Scarlet-rumped cacique
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cacicus uropygialis -Panama-8.jpg
| image_caption = in Panama
| status = LC
| image2 = Cacicus microrhynchus - Scarlet-rumped Cacique XC242286.mp3
| image2_caption = song
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Cacicus
| species = microrhynchus
| authority = (Sclater & Salvin, 1865)
| range_map2_caption = Range of Cacicus (uropygialis) microrhynchus, including ssp. pacificus
| synonyms =
| range_map = Cacicus_microrhynchus_map.svg
}}
The scarlet-rumped cacique (Cacicus microrhynchus) is a passerine bird species in the New World family Icteridae.
== Distribution ==
- C. m. microrhynchus – Central America
- C. m. pacificus – Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena
Description
The scarlet-rumped cacique is sexually dimorphic like many Icteridae, though it mainly concerns size in this species. Males are {{convert|23|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long and weigh {{convert|68|g|oz|abbr=on}}, while the female is {{convert|20|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|53|g|oz|abbr=on}};
This cacique is a slim long-winged bird, with a relatively short tail, blue eyes, and a pale yellow pointed bill. It has mainly black plumage, apart from a scarlet patch on the lower back and upper rump. The female is smaller and a duller black than the male, and the juvenile bird has a brownish tone to the plumage and a brownish-orange rump.
The song of these birds is a pleasant {{Not a typo|wheee-whee-whee-whee-wheet}}, but the Pacific cacique has a descending melancholy {{Not a typo|wheeo-wheeo-wheeo-wheeo}}, while C. m. microrynchus in the narrowest sense has a burry {{Not a typo|pleeo}}; C. m. pacificus has a sweeter {{Not a typo|keeo}} or a {{Not a typo|shree}}.Jaramillo & Burke (1999)
Ecology and distribution
File:Scarlet Cacique (24502477503).jpg
Unlike some other caciques they are not usually colonial breeders; like them they have a bag-shaped nest. It is built about {{convert|3.5|–|30|m|ft|abbr=on}} above ground, in a tree which usually also contains an active wasp nest. The bird's nest is {{convert|36|–|64|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long, widens at the base, and is suspended from the end of a branch. The normal clutch is two dark-blotched white eggs. The male will assist in feeding the young, but does not incubate.
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Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|title=Taxonomy of the birds of the world: The complete checklist|page=524|author=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4V1DwAAQBAJ&dq=scarlet-rumped+subtropical+cacique&pg=PA524}}
- {{cite book|title=The Complete Birds of the World: Every Species Illustrated|page=578|author=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywkqEAAAQBAJ&dq=scarlet-rumped+subtropical+cacique&pg=PA578}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1301531}}
Category:Birds of Central America