Chestnut-headed Oropendola

About the Chestnut-headed Oropendola

The chestnut-headed oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, and in Colombia and Ecuador.

The chestnut-headed oropendola was formally described in 1844 with an illustration and the binomial Cacicus Wagleri [sic]. Its specific epithet commemorates Johann Georg Wagler, who had erected genus Psarocolius in 1827. It eventually was reassigned to Psarocolius but for a time was placed in its own genus Zarhynchus.

The chestnut-headed oropendola has two subspecies, the nominate P. w. wagleri (Gray, GR, 1844) and P. w. ridgwayi (Van Rossem, 1934). Chestnut-headed oropendola males average 35 cm (14 in) long and females 28 cm (11 in). Males weigh an average of 214 g (7.5 oz) and females 113 g (4.0 oz). The species looks very long-winged in flight. Males have a slight crest. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a dark purplish chestnut head, throat, and upper breast. Their body and wings are mostly black with a bluish gloss. Their rump and uppertail coverts are dark... Wikipedia →