Venezuelan Troupial

Appearance

Troupials are fairly large in size, with a long tail and a bulky bill. It has a black head and upper breast. The feathers on the front of the neck and upper breast stick outward, making an uneven boundary between the black and the orange of the bird's lower breast and underside. The rest of the orange color is found on the upper and lower back, separated by the black shoulders. The wings are mostly black except for a white streak that runs the length of the wing when in a closed position. The eyes are yellow, and surrounding each one, there is a patch of bright, blue, naked skin.

Naming

In addition to the description above, there are four subspecies. Individuals of "I. i. metae" have more orange on the back and a black line that divides the lengthwise white wing-stripe in half. Individuals of "I. i. ridgwayi" are generally stronger and larger in proportion to the other subspecies. Sometimes "I. croconotus", with "ridgwayi", and "I. jamacaii", with "metae", are considered separate species. In that case, "I. icterus" is called the Venezuelan Troupial.

Habitat

Troupials inhabit dry areas like woodlands, gallery forest, dry scrub, plains, and open savannah where they forage for insects, a wide variety of fruit, small birds and eggs. Generally they can be found in central South America with some of the subspecies to the northern and eastern extremes of the continent.

Reproduction

Venezuelan Troupials breed from March to September. They do not construct their own nests, but are instead obligate nest pirates. This means that they make no nest of their own, but instead must either find a vacant nest, or must drive the adults away from an active nest. Venezuelan Troupials are capable of violent attacks against established nesters. Upon taking over a nest, they may eat any eggs or young nestlings remaining the newly acquired nest, and will fiercely defend the area against would-be intruders. Eventually the adult Troupials go on to produce their own clutch of 3 to 4 eggs that hatch after about two weeks of incubation.