Bulletin 421 - Brazil 2023 #2 - icterids

 After 3 trips to Colombia with diminishing returns, it was time to go further afield. Pablo Flores the guide in Colombia is now leading trips to Brazil as well. So my birding buddy Martin Jackson and my daughter Chantel and I decided to go there. We visited the Pantanal, the Atlantic forest in the Sao Paulo area and had 1 day in the Chapada. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, so it is teeming with wildlife. The Atlantic Forest is a unique ecosystem from sea level to about 1 mile elevation. It contains 800 species of birds (225 endemic) and 26 species of primates. Unfortunately it also contains 2 mega cities - Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and the resulting sprawl and clearing for agriculture since the Portuguese arrived 500 years ago, has wiped out 90%+ of the original forest. About 250 species of amphibians, birds and mammals have gone extinct in the past 400 years. The good news is that many preserves and parks have been set aside to try and preserve the remaining biodiversity.

The icterids are a  family of 109 species of New World birds consisting of blackbirds, orioles, cowbirds, grackles etc. I photographed 9 species of which 7 were lifers for me.

The 7.5" Greyish Baywing (Agelaioides badius) is grey-brown with rufous wings.

Greyish Baywing

The 9" Chopi Blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi) is an all black icterid that isn't glossy. It is the only member of that genus.

Chopi Blackbird

The 8" Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis) is a black oriole with an orange shoulder patch.

Epaulet Oriole

The 13" Giant Cowbird (Molothus oryzivorus) is a glossy black bird wit a yellow eye. It parasitizes oropendolas.

Giant Cowbird

There were 3 species of caciques for the trip. 2 were lifers. The 9" Solitary Cacique (Cacicus solitarius) I had seen previously. It is a black bird with a pale yellow bill.

Solitary Cacique

The 9" Red-rumped Cacique (Cacicus haemorrhous) was a lifer, but I thought I had seen it before - but the previous one was the Scarlet-rumped Cacique. It is an easy ID.

Red-rumped Cacique

The 7" Golden-winged Cacique (Cacicus chrysopterus) has a large yellow wing patch, a yellow rump and a yellow eye.

Golden-winged Cacique

The 9.5" Yellow-rumped Marshbird (Pseudoleistes guirahuro) is yellow and brown.

Yellow-rumped Marshbird

The 9.5" Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) is a stunningly beautiful bird and an easy ID.

Scarlet-headed Blackbird

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 58 of the 109 species of icterids

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2023 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe

Bulletin 385 - Colombia 2021 #2 - Icterids

 I finally made it back to Colombia for my second visit and again used the guide services of Pablo Florez. I went with my friend Martin Jackson. We visited Inirida on the Orinoco, Santa Marta of course, Guajira Peninsula on the Caribbean coast, and a couple of National Parks around Bogota.

First a correction on the ID of Scaled Piculet on the previous bulletin. It is actually the Golden-spangled Piculet. Thanks to Pablo Florez for the correct ID. 

Icterids are the New World blackbirds such as orioles, grackles and meadowlarks. Orioles are obviously the most colorful and we had 2 lifers for me - both on the Caribbean coast in extreme northeast Colombia.

The 8" Yellow Oriole (Icterus nigrogularis) was admiring his reflection in our vehicle window. He looks more orange than yellow to me but I am not the person who named the bird.

Yellow Oriole

The other was the shy 8" Orange-crowned Oriole (Icterus auricapillus). He has more black than the first one - but the orange/yellow looks the same??

Orange-crowned Oriole

I also had 2 lifer grackles. The first was the peculiarly named 7" Velvet-fronted Grackle (Lampropsar tanagrinus). Here is where the name comes from. The feathers at the front of the crown are very short and dense, giving a velvet-like appearance at close quarters.

Velvet-fronted Grackle

The other is the 10.5" Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris). It is similar to the Great-tailed Grackle but considerably smaller.

Carib Grackle

Caciques are larger then orioles. Both the species we saw were not new for me. The 11" Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) is black with a yellow bill, rump and undertail.

Yellow-rumped Cacique

The Solitary Cacique (Cacicus solitarius) is all black with a yellow bill.

Solitary Cacique

Oropendolas are larger still. I photographed 2 species and 1 was a lifer. The 21" Olive Oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus) was the lifer. He has an olive green body, ruflos wings, yellow tail and red tip on the bill. But the easiest ID mark is the pink cheeks.

Olive Oropendola

The other was the 18" Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus). It is black with an ivory bill and yellow tail.

Crested Oropendola

The last was a surprise for me to find the 9.5" Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) as a resident bird in mountains around Bogota. I had no idea that they had such an extensive range.

Eastern Meadowlark

So you may be wondering why I photograph the birds that I already have seen and photographed before. Well there are several reasons.

First is I always want to upgrade the photos. The Solitary Cacique here was much better than the other photo I had.

Second, is the possibility of the bird being split by subspecies in 2 or more species. If I have several photos from different locations, if a split occurs, I may already have the photos of both. The Eastern Meadowlark has 16 subspecies from eastern Canada to Brazil and Cuba.

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 50 of the 109 species of icterids

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2021 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.