Epaulet Oriole - BirdForum Opus

Photo of subspecies I. c. tibialis by Arthur Grosset
Photographed: Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil.

Includes Variable Oriole and Moriche Oriole

Icterus cayanensis

Identification

Mostly black, the epaulet consisting of the upper wing-coverts. Some subspecies have a yellow epaulet and yellow thighs (e.g., I. c. tibialis) while other sub-species have an ochre-orange epaulet (see second photo).

Photo most likely of subspecies I. c. valenciobuenoi by Pantanal1
Photographed: Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Distribution

Most of South America including Trinidad.

Taxonomy

Polytypic, consists of six subspecies¹:

• I. c. chrysocephalus

• Eastern Colombia to Venezuela, Guianas, northern Brazil and north-eastern Peru; also Trinidad
• Bright yellow crown, rump, thighs and wing epaulets
• Has been recognised as a separate species (Moriche Oriole)².

• I. c. cayanensis

• Suriname to French Guiana, Amazonian Brazil, eastern Peru and eastern Bolivia

• I. c. tibialis

• Eastern Brazil

• I. c. valenciobuenoi

• South-eastern Brazil

• I. c. periporphyrus

• North-eastern Bolivia and adjacent western Brazil

• I. c. pyrrhopterus

• South-eastern Bolivia to Paraguay, south-eastern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina

This species may be in need of splitting into two: Epaulet Oriole would then contain the first two subspecies while the remaining four subspecies would become Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus).

Habitat

Woodland, thorny scrub and gardens.

Behaviour

The diet includes insects and nectar.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Sibley, CG and BL Monroe. 1996. Birds of the World, on diskette, Windows version 2.0. Charles G. Sibley, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
3. Birdforum thread discussing the possibility of splitting Variable Oriole from Epaulet Oriole
4. Arthur Grosset

External Links

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