The Baudó oropendola (''Psarocolius cassini'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have black as a predominant ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s, which are threatened by

destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

. As it is only known from a small number of locations, its conservation status has been assessed as "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

" by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Description

The male Baudó oropendola is about in length and the female is slightly smaller at . This bird is similar in appearance to the black oropendola (''Psarocolius guatimozinus''), being largely black with chestnut-brown upper parts, but the patches of bare skin on the cheeks are pink, the mantle and wings are more rufous-brown and the flanks are rather more chestnut.

Distribution

This species is endemic to a small area around los Saltos and de Baudó, in the

Chocó Department Chocó Department () is a department of the Pacific region of Colombia known for hosting the largest Afro-Colombian population in the nation, and a large population of Amerindian and mixed African-Amerindian Colombians. It is in the west of the ...

of north-west Colombia, an area of occupancy of about . The bird has only been observed in a few isolated locations in river valleys at the edge of humid rainforests, but more recently birds have been sighted in the river valleys of the Rio Siviru and Rio Tipicay near Bajo Baudó, and a location has been found on the coastal plain with sixty inactive nests suspended from ''

Bactris gasipaes ''Bactris gasipaes'' is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to the tropical forests of Central America, Central and South America. It is well spread in these regions, where it is often cultivated by smallholders in agroforestry systems or more ...

'' palms and '' Guazuma ulmifolia'' trees in secondary growth between a banana plantation and the edge of the mature forest.

Status

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed the conservation status of ''P. cassini'' as being "

"; this is because of the small number of locations from which it is known, and the degradation of its habitat as deforestation takes place for logging, the creation of oil palm plantations, agricultural activities and road-building. It is estimated that the total population of the bird numbers between 1000 and 2500 individuals and is likely to be declining. However the bird is little-known, and there may be other breeding colonies at present unknown; if that proves to be the case, the bird's status may need to be changed to " vulnerable".

References

External links

Baudo Oropendola ''Psarocolius cassini''
– BirdLife International {{Taxonbar, from=Q1302663 Baudó oropendola Endemic birds of Colombia Baudó oropendola Baudó oropendola Taxonomy articles created by Polbot