Yellow-rumped Marshbird

Pseudoleistes guirahuro

The Yellow-rumped Marshbird (Pseudoleistes guirahuro) is a striking medium-sized passerine of the family Icteridae, renowned for its vivid plumage. Measuring about 21-25 cm (8.3-9.8 in) in length and weighing approximately 65-80g (2.3-2.8 oz), this species presents a largely dark, glossy black or dark brownish-black body, beautifully contrasted by a bright, canary-yellow rump and equally brilliant yellow shoulder patches (epaulets) on its wings. Its strong, conical bill is dark, and its legs ...

Habitat

Primarily found in freshwater marshes, wet grasslands, swamps, rice fields, and damp pasturelands, generally at low elevations below 1000 meters. They thrive in areas with dense emergent vegetation near open water.

Diet

Primarily insectivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates including beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and spiders. They also consume some seeds, grains, and occasionally small vertebrates or carrion, primarily through ground gleaning and probing.

Behavior

Diurnal, Yellow-rumped Marshbirds are active foragers during the day and typically form communal roosts in dense reedbeds or thickets at night. They are primarily ground foragers, walking on the ground or through shallow water, probing into soft mud or soil with their strong bills, and gleaning i...

Range

The Yellow-rumped Marshbird is a resident species found across a broad swathe of southeastern South America. Its primary breeding and year-round range extends from southeastern Brazil (south of the state of Minas Gerais) through Paraguay and Uruguay, and into northeastern Argentina. It is particu...

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Fun Facts

- The Yellow-rumped Marshbird is one of only two species in the genus Pseudoleistes, making it a unique lineage among New World blackbirds. - Its brilliant yellow rump and shoulder patches are often the first thing birders notice, standing out strikingly against its dark body, earning it its comm...

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