Scarlet-rumped cacique

The scarlet-rumped cacique is a passerine bird species in the New World family Icteridae.

Distribution

C. m. microrhynchus – Central AmericaC. 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 long and weigh, while the female is long and weighs ;
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 ', but the Pacific cacique has a descending melancholy ', while C. m. microrynchus in the narrowest sense has a burry '; C. m. pacificus has a sweeter ' or a .

Ecology and distribution

Unlike some other caciques they are not usually colonial breeders; like them they have a bag-shaped nest. It is built about above ground, in a tree which usually also contains an active wasp nest. The bird's nest is 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.