Agelaioides badius
The Greyish Baywing, a medium-sized passerine, is a distinctive member of the Icteridae family, though notably not a brood parasite like many of its cowbird relatives. Measuring around 18-20 cm (7-8 inches) in length and weighing 40-50 grams (1.4-1.8 oz), this species is easily identified by its soft greyish-brown body plumage contrasting sharply with striking bay-colored primary and secondary wing feathers. It possesses a relatively short, conical black bill and dark legs, with sexes appeari...
Found in a variety of semi-open habitats including woodlands, savannas, dry forests, shrublands, agricultural areas, and even urban parks, primarily at low to moderate elevations up to about 2,000 meters.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates, supplemented by seeds, grains, and some fruit, typically foraged by gleaning on the ground or from vegetation.
Greyish Baywings are highly social, diurnal birds, often seen foraging in small to large flocks, frequently associating with parasitic cowbirds and other Icterids. Their foraging strategy primarily involves gleaning insects and seeds from the ground and low vegetation, though they will also forag...
The Greyish Baywing is widely distributed across central and eastern South America. Its breeding range extends from central Bolivia east through southern Brazil (from southern Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais south to Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay, Uruguay, and across much of Argentina. Two recognized...
Least Concern
- The Greyish Baywing is one of the few Icterid species that is NOT a brood parasite, despite being closely related to cowbirds. - It rarely builds its own nest, instead almost exclusively reusing the abandoned, oven-like mud nests of the Rufous Hornero (Furnarius rufus). - This species practices...