Icterid

The majority of icterid species live in the tropics, although a number of temperate forms exist, such as American blackbirds and the long-tailed meadowlark. The highest densities of breeding species are found in Colombia and in southern Mexico.[2] They inhabit a range of habitats, including scrub, swamp, forest, and savanna.[3] Temperate species are migratory, with many species that nest in the United States and Canada moving south into Mexico and Central America.

Breeding male Brewer's blackbird apparently gaping (see text) in soil

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 g (0.040 lb) in weight, while the largest is the Amazonian oropendola, the male of which measures 52 cm (20 in) and weighs about 550 g (1.21 lb). This variation is greater than in any other passerine family (unless the kinglet calyptura belongs with the cotingas, which would then have greater variation[4]). One unusual morphological adaptation shared by the icterids is gaping, where the skull is configured to allow them open their bills strongly rather than passively, allowing them to force open gaps to obtain otherwise hidden food.

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 similarly 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.[3]

Some species of icterid have become agricultural pests, for example red-winged blackbirds in the United States are considered the worst vertebrate pest 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.

Cacique and oropendola species are called paucar or similar names in Peru.[6][7] It is said that 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]

For more details, see List of icterid species.

FAMILY ICTERIDAE

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Dolichonyx Swainson, 1827	bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus
	Agelaius Vieillot, 1816	Red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus Red-shouldered blackbird, Agelaius assimilis Tricolored blackbird, Agelaius tricolor Tawny-shouldered blackbird, Agelaius humeralis Yellow-shouldered blackbird, Agelaius xanthomus
	Xanthopsar Ridgway, 1901	saffron-cowled blackbird, Xanthopsar flavus
	Agelasticus Cabanis, 1851	Pale-eyed blackbird, Agelasticus xanthophthalmus Yellow-winged blackbird, Agelasticus thilius Unicolored blackbird, Agelasticus cyanopus
	Chrysomus Swainson, 1837	Yellow-hooded blackbird, Chrysomus icterocephalus Chestnut-capped blackbird, Chrysomus ruficapillus
	Nesopsar P.L. Sclater, 1859	Jamaican blackbird, Nesopsar nigerrimus
	Sturnella Vieillot, 1816	Eastern meadowlark, Sturnella magna Lilian's meadowlark, S. m. lilianae Western meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
	Leistes Vigors, 1825	Red-breasted meadowlark, Leistes militaris White-browed meadowlark, Leistes superciliaris Peruvian meadowlark, Leistes bellicosus Pampas meadowlark, Leistes defillippi Long-tailed meadowlark, Leistes loyca
	Xanthocephalus Bonaparte, 1850	yellow-headed blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
	Dives Cassin, 1867	Cuban blackbird, Dives atroviolacea Melodious blackbird, Dives dives Scrub blackbird, Dives warszewiczi
	Euphagus Cassin, 1867	Brewer's blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus Rusty blackbird, Euphagus carolinus
	Quiscalus Vieillot, 1816	Boat-tailed grackle, Quiscalus major Common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula Great-tailed grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus Nicaraguan grackle, Quiscalus nicaraguensis Greater Antillean grackle, Quiscalus niger Carib grackle, Quiscalus lugubris † Slender-billed grackle, Quiscalus palustris
	Agelaioides Cassin, 1866	Grayish baywing, Agelaioides badius Pale baywing, Agelaioides fringillarius
	Molothrus Swainson, 1832	Screaming cowbird, Molothrus rufoaxillaris Giant cowbird, Molothrus oryzivorus Bronzed cowbird, Molothrus aeneus Shiny cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis Brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater
	Icterus Brisson, 1760	30 species
	Amblycercus Cabanis, 1851	yellow-billed cacique, Amblycercus holosericeus
	Cassiculus Swainson, 1827	Mexican cacique or yellow-winged cacique, Cassiculus melanicterus
	Cacicus Lacepede, 1799	Yellow-rumped cacique, Cacicus cela Red-rumped cacique, Cacicus haemorrhous Scarlet-rumped cacique, Cacicus uropygialis Subtropical cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis) uropygialis Scarlet-rumped cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis) microrhynchus Pacific cacique, Cacicus (uropygialis/microrhynchus) pacificus Selva cacique, Cacicus koepckeae Golden-winged cacique, Cacicus chrysopterus Mountain cacique, Cacicus chrysonotus Southern mountain cacique, Cacicus (chrysonotus) chrysonotus Northern mountain cacique, Cacicus (chrysonotus) leucoramphus Ecuadorian cacique, Cacicus sclateri Solitary cacique, Cacicus solitarius Band-tailed oropendola, Cacicus latirostris Casqued oropendola, Cacicus oseryi
	Psarocolius Wagler, 1827	Black oropendola, Psarocolius guatimozinus Chestnut-headed oropendola, Psarocolius wagleri Russet-backed oropendola, Psarocolius angustifrons Dusky-green oropendola, Psarocolius atrovirens Green oropendola, Psarocolius viridis Crested oropendola, Psarocolius decumanus Montezuma oropendola, Psarocolius montezuma Baudo oropendola, Psarocolius cassini Olive oropendola, Psarocolius bifasciatus
	Gymnomystax L. Reichenbach, 1850	oriole blackbird, Gymnomystax mexicanus
	Pseudoleistes P.L. Sclater, 1862	Yellow-rumped marshbird, Pseudoleistes guirahuro Brown-and-yellow marshbird, Pseudoleistes virescens
	Amblyramphus Leach, 1814	scarlet-headed blackbird, Amblyramphus holosericeus
	Hypopyrrhus Bonaparte, 1850	red-bellied grackle, Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
	Curaeus (PL Sclater, 1862)	austral blackbird,Curaeus curaeus
	Anumara Powell et al., 2014	Forbes's Blackbird, Anumara forbesi
	Gnorimopsar Richmond, 1908	chopi blackbird, Gnorimopsar chopi
	Oreopsar WL Sclater, 1939	Bolivian blackbird, Oreopsar bolivianus
	Lampropsar Cabanis, 1847	velvet-fronted grackle, Lampropsar tanagrinus
	Macroagelaius Cassin, 1866	Golden-tufted mountain grackle, Macroagelaius imthurni Colombian mountain grackle, Macroagelaius subalaris

Prehistoric icterid genera that have been described from Pleistocene fossil remains are Pandanaris from Rancho La Brea and Pyelorhamphus from Shelter Cave.

• Jaramillo, Alvaro & Burke, Peter (1999): New World Blackbirds. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
• Price, J. Jordan & Lanyon, Scott M. (2002): A robust phylogeny of the oropendolas: Polyphyly revealed by mitochondrial sequence data. Auk 119(2): 335–348. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0335:ARPOTO]2.0.CO;2 PDF fulltext
• Bosque de Protección Alto Mayo - Perfil de Parque - Biodiversidad, ParksWatch, 2004, retrieved 2007-09-28. English version (not containing the word paucar).

• Powell, A.F.L.A.; Barker, F.K.; Lanyon, S.M.; Burns, K.J.; Klicka, J.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "A comprehensive species-level molecular phylogeny of the New World blackbirds (Icteridae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 94–112. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.009. PMID 24291659.
• Remsen, J.V. Jr.; Powell, A.F.L.A.; Schodde, R.; Barker, F.K.; Lanyon, S.M. (2016). "A revised classification of the Icteridae (Aves) based on DNA sequence data". Zootaxa. 4093 (2): 285–292. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4093.2.9. PMID 27394496.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Icterus.

• New World Blackbirds (Icteridae) - videos, photos and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
• Icteridae - Tree of Life Web Project