The olive oropendola (''Psarocolius bifasciatus'') is the largest member of the icterid family and rivals the

Amazonian umbrellabird The Amazonian umbrellabird (''Cephalopterus ornatus'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae native to the Amazon basin with a separate population on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The male bird is entirely black, with a black crest a ...

as the largest

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. It is sometimes placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Gymnostinops'' instead of '' Psarocolius''. As suggested by its name, it is found widely – but often in low densities – throughout humid lowland forests of the Amazon Basin, with the notable exception of most of the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

. It is sometimes split into two species, the western olive oropendola (''P. yuracares'') and the eastern Pará oropendola (''P. bifasciatus''), but the subspecies ''P. y. neivae'' is widely recognized as a

hybrid swarm A hybrid swarm is a population of hybrids that has survived beyond the initial hybrid generation, with interbreeding between hybrid individuals and backcrossing with its parent types. Such population are highly variable, with the genetic and phe ...

, and the vast majority of authorities consider them a single species.

Description

The sexes of this icterid are very different in size: the male is 52 cm (21 in) long and weighs 550 g (1.2 lbs); the smaller female is 41 cm (16 in) long and weighs 260 g (9.2 oz). Confusingly, the name "olive oropendola" is usually used for this combined species, despite the fact that the nominate subspecies has no olive to its plumage, as its head and chest are black (these are olive in ''P. b. yuracares''). The back, wings and belly of this large

oropendola 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 bir ...

are brown, the outer

rectrices Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

are yellow (i.e. tail appears all yellow from below), the bare facial skin is pink, the eyes are brown, and the bill is black with an orange tip. The superficially similar

green oropendola The green oropendola (''Psarocolius viridis'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in wooded habitats in the Amazon basin and Guianas of South America, and is generally common. Uniquely among the oropendolas, the green orope ...

has an olive back and wing-coverts, lacks extensive bare facial-skin, has a pale bill with an orange tip, and blue eyes.

Behavior

The olive oropendola is a

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

bird that most often is seen flying high over the tops of the trees. Compared to other oropendolas it is a "loner" most frequently seen alone or in pairs, and drawing less attention to itself than its cousins, despite the greater size. Small groups are seen occasionally, and may even mix with other oropendolas. The breeding colonies are small, usually with fewer than five birds. The nest is a hanging woven ball fibers and vines, 60–180 cm long, high in a tree. Relatively little is known about these bird's breeding habits. The

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

diet appears to be fairly catholic. They may eat small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

s (especially amphibians and reptiles), large

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, nectar, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. They often travel great distances through the forests, except when lingering around their nesting colony. The song of the olive oropendola is a liquid, gurgling and "expanding" ', given as a displaying male falls forward on a perch and rustles his wings over the back. Nasal ' and ' calls are given while in flight or when foraging.

Gallery

File:Olive oropendola.jpg, Male Olive oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus) in Tiputini, Ecuador mid-display File:Olive Oropendola.jpg, Olive Oropendola

References

* Hilty, Steven L. (2003): ''Birds of Venezuela''.

Christopher Helm Christopher Alexander Roger Helm (born Dundee, 1 February 1937 – 20 January 2007) was a Scottish book publisher, notably of ornithology related titles, including the '' Helm Identification Guides''. Born in Dundee, he was raised in Forfar ...

, London.
Olive Oropendola (''Psarocolius bifasciatus yuracares'')
arthurgrosset.com. Retrieved on 15 January 2009. {{Taxonbar, from=Q290672

olive oropendola The olive oropendola (''Psarocolius bifasciatus'') is the largest member of the icterid family and rivals the Amazonian umbrellabird as the largest passerine bird in South America. It is sometimes placed in the genus '' Gymnostinops'' instead of ...

Birds of Brazil

Birds of the Amazon Basin