Bird Guide

Scarlet-rumped Cacique vs Solitary Cacique

Scarlet-rumped Cacique (Cacicus uropygialis)

Scarlet-rumped Cacique

Cacicus uropygialis

Medium61 gForest

The scarlet-rumped cacique is sexually dimorphic like many Icteridae, though it mainly concerns size in this species. Males are 23 cm (9 in) long and weigh 68 g (2.4 oz), while the female is 20 cm (8 in) long and weighs 53 g (1.9 oz); 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.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Scarlet-rumped Cacique
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Napo: 'Cabañas San Isidro', 1-2 km SW Cosanga, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: HarmonyonPlanetEarth · CC BY 2.0
Solitary Cacique (Cacicus solitarius)

Solitary Cacique

Cacicus solitarius

Medium80 gForest

The male solitary cacique has a length of about 27 cm (10.6 in) and the female 23 cm (9.1 in). It differs from all other entirely black birds with dark irises within its range, by having a large white, chisel-shaped, sharply-pointed beak. It could be confused with the Ecuadorian cacique (Cacicus sclateri), but that is smaller and has a restricted range, or the yellow-billed cacique (Amblycercus holosericeus), but that is not found east of the Andes. It has a range of different vocalizations which are mostly delivered at a measured pace but are sometimes interrupted by gurgles and growls.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Solitary Cacique
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Sucumbíos: 'La Selva Jungle Lodge', n bank Río Napo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Audrey Whitlock · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Scarlet-rumped Cacique and Solitary Cacique.