Chestnut-capped Blackbird

About the Chestnut-capped Blackbird

The chestnut-capped blackbird (Chrysomus ruficapillus) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

The chestnut-capped blackbird was formally described in 1819 with the binomial Agelaius ruficapillus. In the late twentieth century it was reassigned to its present genus Chrysomus, which had been erected in 1837. It shares that genus with the yellow-hooded blackbird (C. icterocephalus).

The chestnut-capped blackbird has two subspecies, the nominate C. r. ruficapillus (Vieillot, 1819) and C. r. frontalis (also Vieillot, 1819). Male chestnut-capped blackbirds average 18.5 cm (7.3 in) long and females 17.1 cm (6.7 in). Males weigh an average of 41.3 g (1.5 oz) and females average 32.2 g (1.1 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a deep dark chestnut forecrown, midcrown, throat, and upper breast. The rest of their plumages is black with a faint bluish gloss. Adult females of the nominate subspecies have a mostly olivaceous brown head with a faint buffish supercilium.... Wikipedia →