Copyright: monacoeye • Pantanal, August 2011 • Do not copy without permission,

Bird name: Baywing
Latin: Agelaioides badius
Other: Bay Winged Cowbird • Asa-de-telha (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Cowbirds
Range: Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay
Similar: Juvenile Screaming Cowbird

The Bay-winged Cowbird, as it is commonly known, is predominantly grey with rufous wing edges and black eye and bill.

Above, seen on the Transpantaneira highway, in the Brazilian Pantanal.

Baywings were easy to see at Pouso Alegre, where they joined Saffron Finches to feed on corn given to the animals. Not uncommon in open country.

These are not “true” Cowbirds, in that they are not brood parasitic or in the genus Molothrus. In fact they are parasitised by Shiny Cowbirds.

Baywings are found in the southern countries of South America.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Iguaçu, Brazil 2006

Bird name: Giant Cowbird
Latin: Molothrus oryzivorus
Other: Iraúna-grande (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Cowbirds
Range: S Mexico through N South America
Similar: Great Tailed Grackle

The Giant Cowbird is a brood parasitic icterid, laying its eggs in the nests of oropendolas and caciques. It is found from Central America to the northwestern half of South America and to a lesser extent the southern part of Brazil.

The Giant Cowbird is a large bird (40 cm) - it looks a bit similar to the Great-tailed Grackle in Panama, but the latter has a much thinner bill. The adult male is larger and shiny blue-black, the female browner and smaller. Irises can be red or yellow, depending on regional differences, also in some regions males tend to have red irises and females yellow irises.

Great-tailed Grackles have thinner bills.

Below, a Giant Cowbird in the Canal zone of Central Panama, 2010
More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Bronzed Cowbird
Latin: Molothrus aeneus
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Cowbirds
Range: SW USA to Panama
Similar: Shiny Cowbird

The male Bronzed Cowbird is dark with a big ruff, the female is lighter.

Bronzed Cowbirds should have bright red irises - none of these photo show this feature which makes me think they may not be Bronzed Cowbirds!

More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Great Tailed Grackle
Latin: Quiscalus mexicanus
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Grackles
Range: S USA through W, N South America
Similar: Giant Cowbird

The Great-tailed Grackle is seen fairly in Panama frequently, around habitations, roadsides, fields etc.

The male Great-tailed Grackle is black with yellow irises and a long tail. The female is smaller and brown with dark line around eye.

More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Chestnut Headed Oropendola
Latin: Psarocolius wagleri
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Oropendolas
Range: Mexico to Ecuador
Similar:

I saw a tree full of pendulous Chestnut-headed Oropendola nest on my first day in Cerro Azul. A wonderful sight. And individual birds were not infrequent on forest walks. Pictured above attending a fruit feeder in Canopy Lodge. They make noises like water glooping in a cave! Fantastic blue iris.


More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Rumped Cacique
Latin: Cacicus cela
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Caciques
Range: Panama to SE South America
Similar:

Yellow rumped Caciques! With nest-building below.

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Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, April 2010

Bird name: Scarlet Rumped Cacique
Latin: Cacicus microrhynchus
Other: Split from C. uropygialis
Family: Icteridae • Caciques
Range: Honduras to Panama
Similar:

Scarlet Rumped Cacique spotted from the observation deck of the Canopy Tower.

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Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Tailed Oriole
Latin: Icterus mesomelas
Other:
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: Mexico to Peru
Similar: Yellow-backed Oriole

The Yellow-tailed Oriole. NB yellow on underside of tail diagnostic.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Backed Oriole
Latin: Icterus chrysater
Other:
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: S Mexico to Venezuela
Similar: Yellow-billed Oriole

A blurry Yellow-backed Oriole in Gamboa.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Billed Cacique
Latin: Amblycercus holosericeus
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Caciques
Range: Mexico to N Bolivia
Similar:

Somewhere in there was a Yellow-billed Cacique - a black bird with yellow bill. But just a record shot…

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Crested Oropendola
Latin: Psarocolius decumanus
Other: japu-preto (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Oropendolas
Range: N, SC, South America, also Panama
Similar: Chestnut-headed Oropendola

This was very likely a Crested Oropendola - a predominantly black bird with yellow bill. But just a record shot.

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, Chiriqui, May 2010

Bird name: Eastern Meadowlark
Latin: Sturnella magna
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Meadowlark
Range: SE Canada to NE Brazil
Similar:

I saw these Eastern Meadowlarks a couple of times in Panama, once in a meadow in El Valle, then again crossing the road near a house in Chiriqui.

More photos...

Copyright: AT/monacoeye • Point Reyes, December • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Brewer’s Blackbird
Latin: Euphagus cyanocephalus
Other:
Family: Icteridae • New World Blackbirds
Range: North America, some migrating to Mexico.

This is an adult male Brewer’s Blackbird, identifiable by bright yellow iris and glossy blue-indigo plumage, purplish on head. Seen here in California.

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Itatiaia November 2009

Bird name: Shiny Cowbird
Latin: Molothrus bonariensis
Other: Vira-bosta (Br) • Tordo (Es), Tordo común, Tordo renegrido
Family: Icteridae • Cowbirds

The Shiny Cowbird is one of a few entirely black birds to be found in Brazil. The photo above may be of a female - the adult male is jet black and shiny.

The Shiny Cowbird’s range covers much of Latin America and has recently extended into Chile and Florida.

It’s usually seen in groups but not always. It tends to walk around on the ground and looks more relaxed than the male Ruby-crowned Tanager. The Chopi Blackbird has a more peaked head and grooved bill than the Shiny Cowbird.

The Shiny Cowbird, not beloved by many birders, is a brood parasite, like the European Cuckoo, laying its eggs in the nests of other birds, and in some cases endangering host species survival.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Itatiaia, Ubatuba • November 2009

Bird name: Red Rumped Cacique
Latin: Cacicus haemorrhous
Other: Guaxe (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Caciques

The Red-rumped Cacique is the most common form of Cacique in eastern Brazil. It is a large bird, quickly identified by its yellow bill, startling bright blue iris and red flash of colour on its rump, especially visible in flight. The rest of the bird is black. Sometimes the blue irises show as black, perhaps in juveniles or bright light, as can be seen in the photo of the juvenile begging for food.

Red-rumped Caciques nest in colonies of pendulous nests, which they add to year after year, so that some older ones are empty. This can work to confuse some predators such as snakes. They will also weave their nests with green garden twine and several nests were seen incorporating this man made material. In Itatiaia I often saw Red-rumped Caciques eating fruit, including that of cecropia.

There are two separate populations of Red-rumped Cacique, one in southeast South America, including the southeast of Brazil, and one in northwest South America.


More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Lagoa do Peixe • November 2009

Bird name: Brown and Yellow Marshbird
Latin: Pseudoleistes virescens
Other: Dragão (Br) • Pecho amarillo chico (Es), Pecho amarillo común, Dragón
Family: Icteridae • Marshbirds

The Brown-and-yellow Marshbird has a yellow breast and the rest of the bird is dark brown - it has no yellow on its back unlike the Yellow-rumped Marshbird.

The Brown-and-yellow Marshbird is found only in the very south of Brazil, and neighbouring countries. More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Lagoa do Peixe • November 2009

Bird name: Chestnut Capped Blackbird
Latin: Chrysomus ruficapillus
Other: Garibaldi (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Meadowlarks

The Chestnut-capped Blackbird is often seen around Lagoa do Peixe in large groups of several dozen birds, standing in fields or perched by roadsides or in trees.

The adult male is quite easily recognisable - all black with dark red throat and cap. But the red is very dark and can be difficult to see. The females and juveniles are more difficult, mostly brown with the red replaced by ochre. Pictured below is one with yellow spots and red - perhaps a juvenile male?

The Chestnut-capped Blackbird is found in much of eastern South America and Colombia. In Brazil it lives in the south and east of the country.

More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Lagoa do Peixe • November 2009

Bird name: White Browed Blackbird
Latin: Sturnella superciliaris
Other: Polícia-inglesa-do-sul (Br)
Family: Icteridae • Meadowlarks

The White-browed Blackbird has an amusing name in Portuguese: the southern English Policeman.

The male has a characteristic red breast, red spot on shoulder and white brow. The female is striped brown but still shows the light supercilium. I’m not sure if the two photos below are of females or juveniles.


More photos...

Photo copyright: AW/monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Florida 2009

Bird name: Boat Tailed Grackle
Latin: Quiscalus major
Other:
Family: Icteridae • Grackles

The Boat-tailed Grackle, seen here in Florida, has a particular fondness for car-parks (see photo below in “more photos”). It lives in Florida and along the coast to the north and west. Many thanks to Alexia for sending in these great photos.More photos...

224 Icteridae - Oropendolas, Orioles & Blackbirds - IOC 2.5 - 2010

Clypicterus oseryi - Casqued Oropendola - W Amazonia

Psarocolius wagleri - Chestnut-headed Oropendola - Mexico to Ecuador - was Zarhynchus wagleri
Psarocolius decumanus - Crested Oropendola - N, SC, South America, also Panama
Psarocolius viridis - Green Oropendola - Amazonia
Psarocolius atrovirens - Dusky-green Oropendola - Peru, Bolivia
Psarocolius angustifrons - Russet-backed Oropendola - W, N South America
Psarocolius montezuma - Montezuma Oropendola - S Mexico to Panama
Psarocolius cassini - Baudo Oropendola - NW Colombia
Psarocolius bifasciatus - Olive Oropendola - E, S Amazonia - was Para Oropendola
Psarocolius guatimozinus - Black Oropendola - Panama, Colombia

Ocyalus latirostris - Band-tailed Oropendola - W Amazonia

Cacicus cela - Yellow-rumped Cacique - Panama to SE South America
Cacicus haemorrhous - Red-rumped Cacique - Colombia to E Brazil & N Argentina
Cacicus uropygialis - Subtropical Cacique - Panama to Peru
Cacicus microrhynchus - Scarlet-rumped Cacique - Honduras to Panama - Split from C. uropygialis
Cacicus chrysopterus - Golden-winged Cacique - SC South America
Cacicus chrysonotus - Southern Mountain Cacique - Peru, N Bolivia
Cacicus leucoramphus - Northern Mountain Cacique - Venezuela to Ecuador, N Peru - Split from C. chrysonotus
Cacicus sclateri - Ecuadorian Cacique - Ecuador, Peru
Cacicus koepckeae - Selva Cacique - Peru
Cacicus solitarius - Solitary Cacique - C Amazonia to N Argentina
Cacicus melanicterus - Mexican Cacique - W Mexico to SE Guatemala

Amblycercus holosericeus - Yellow-billed Cacique - Mexico to N Bolivia

Icterus icterus - Venezuelan Troupial - Colombia, Venezuela
Icterus croconotus - Orange-backed Troupial - N, W, SW Amazonia
Icterus jamacaii - Campo Troupial - E Brazil
Icterus pectoralis - Spot-breasted Oriole - Widespread Middle America
Icterus graceannae - White-edged Oriole - Ecuador, Peru
Icterus mesomelas - Yellow-tailed Oriole - Mexico to Peru
Icterus cayanensis - Epaulet Oriole - N, C, SC South America
Icterus bonana - Martinique Oriole - Martinique
Icterus laudabilis - St. Lucia Oriole - St. Lucia
Icterus oberi - Montserrat Oriole - Montserrat
Icterus dominicensis - Hispaniolan Oriole - Hispaniola - Was Greater Antillean Oriole
Icterus portoricensis - Puerto Rican Oriole - Puerto Rico - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus melanopsis - Cuban Oriole - Cuba - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus northropi - Bahama Oriole - Bahamas - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus prosthemelas - Black-cowled Oriole - S Mexico to Panama
Icterus spurius - Orchard Oriole - SE Canada to C Mexico
Icterus fuertesi - Ochre Oriole - NE Mexico - Split from I. spurius
Icterus cucullatus - Hooded Oriole - SW USA, Mexico, Belize
Icterus wagleri - Black-vented Oriole - Mexico to Nicaragua
Icterus maculialatus - Bar-winged Oriole - S Mexico to El Salvador
Icterus parisorum - Scott's Oriole - SC USA, Mexico
Icterus auricapillus - Orange-crowned Oriole - Panama to Venezuela
Icterus chrysater - Yellow-backed Oriole - S Mexico to Venezuela
Icterus graduacauda - Audubon's Oriole - S Texas, Mexico
Icterus galbula - Baltimore Oriole - E North America - Colombia
Icterus abeillei - Black-backed Oriole - SC Mexico
Icterus bullockii - Bullock's Oriole - W North America - Mexico to Nicaragua
Icterus pustulatus - Streak-backed Oriole - Widespread Middle America
Icterus leucopteryx - Jamaican Oriole - Jamaica, Cayman Islands
Icterus auratus - Orange Oriole - SE Mexico
Icterus nigrogularis - Yellow Oriole - N South America
Icterus gularis - Altamira Oriole - S Texas to Honduras

Nesopsar nigerrimus - Jamaican Blackbird - Jamaica

Gymnomystax mexicanus - Oriole Blackbird - Amazonia

Macroagelaius subalaris - Colombian Mountain Grackle - Colombia
Macroagelaius imthurni - Golden-tufted Mountain Grackle - Tepuis

Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster - Red-bellied Grackle - Colombia

Lampropsar tanagrinus - Velvet-fronted Grackle - W, SW Amazonia, Tepuis

Gnorimopsar chopi - Chopi Blackbird - E, SE, SC South America

Curaeus curaeus - Austral Blackbird - Southern Cone
Curaeus forbesi - Forbes's Blackbird - E Brazil

Amblyramphus holosericeus - Scarlet-headed Blackbird - SE, SC South America

Agelasticus xanthophthalmus - Pale-eyed Blackbird - Ecuador, Peru
Agelasticus cyanopus - Unicolored Blackbird - SC, E Brazil
Agelasticus thilius - Yellow-winged Blackbird - SW, SC South America

Chrysomus ruficapillus - Chestnut-capped Blackbird - NE, SC South America
Chrysomus icterocephalus - Yellow-hooded Blackbird - N, C South America

Xanthopsar flavus - Saffron-cowled Blackbird - SC South America

Pseudoleistes guirahuro - Yellow-rumped Marshbird - SE South America
Pseudoleistes virescens - Brown-and-yellow Marshbird - SE South America

Agelaioides oreopsar - Bolivian Blackbird - Bolivia
Agelaioides badius - Baywing - SC South America

Molothrus rufoaxillaris - Screaming Cowbird - SC South America
Molothrus oryzivorus - Giant Cowbird - S Mexico through N South America
Molothrus aeneus - Bronzed Cowbird - SW USA to Panama
Molothrus armenti - Bronze-brown Cowbird - Colombia - Split from M. aeneus
Molothrus bonariensis - Shiny Cowbird - SE USA though C South America
Molothrus ater - Brown-headed Cowbird - S Canada to S Mexico

Dives atroviolaceus - Cuban Blackbird - Cuba
Dives dives - Melodious Blackbird - Mexico to Nicaragua
Dives warczewiczi - Scrub Blackbird - Ecuador, Peru

Agelaius phoeniceus - Red-winged Blackbird - Widespread North America, Middle America
Agelaius assimilis - Red-shouldered Blackbird - Cuba
Agelaius tricolor - Tricolored Blackbird - California
Agelaius humeralis - Tawny-shouldered Blackbird - Hispaniola, Cuba
Agelaius xanthomus - Yellow-shouldered Blackbird - Puerto Rico

Euphagus carolinus - Rusty Blackbird - N North America - SE South America
Euphagus cyanocephalus - Brewer's Blackbird - W, C North America - Mexico

Quiscalus quiscula - Common Grackle - C, E North America
Quiscalus lugubris - Carib Grackle - Lesser Antilles, N South America
Quiscalus mexicanus - Great-tailed Grackle - S USA through W, N South America
Quiscalus major - Boat-tailed Grackle - E, SE USA
Quiscalus palustris - Slender-billed Grackle - C Mexico
Quiscalus nicaraguensis - Nicaraguan Grackle - Nicaragua
Quiscalus niger - Greater Antillean Grackle - Greater Antilles

Sturnella militaris - Red-breasted Blackbird - Costa Rica through C South America
Sturnella superciliaris - White-browed Blackbird - SC South America
Sturnella bellicosa - Peruvian Meadowlark - Ecuador to N Chile
Sturnella defilippii - Pampas Meadowlark - SE South America
Sturnella loyca - Long-tailed Meadowlark - Southern Cone
Sturnella magna - Eastern Meadowlark - SE Canada to NE Brazil
Sturnella neglecta - Western Meadowlark - W North America, Middle America

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus - Yellow-headed Blackbird - W North America, Middle America

Dolichonyx oryzivorus - Bobolink - N, C North America - C South America