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Yellow-rumped Cacique - Cacicus cela

 

Classification

 Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Aves
 Order: Passeriformes
 Family: Icteridae
 Genus:  Cacicus
ICUN Redlist - World Status: Least ConcernLeast Concern

Description

Yellow-rumped CaciqueThe yellow-rumped cacique is is a long, slim perching bird 9-11 inches in length. It has a black body with a yellow rump, a yellow patch on its wings, and yellow at the base of its tail. It has blue eyes and a long, pointed yellow bill. Females are a little smaller than males, and they are a little duller in color.

Range

mapThe yellow-rumped cacique is found in northern South America from Panama south to Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

Habitat

The yellow-rumped cacique is found in open woodlands, mangrove forests, and cultivated areas with open fields.

Diet

The yellow-rumped cacique eats insects and fruit.

Life Cycle

Yellow-rumped CaciqueMale yellow-rumped caciques court females by flapping their wings and displaying their yellow feathers. The female cacique builds a long bag-like nest of plant fibers in a tree. The nests are usually built in tall trees that have an active wasp nest. The wasps help keep predators away! Caciques nest in colonies that can have up to 100 nests. The female lays 1-3 eggs. She incubates them for about 2 weeks and feeds them after they hatch. Male yellow-rumped caciques keep watch over the nesting colony and alert the colony if their is a threat. The chicks fledge when they are a little over a month old.

Behavior

The yellow-rumped cacique has a variety of calls and even mimics other bird calls.

 
Audio Credit: xeno-canto.org Bob Planqué cc logo