Troupial
Encyclopedia
The Troupial Icterus icterus is the national bird of Venezuela
and one of about 25 or so species of "New World Orioles". It is found across South America
east of the Andes
, from Colombia
, Venezuela and the Guianas down to Argentina
.
This bird can also found on Aruba
, Bonaire Puerto Rico and Curaçao
.
s, gallery forest, dry scrub, llanos
and open savannah where they forage for insect
s, a wide variety of fruit, small birds and eggs. Generally they can be found in central South America with some of the subspecies to the northern and eastern extremes of the continent.
nest pirates. This means that they make no nest of their own, but instead must either find a vacant nest, or must drive the adults away from an active nest. Venezuelan Troupials are capable of violent attacks against established nesters. Upon taking over a nest, they may eat any eggs or young nestlings remaining the newly acquired nest, and will fiercely defend the area against would-be intruders. Eventually the adult Troupials go on to produce their own clutch of 3 to 4 eggs that hatch after about two weeks of incubation.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and one of about 25 or so species of "New World Orioles". It is found across South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
east of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela and the Guianas down to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
This bird can also found on Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Bonaire Puerto Rico and Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
Description
Troupials are fairly large in size, with a long tail and a bulky bill. It has a black head and upper breast. The feathers on the front of the neck and upper breast stick outward, making an uneven boundary between the black and the orange of the bird's lower breast and underside. The rest of the orange color is found on the upper and lower back, separated by the black shoulders. The wings are mostly black except for a white streak that runs the length of the wing when in a closed position. The eyes are yellow, and surrounding each one, there is a patch of bright, blue, naked skin.Subspecies
In addition to the description above, there are four subspecies (I. i. metae, I. i. ridgwayi, I. i. croconotus and I. i. jamacaii). Individuals of I. i. metae have more orange on the back and a black line that divides the lengthwise white wing-stripe in half. Individuals of I. i. ridgwayi are generally stronger and larger in proportion to the other subspecies. Sometimes I. croconotus, with ridgwayi, and I. jamacaii, with metae, are considered separate species (Orange-backed Troupial and Campo Troupial, respectively). In that case, I. icterus is called the Venezuelan Troupial.Habitat
Troupials inhabit dry areas like woodlandWoodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s, gallery forest, dry scrub, llanos
Llanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
and open savannah where they forage for insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, a wide variety of fruit, small birds and eggs. Generally they can be found in central South America with some of the subspecies to the northern and eastern extremes of the continent.
Breeding
Venezuelan Troupials breed from March to September. They do not construct their own nests, but are instead obligateObligate
Obligate means "by necessity" and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as:* Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen* Obligate anaerobe, an organism that cannot survive in the presence of oxygen...
nest pirates. This means that they make no nest of their own, but instead must either find a vacant nest, or must drive the adults away from an active nest. Venezuelan Troupials are capable of violent attacks against established nesters. Upon taking over a nest, they may eat any eggs or young nestlings remaining the newly acquired nest, and will fiercely defend the area against would-be intruders. Eventually the adult Troupials go on to produce their own clutch of 3 to 4 eggs that hatch after about two weeks of incubation.