
There are four subspecies:
P. d. insularis of Trinidad and Tobago has much chestnut edging on the feathers of the wings and back.
The nominate subspecies P. d. decumanus occurs from Colombia south to the Amazon in Brazil.
P. d. maculosus breeds south of the Amazon. It is browner, and has yellow feathers scattered through the body plumage.
The northern form P. d. melanterus of Panama and western Colombia is very similar, differing only in the amount of chestnut feather tipping, and is of dubious status.
Behaviour
The crested oropendola inhabits forest edges and clearings. It is a colonial breeder which builds a hanging woven nest, more than 125 cm long, high in a tree. It lays two blotched blue-grey eggs which hatch in 15–19 days, with another 24–36 days to fledging.
Each colony has a dominant male, which mates with most of the females following an elaborate bowing display. There may be 15-30 females and only 3-4 males. Outside the breeding season, this species is quite mobile, with some seasonal movements.
The distinctive songs of the male include a descending call reminiscent of sliding one's hand on a piano. Both sexes have a loud clack call.
The crested oropendola is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Apororhynchus aculeatus.[3]
References
BirdLife International (2020). "Psarocolius decumanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22723982A138239106. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22723982A138239106.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
"Psarocolius decumanus (Crested Oropendola or Cornbird)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
Byrd, Elon E.; Denton, J. Fred (1949). "The Helminth Parasites of Birds. II. A New Species of Acanthocephala from North American Birds". The Journal of Parasitology. 35 (4). The American Society of Parasitologists: 391–410. doi:10.2307/3273430. JSTOR 3273430. PMID 18133320.
Other sources
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). The Auk. 119 (2): 335–348. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0335:ARPOTO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 31288793.
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