Trinidad: Crested Oropendola

Lots of birds have bright color in the iris of the eye, from the red seen in grebes to the turquoise of the cormorants. The glowing sapphire eye of the Crested Oropendola ranks among the most beautiful we've ever seen. Never did get a good shot of one of these active birds, but I've included on to show the rump and tail.

"Yellowtail" is another common name for the Crested Oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus insularis. It's a big bird in the Blackbird family (Icteridae), with the male at 17" and the female 13". The male supposedly has a crest, but I never saw one, although this common species was seen often on both islands. The female builds a strong hanging basket of a nest, almost always with a group of other Oropendolas, as these gregarious birds are extremely colonial. Both sexes are promiscuous - not a real common mating strategy, but perhaps one serving to reduce community conflicts? These omnivorous birds take insects, berries, flowers, fruits and even nestling birds. Their ivory bills are almost as impressive as their eyes, and the long bright yellow tail makes it easy to spot.

Oropendolas are widely distributed in the tropics and semitropics of the New World, from southern Mexico to Amazonia. There are 11 Oropendola species in three genus Psarocolius. The Crested Oropendola has 4 subspecies, withC. d. insularis found only in Trinidad-Tobabo. It supposedly has the brightest chestnut-colored rump.

Some other Icterid species build similar hanging nest, including the Caciques and a number of the Orioles. The Crested Oropendola nests from January to May, and I managed a short video of one building a new nest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenblumin/8504781371/in/photostream