Scarlet-headed blackbird
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus).JPG
| image_caption = in the Pantanal, Brazil
| genus = Amblyramphus
| parent_authority = Leach, 1814
| species = holosericeus
| authority = (Scopoli, 1786)
| range_map =Amblyramphus holosericeus map.svg
}}
The scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) is an icterid found in the South American wetlands.
Description
This species is about 24 cm long. The bill is oddly shaped: long, slender, and very sharp, looking almost upturned. Adults of both sexes are described by their name. Juveniles have entirely black plumage; orange-red feathers first appear on their breast and throat, later spreading to the neck, head, and thighs. The song is given as "loud, clear, and melodic, a ringing 'cleer-cleer-clur, clulululu'." Calls are simpler but have a similar quality.{{cite book | last = Ridgely | first=Robert S. |author2=Tudor, Guy | title = The Birds of South America: The Oscine Passerines | year = 1989 | publisher = University of Texas Press | pages = 345 | isbn = 0-292-70756-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN0292707568 | access-date = 2007-02-19}}
Scarlet-headed blackbirds occur in pairs in large reed beds in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil; Bolivia has an isolated population living at an altitudes of about 600 m. They often perch conspicuously on top of stems. They are uncommon, particularly away from the coast.
They eat mainly fruit, supplementing it with seeds and invertebrates, especially insects. They use their bill as a hammer to open food items.{{cite web | title = Scarlet-headed blackbird | work = Meet the Animals | publisher = Toronto Zoo | url = http://www.torontozoo.com/Animals/details.asp?AnimalId=499 | access-date = 2007-02-19 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061111132430/http://www.torontozoo.com/animals/details.asp?AnimalId=499 | archive-date = 2006-11-11 }}
Scarlet-headed blackbirds are monogamous, and territories are grouped together. The nest is an open cup placed in the crotch of a shrub or woven into vegetation, in which they lay two eggs.
Gallery
File:Scarlet-headed Blackbird RWD4.jpg
File:Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) (28849092122).jpg
File:Scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg
File:Cardeal-do-banhado (Amblyramphus holosericeus).jpg
File:FEDERAL Amblyramphus holosericeus.jpg
References
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Amblyramphus holosericeus|Amblyramphus holosericeus}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Amblyramphus holosericeus|Amblyramphus holosericeus}}
- [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=9772 Scarlet-headed blackbird videos] - Internet Bird Collection
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20001019120006/http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/20408900.htm Stamps]}} (for Argentina, Uruguay) with range map
- [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=scarlet-headed+blackbird&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Scarlet-headed blackbird photo gallery] - VIREO
- [http://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2007/12/15/scarlet-headed-blackbird/ Scarlet-headed blackbird photos] (Brazil)
- [http://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p_spp=671116 Scarlet-headed blackbird] - Neotropical Birds
{{Passeroidea|I.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1586092}}
Category:Birds of the Pantanal
{{Icteridae-stub}}