Olive Oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus yuracares)
Olive Oropendola, Thaimaçu, Pará, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image Thaimaçu, Pará, Brazil
April 2003

The Olive Oropendola is distributed in the Amazon Basin with the exception of the area north of the Amazon river and east of Manaus.

Some authorities such as Jaramillo & Burke, split the species into Olive Oropendola Psarocolius yuracares and Pará Oropendola Psarocolius bifasciatus which is found in lower Amazonia. Others such as Ridgely & Tudor, Haffer and the Brazilian Ornithological Records Comittee treat them as sub-species.

It is found in terra firme forest and forest edges.

Olive Oropendola, Thaimaçu, Pará, Brazil, April 2003 - click for larger image It has a black bill with a bright orange-red tip and it has a bright pink bare patch on the cheek. The back and wings are chestnut while the neck head and underparts are olive. Its long tail is yellow from below.

It nests in small colonies where it builds long, hanging basket nests. The bowing display, which it shares with other Oropendolas, is quite spectacular and is accompanied by a very distinctive song.

There are illustrations in Ridgely & Tudor, Plate 23 and Jaramillo & Burke, Plate 2.
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