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Epaulet Oriole | Icterus cayanensis
Roodboegtroepiaal | Turpial boyerito
The Epaulet Oriole is a slender, mostly black oriole of the Amazon basin and the Guianas. In the Caribbean only the northern form chrysocephalus occurs, the Moriche Oriole, sometimes treated as a separate species Icterus chrysocephalus. This form is closely tied to the moriche palm Mauritia flexuosa. It is rare on Trinidad, and it is uncertain whether the birds there are native or descended from escaped cage birds.
Voice
The song of the form chrysocephalus is a slow series of rising and falling whistles, usually in groups of two or three; also a squeaky whistling.
Recording: Jacob Wijpkema — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · shortened to the first 60 s, mono · xeno-canto
Identification
20–22 cm, slender, with a long tail and a thin, slightly decurved bill. The form chrysocephalus is black with a golden-yellow crown and nape, yellow rump, yellow shoulders and yellow thighs. The nominate form of the south of the range is all black except for the shoulder that gives the species its name. The sexes are alike. Juveniles are dark brown with duller yellow.
Confusion species
Yellow-rumped Cacique Cacicus cela is larger, with a pale bill, a blue iris and yellow at the tail base and in the wing, but no yellow crown. The male Yellow-hooded Blackbird Chrysomus icterocephalus has an entirely yellow head and throat and lives in reed marsh. Yellow Oriole Icterus nigrogularis is mostly yellow with a black throat. Venezuelan Troupial Icterus icterus is orange with a white wing patch.
Habitat
Swamps, savannas and forest edges with moriche palms; the birds often forage and nest in these palms. Usually alone or in pairs, and often seen near its palms.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
In the Caribbean only on Trinidad, where it is rare and local in areas with moriche palms; whether this population results from recent colonisation or escaped cage birds is uncertain. Outside the region in the Amazon basin and the Guianas, with the form chrysocephalus in the north-west of that area, including eastern Venezuela.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Stands of moriche palms in swampy savanna are the place to look for it on Trinidad. The golden-yellow crown and rump stand out against the dark palm fronds.
Conservation status
Not globally threatened. On Trinidad the small population depends on the few areas with moriche palms.
Scientific name
Icterus cayanensis | (Linnaeus, 1766)
Linnaeus described the species in 1766 as O[riolus] cayanensis; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Icterus was introduced in 1760 by Brisson. Icterus is from Ancient Greek ikteros, a yellow bird usually taken to be the golden oriole, the sight of which was thought to cure jaundice. cayanensis is Latin for 'of Cayenne' in French Guiana, the type locality. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cayenne, French Guiana.