Russet-backed Oropendola

About the Russet-backed Oropendola

The russet-backed oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It is a "noisy and social bird that forages, nests, and roosts in groups".

The russet-backed oropendola was formally described in 1824 with the binomial Cassicus angustifrons. Authors placed it variously in genera Xanthornus or Ostinops before it was assigned to its present Psarocolius. The russet-backed oropendola's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, the Clements taxonomy, AviList, and the independent South American Classification Committee assign it these seven subspecies:

P. a. salmoni (Sclater, PL, 1883) P. a. atrocastaneus (Cabanis, 1873) P. a. sincipitalis (Cabanis, 1873) P. a. neglectus (Chapman, 1914) P. a. oleagineus (Sclater, PL, 1883) P. a. angustifrons (Spix, 1824) P. a. alfredi (des Murs, 1856)

However, in 2016 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) split P. oleagineus as the species "green-billed oropendola" and as of late 2025 retains it separately. Clements makes a distinction... Wikipedia →