From en.wikipedia.org:
[Family of birds, often black with yellow, orange, or red markings]
[Icteriidae] [date=May 2014] {{Automatic taxobox
| name = Icterids
| image = Bullock's Oriole.jpg
| image_caption = Adult male Bullock's oriole
| taxon = Icteridae
| authority = Vigors, 1825
| type_genus = _Icterus_
| type_genus_authority = Brisson, 1760
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = 30, See text
}}
ICTERIDS ([ˈ]) or NEW WORLD BLACKBIRDS make up a family, the ICTERIDAE ([ɪ]),
of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. The
family contains 108 species and is divided into 30 genera. Most species have
black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or
red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behavior, and
coloration.
** Etymology
The name, meaning "jaundiced ones" (from the prominent yellow feathers of many
species) comes from the [grc] - _íkteros_ via the [la].
*** Relationship to other species
This group includes the New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the bobolink,
meadowlarks, grackles, cowbirds, oropendolas, and caciques. Despite the
similar names, the first groups are only distantly related to the Old World
common blackbird (a thrush) or to the Old World orioles. The Icteridae are
not to be confused with the Icteriidae, a family created in 2017 and
consisting of one species — the yellow-breasted chat (_Icteria virens_).[1]
** Characteristics
Most icterid species live in the tropics, although many species also occur in
temperate regions, such as the red-winged blackbird and the long-tailed
meadowlark. The highest densities of breeding species are found in Colombia
and southern Mexico.[2] They inhabit a range of habitats, including scrub,
swamp, forest, and savanna.<ref name=EoB/> Temperate species are migratory,
with many species that nest in the United States and Canada moving south into
Mexico and Central America.
Icterids are variable in size, and often display considerable sexual
dimorphism, with brighter coloration and greater size in males being typical.
While such dimorphism is widely known in passerines, the sexual dimorphism by
size is uniquely extreme in icterids. For example, the male great-tailed
grackle is 60% heavier than the female. The smallest icterid species is the
orchard oriole, in which the female averages 15 cm in length (6 in) and [18]
in weight, while the largest is the Amazonian oropendola, the male of which
measures [52] and weighs about [550]. This variation is greater than in any
other passerine family (unless the kinglet calyptura belongs with the
cotingas, which would then have greater variation[3]). One unusual
morphological adaptation shared by the icterids is gaping, where the skull is
configured to allow them to open their bills strongly rather than passively,
allowing them to force open gaps to obtain otherwise hidden food. Most
icterids have rounded tails and lack rictal bristles. They have nine primary
feathers[4] and are placed among the nine-primaried oscines.
Icterids have adapted to taking a wide range of foods. Oropendolas and
caciques use their gaping motion to open the skins of fruit to obtain the soft
insides, and have long bills adapted to the process. Others such as cowbirds
and the bobolink have shorter, stubbier bills for crushing seeds. The
Jamaican blackbird uses its bill to pry amongst tree bark and epiphytes, and
has adopted the evolutionary niche filled elsewhere in the Neotropics by
woodcreepers. Orioles drink nectar.
The nesting habits of these birds are also variable, including pendulous woven
nests in the oropendolas and orioles. Many icterids are colonial, nesting in
colonies of up to 100,000 birds. Some cowbird species engage in brood
parasitism; females lay their eggs in the nests of other species, in a similar
fashion to some cuckoos.<ref name=EoB>[editor=Forshaw, Joseph]
Some species of icterid have become agricultural pests; for example,
red-winged blackbirds in the United States are considered the worst vertebrate
pests on some crops, such as rice.[5] The cost of controlling blackbirds in
California was $30 per acre in 1994. Not all species have been as successful,
and a number of species are threatened with extinction. These include insular
forms such as the Jamaican blackbird, yellow-shouldered blackbird, and St
Lucia oriole, all threatened by habitat loss; and the tricolored blackbird of
California, which is threatened by habitat loss and destruction of nests.
** Folklore
Cacique and oropendola species are called _paucar_ or similar names in
Peru.[6][7] As _paucares_ are considered very intelligent, Native Americans
feed the brains to their children to make them fast learners.[8] As the male
plays no part in nesting and care of the young, a man who does not work may be
called a "male _paucar_".[9]
** Taxonomy
[List of icterid species]
The family group was introduced in 1825 as a subfamily Icterina by Irish
zoologist Nicholas Vigors. He placed the subfamily in the starling family
Sturnidae.[10]
A phylogenetic analysis of the passerine families by Carl Oliveros and
collaborators published in 2019 found that the family Icteridae was sister to
the family Icteriidae (containing the yellow breasted chat) and together these
two families formed a clade that was sister to the New World warbler family
Parulidae.[11] {{Clade | style=font-size:100%;line-height:100% |1={{clade
|1=Parulidae – New World warblers (120 species)
|2={{clade
|1=Icteriidae – yellow breasted chat
|2= ICTERIDAE
}}
}}
}}
The genus level cladogram shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic
study by Alexis Powell and collaborators that was published in 2014. The
study compared mitochondrial gene sequences.[12] The subfamilies are those
that were proposed in 2016 by Van Remsen and collaborators.[13] The numbers of
species are taken from the list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and
David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee
(IOC).<ref name=ioc>[ editor1-last=Gill ] {{Clade |
style=font-size:90%;line-height:90% |label1= ICTERIDAE |1={{clade
|1={{clade
|label1=Xanthocephalinae
|1=_Xanthocephalus_ – yellow-headed blackbird
|2={{clade
|label1=Dolichonychinae
|1=_Dolichonyx_ – bobolink
|label2=Sturnellinae
|2={{clade
|1=_Sturnella_ – meadow larks (3 species)
|2=_Leistes_ – blackbirds and meadowlarks (5 species)
}}
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|label1=Amblycercinae
|1=_Amblycercus_ – yellow-billed cacique
|label2=Cassicinae
|2={{clade
|1=_Cassiculus_ – Mexican cacique
|2={{clade
|1=_Psarocolius_ – oropendolas (9 species)
|2=_Cacicus_ – Caciques and oropendolas (11 species)
}}
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|label1=Icterinae
|1=_Icterus_ – orioles (32 species)
|label2=Agelaiinae
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=_Nesopsar_ – Jamaican blackbird
|2=_Agelaius_ – (5 species)
}}
|2={{clade
|1=_Molothrus_ – cowbirds (6 species)
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=_Dives_ – blackbirds (2 species)
|2={{clade
|1=_Ptiloxena_ – Cuban blackbird
|2={{clade
|1=_Euphagus_ – blackbirds (2 species)
|2=_Quiscalus_ – grackles (7 species)
}}
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=_Lampropsar_ – velvet-fronted grackle
|2=_Hypopyrrhus_ – red-bellied grackle
}}
|2={{clade
|1=_Gymnomystax_ – oriole blackbird
|2=_Macroagelaius_ – mountain grackles (2 species)
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=_Amblyramphus_ – scarlet-headed blackbird
|2=_Curaeus_ – austral blackbird
}}
|2={{clade
|1=_Anumara_ – Forbes's blackbird
|2={{clade
|1=_Gnorimopsar_ – chopi blackbird
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=_Agelaioides_ – baywings (2 species)
|2=_Oreopsar_ – Bolivian blackbird
}}
|2={{clade
|1=_Agelasticus_ – blackbirds (3 species)
|2={{clade
|1=_Chrysomus_ – blackbirds (2 species)
|2={{clade
|1=_Xanthopsar_ – saffron-cowled blackbird
|2=_Pseudoleistes_ – marshbirds (2 species)
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
** Genera
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Genus !! Living Species |-
|175px||_XANTHOCEPHALUS_ [Bonaparte, 1850]||
- Yellow-headed blackbird , _Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus_
|- |175px||_DOLICHONYX_ [Swainson, 1827]||
- Bobolink , _Dolichonyx oryzivorus_
|- |175px||_STURNELLA_ [Vieillot, 1816]||
- Western meadowlark , _Sturnella neglecta_
- Eastern meadowlark , _Sturnella magna_
- Lilian's meadowlark , _Sturnella lilianae_
|- |175px||_LEISTES_ [Vigors, 1825]||
- Red-breasted meadowlark , _Leistes militaris_
- White-browed meadowlark , _Leistes superciliaris_
- Peruvian meadowlark , _Leistes bellicosus_
- Long-tailed meadowlark , _Leistes loyca_
- Pampas meadowlark , _Leistes defilippii_
|- |175px||_AMBLYCERCUS_ [Cabanis, 1851]||
- Yellow-billed cacique, _Amblycercus holosericeus_
|- |175px||_CASSICULUS_ [Swainson, 1827]||
- Mexican cacique or yellow-winged cacique, _Cassiculus melanicterus_
|- |175px||_PSAROCOLIUS_ [Wagler, 1827]||
- Chestnut-headed oropendola , _Psarocolius wagleri_
- Russet-backed oropendola , _Psarocolius angustifrons_
- Dusky-green oropendola , _Psarocolius atrovirens_
- Crested oropendola , _Psarocolius decumanus_
- Green oropendola , _Psarocolius viridis_
- Olive oropendola , _Psarocolius bifasciatus_
- Montezuma oropendola , _Psarocolius montezuma_
- Black oropendola , _Psarocolius guatimozinus_
- Baudo oropendola , _Psarocolius cassini_
|- |175px||_CACICUS_ [Lacepede, 1799]||
- Solitary cacique , _Cacicus solitarius_
- Golden-winged cacique , _Cacicus chrysopterus_
- Selva cacique , _Cacicus koepckeae_
- Ecuadorian cacique , _Cacicus sclateri_
- Yellow-rumped cacique , _Cacicus cela_
- Scarlet-rumped cacique , _Cacicus microrhynchus_
- Subtropical cacique , _Cacicus uropygialis_
- Mountain cacique , _Cacicus chrysonotus_
- Band-tailed oropendola , _Cacicus latirostris_
- Casqued oropendola , _Cacicus oseryi_
- Red-rumped cacique , _Cacicus haemorrhous_
|- |175px||_ICTERUS_ [Brisson, 1760]||
- 32 species
|- |175px||_NESOPSAR_ [P.L. Sclater, 1859]||
- Jamaican blackbird , _Nesopsar nigerrimus_
|- |175px||_AGELAIUS_ [Vieillot, 1816]||
- Yellow-shouldered blackbird , _Agelaius xanthomus_
- Tawny-shouldered blackbird , _Agelaius humeralis_
- Tricolored blackbird , _Agelaius tricolor_
- Red-winged blackbird , _Agelaius phoeniceus_
- Red-shouldered blackbird , _Agelaius assimilis_
|- |175px||_MOLOTHRUS_ [Swainson, 1832]||
- Screaming cowbird , _Molothrus rufoaxillaris_
- Giant cowbird , _Molothrus oryzivorus_
- Shiny cowbird , _Molothrus bonariensis_
- Bronzed cowbird , _Molothrus aeneus_
- Bronze-brown cowbird , _Molothrus armenti_
- Brown-headed cowbird , _Molothrus ater_
|- |175px||_DIVES_ [Cassin, 1867]||
- Scrub blackbird , _Dives warczewiczi_
- Melodious blackbird , _Dives dives_
|- |frameless |_PTILOXENA_ <small>Chapman, 1892</small> |
- Cuban blackbird , _Ptiloxena atroviolacea_
|- |175px||_EUPHAGUS_ [Cassin, 1867]||
- Rusty blackbird , _Euphagus carolinus_
- Brewer's blackbird , _Euphagus cyanocephalus_
|- |175px||_QUISCALUS_ [Vieillot, 1816]||
- Common grackle , _Quiscalus quiscula_
- Nicaraguan grackle , _Quiscalus nicaraguensis_
- Carib grackle , _Quiscalus lugubris_
- Greater Antillean grackle , _Quiscalus niger_
- Boat-tailed grackle , _Quiscalus major_
- Great-tailed grackle , _Quiscalus mexicanus_
- † Slender-billed grackle , _Quiscalus palustris_
|- |175px||_HYPOPYRRHUS_ [Bonaparte, 1850]||
- Red-bellied grackle , _Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster_
|- |||_LAMPROPSAR_ [Cabanis, 1847]||
- Velvet-fronted grackle , _Lampropsar tanagrinus_
|- |175px||_GYMNOMYSTAX_ [Reichenbach, 1850]||
- Oriole blackbird , _Gymnomystax mexicanus_
|- |175px||_MACROAGELAIUS_ [Cassin, 1866]||
- Colombian mountain grackle , _Macroagelaius subalaris_
- Golden-tufted mountain grackle , _Macroagelaius imthurni_
|- |175px||_CURAEUS_ [PL Sclater, 1862]||
- Austral blackbird , _Curaeus curaeus_
|- |175px||_AMBLYRAMPHUS_ [Leach, 1814]||
- Scarlet-headed blackbird , _Amblyramphus holosericeus_
|- |175px||_ANUMARA_ [Powell et al., 2014]||
- Forbes's Blackbird , _Anumara forbesi_
|- |175px||_GNORIMOPSAR_ [Richmond, 1908]||
- Chopi blackbird , _Gnorimopsar chopi_
|- |||_OREOPSAR_ [WL Sclater, 1939]||
- Bolivian blackbird , _Oreopsar bolivianus_
|- |175px||_AGELAIOIDES_ [Cassin, 1866]||
- Grayish baywing , _Agelaioides badius_
- Pale baywing , _Agelaioides fringillarius_
|- |175px||_AGELASTICUS_ [Cabanis, 1851]||
- Yellow-winged blackbird , _Agelasticus thilius_
- Pale-eyed blackbird , _Agelasticus xanthophthalmus_
- Unicolored blackbird , _Agelasticus cyanopus_
|- |175px||_CHRYSOMUS_ [Swainson, 1837]||
- Chestnut-capped blackbird , _Chrysomus ruficapillus_
- Yellow-hooded blackbird , _Chrysomus icterocephalus_
|- |175px||_XANTHOPSAR_ [Ridgway, 1901]||
- Saffron-cowled blackbird , _Xanthopsar flavus_
|- |175px||_PSEUDOLEISTES_ [P.L. Sclater, 1862]||
- Brown-and-yellow marshbird , _Pseudoleistes virescens_
- Yellow-rumped marshbird , _Pseudoleistes guirahuro_
|- |}
Prehistoric icterid genera that have been described from Pleistocene fossil
remains are _Pandanaris_ from Rancho La Brea<!-- Condor49:22 --> and
_Pyelorhamphus_ from Shelter Cave.<!-- *Auk22:38; Condor35:15;49:22 -->
==References ==<!-- Auk123:211. Condor105:23,106:664. SystBiol44:409. -->
[Reflist]
** External links
[Icterus]
- New World Blackbirds (Icteridae) (see http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/new-world-blackbirds-icteridae) - videos, photos and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
- Icteridae (see http://tolweb.org/Icteridae/67292) - Tree of Life Web Project
[from=Q748159] [Authority control]
* Category:Birds of the Americas Category:Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward
Vigors