The solitary cacique or solitary black cacique (''Cacicus solitarius'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, subtropical or tropical

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, and heavily degraded former forest. It is a fairly common bird with a very extensive range so the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has rated it as a "

species of least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Description

The male solitary cacique has a length of about and the female . It differs from all other entirely black birds with dark irises within its range, by having a large white, chisel-shaped, sharply-pointed beak. It could be confused with the

Ecuadorian cacique The Ecuadorian cacique (''Cacicus sclateri'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. A fairly common bird with a wide r ...

(''Cacicus sclateri''), but that is smaller and has a restricted range, or the

yellow-billed cacique The yellow-billed cacique (''Amblycercus holosericeus'') is a species of cacique in the family Icteridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Amblycercus''. There is some question as to whether or not it is a true cacique. The plumage is entirely ...

(''Amblycercus holosericeus''), but that is not found east of the Andes. It has a range of different vocalizations which are mostly delivered at a measured pace but are sometimes interrupted by gurgles and growls.

Distribution and habitat

The solitary cacique has a very wide distribution in Amazonia. Its range extends southwards as far as northern Argentina and Uruguay at altitudes of up to about . It inhabits forests, gallery forests and flooded areas. It is generally found in the mid-storey of the canopy, or the shrubby understorey, often clambering about among dense vines.

Ecology

The solitary cacique is often found singly or in pairs but does not join flocks of birds. It forages in tangled undergrowth and is acrobatic, sometimes hanging upside-down. At times it visits flowering trees higher in the canopy. Its diet consists of invertebrates and small vertebrates such as tree frogs, and it also consumes fruit and

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

. Breeding takes place between October and January according to location and in Argentina it is thought that two broods are reared. Many birds in this genus build their nests in colonies, but this bird nests alone.

Status

The solitary cacique has an extremely large range, its area of occupancy being estimated as . It is a fairly common species, and although the population trend has not been quantified, the population is thought to be stable, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the bird's conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q944938 solitary cacique Birds of South America Birds of the Pantanal solitary cacique Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of Brazil Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot