Bird Guide

Crested Oropendola vs Russet-backed Oropendola

Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus)

Crested Oropendola

Psarocolius decumanus

Medium206 gForest

Male crested oropendolas of the nominate subspecies P. d. decumanus average 47 cm (19 in) long and females 37 cm (15 in). Males weigh about 285 g (10 oz) and females about 160 g (5.6 oz). Adult males have long feathers on their nape that form a crest. They are mostly a slightly glossy black with a chesnut rump, uppertail coverts, and undertail coverts. Their central pair of tail feathers are black and the rest yellow. Adult females are overall duller than males; they are brownish tinged rather than pure black and have a minimal crest. Voice: The male crested oropendola's display song "usually starts with low-pitched liquid notes, accelerates into variable and complex rattling crescendo, and ends with 2–3 seconds of rhythmic wing-flaps". One description calls it "very complex, including very high, rapid, staccato flutes and liquid curls".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Crested Oropendola
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz @rosaelena_naturaleza · Wing song · Colonia Vacacional, Vargas, La Guaira, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: Martha Lucia Ortiz-Moreno · CC BY 4.0
Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons)

Russet-backed Oropendola

Psarocolius angustifrons

Medium272 gForest

Russet-backed oropendola males are 44 to 48 cm (17 to 19 in) long and females 34 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in). Males weigh about 250 to 470 g (8.8 to 17 oz) and females about 170 to 230 g (6.0 to 8.1 oz). Adult males have long feathers on their nape that form a crest and females do not; their plumage is otherwise the same. Adult males of the nominate subspecies P. a. angustifrons have an olivaceous-brown head and a mostly brown body and wings with a russet tinge. Their rump and uppertail coverts are paler russet-brown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Russet-backed Oropendola
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: near Panguri, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Bill Levine · cc-by

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Crested Oropendola and Russet-backed Oropendola.