Montezuma Oropendola vs Russet-backed Oropendola

Montezuma Oropendola

Psarocolius montezuma

Large310 gForest

Adult males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and rump, and a tail which is bright yellow apart from two dark central feathers. There is a bare blue cheek patch and a pink wattle, the iris is brown, and the long bill is black at the base with a red tip. Females are similar, but smaller than males with a smaller wattle. Young birds are duller than adults and have a paler and less demarcated bill. No subspecies are currently recognized. Voice: The "unforgettable" song of the male Montezuma oropendola is given during the bowing display, and consists of a conversational bubbling followed by loud gurgles, tic-tic-glik-glak-GLUUuuuuu. Both sexes have loud cack and crrrk calls. In a recent study by on male Montezuma oropendolas, researchers found that, when at breeding sites, males often changed the lowest peak frequency.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Tommy Andriollo · CC BY 4.0

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

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

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