Cacicus haemorrhous
The Red-rumped Cacique (Cacicus haemorrhous) is a strikingly beautiful and vocal member of the New World blackbird family, Icteridae, recognized for its glossy black plumage contrasted dramatically by a vivid, fiery red rump and lower back. This medium-sized passerine measures approximately 25-28 cm (10-11 inches) in length and weighs between 70-80 grams, featuring a pale, conical, yellowish-white bill and piercing pale blue eyes that stand out against its dark head. Its most distinctive fiel...
This species primarily inhabits humid tropical and subtropical lowland and foothill forests, often favoring forest edges, clearings, and areas near water bodies. It can be found from sea level up to elevations of approximately 1500 meters.
The diet of the Red-rumped Cacique consists primarily of large insects, particularly caterpillars, beetles, and spiders, supplemented with a significant amount of fruit. They also consume nectar from various flowering plants, often foraging by gleaning from leaves and branches.
Red-rumped Caciques are highly social, diurnal birds, often seen in pairs, small groups, or joining mixed-species foraging flocks in the forest canopy and subcanopy. They are colonial breeders, constructing elaborate, pendulous, sac-like nests, typically woven from plant fibers, which can hang up...
The Red-rumped Cacique boasts a wide distribution across the Amazon Basin and adjacent regions of South America, primarily as a resident species. Its breeding range encompasses eastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana), eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, nort...
Least Concern
- The scientific name 'haemorrhous' directly translates to 'blood-red', referring to its striking crimson rump. - Their intricately woven, pendulous nests can be over a meter long, dangling like socks from tree branches. - Red-rumped Caciques often choose to build their colonial nests near active...