Casqued cacique

Casqued cacique
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Icteridae
Genus: Cacicus
Species:
C. oseryi
Binomial name
Cacicus oseryi
Deville, 1849
Synonyms

See text

The casqued cacique (Cacicus oseryi) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Bolivia.

Taxonomy and systematics

The casqued cacique has a complicated taxonomic history. It was formally described in 1849 with its current binomial Cacicus Oseryi [sic]. During the twentieth century it bounced between genera Clypicterus and Psarocolius. By the twenty-first century Psarocolius was no longer used and in the 2010s Clypicterus was merged into Cacicus. During its time as Psarocolius oseryi and Clypicterus oseryi it was called the "casqued oropendola".

The casqued cacique is monotypic.

Description

Male casqued caciques average 37 cm (15 in) long and 188 g (6.6 oz). Females average 29 cm (11 in) long and 101 g (3.6 oz). Males have a prominent casque and females a smaller one. The casque's color is usually yellowish gray to olivaceous gray, sometimes ivory-colored with a greenish tinge and a dark gray tip, and sometimes entirely dark gray. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are mostly rich chestnut. Their tail is mostly dusky olive with bright yellow outer feathers. Their wing's flight feathers have yellow edges. Their throat is grayish olive and their upper breast and the side of their neck are yellowish olive. They have a pale blue iris and black legs and feet. Their bill is variable but usually has a dark gray maxilla and a yellow-green mandible with a dark gray tip. Juveniles are like adults but have dark eyes.

Distribution and habitat

The casqued cacique is a bird of the extreme western Amazon Basin. Its range includes extreme southern Amazonas Department in far southern Colombia and the three eastern Ecuadorean provinces of Sucumbíos, Orellana, and Pastaza. Its range continues south through the eastern half of Peru and extends east from Peru very slightly into the far western parts of Brazil's Amazonas and Acre states. Though most sources include northern Bolivia in the species' range, the South American Classification Committee has only unconfirmed records there.

The casqued cacique inhabits terra firme and várzea forest. It appears to breed primarily in várzea and use the drier terra firme for foraging and in the non-breeding season. In elevation it is found below about 300 m (1,000 ft) in Colombia and Ecuador, below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Peru, and below 400 m (1,300 ft) in Brazil.

Behavior

Movement

The casqued cacique is believed to be a sedentary year-round resident.

Feeding

The casqued cacique's diet is known to include fruits and is assumed to also include arthropods, small vertebrates, and nectar. It has been observed foraging with flocks of yellow-rumped caciques (C. cela). It forages mostly in the forest interior.

Breeding

The casqued cacique's breeding season has not been fully defined but spans at least September to November in Peru. It is polygynous and nests in colonies that typically have 14 to 25 nests and are along small rivers. Females build the nest, an elongated open-topped bag or purse woven from plant fibers and hanging from a tree branch. All known colonies in Peru were in isolated Cecropia trees. The female incubates the clutch; males guard the colony from predators such as monkeys and toucans (Ramphastidae). The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The casqued cacique's song is "a descending loud, electric, buzzing tok'DJZZEEEEEEEROP. Its "loud, squawking calls" include a "zhrak! and a repeated zhreeo! zhreeo! zhreeo", and displaying males "give a long squa-a-a-a-a-ooók! and a ringing ko-kooó-glee!".

Status

The IUCN has assessed the casqued cacique as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered "very local and uncommon" in Colombia, "scarce" in Ecuador, and "uncommon to locally fairly common" in Peru. It has only a few records in Brazil. It occurs in several protected areas.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Casqued Cacique Cacicus oseryi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T22723976A132024829. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723976A132024829.en. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (April 2026). "Oropendolas, orioles, blackbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 15.2. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 February 2026. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved February 28, 2026
  4. ↑ Deville, Émile (1849). "Description de quelques Mammifères et Oiseaux nouveaux de l'Amérique méridionale". Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée (in French). 1 (2). Bureau de la Revue et Magasin de Zoologie: 57–58. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  5. ↑ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 February 2026. A classification of the bird species of South America. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved February 28, 2026
  6. ↑ Penhallurick, John M. (December 2013). "Proposal (611) Merge Ocyalus and Clypicterus with Cacicus". South American Classification Committee. Retrieved June 11, 2026. The proposal was accepted in April 2014.
  7. ↑ Remsen, James V. (July 2014). "Proposal (641) Change English names in certain Icteridae: (A) Bay-winged Cowbird, (B) Red-breasted Blackbird and White-browed Blackbird, and (C) Band-tailed Oropendola and Casqued Oropendola". South American Classification Committee. Retrieved June 11, 2026. The proposal was accepted in November 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fraga, R. (2020). Casqued Cacique (Cacicus oseryi), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.casoro2.01 retrieved June 11, 2026
  9. 1 2 3 McMullan, Miles; Donegan, Thomas M.; Quevedo, Alonso (2010). Field Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Bogotá: Fundación ProAves. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-9827615-0-2.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 698–699. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 620. ISBN 978-0691130231.
  12. 1 2 3 van Perlo, Ber (2009). A Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 353–354. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7.
  13. ↑ Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 3, 2025
  14. ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". Retrieved June 11, 2025.