English             -             Crested Oropendola

Portuguese     -             Japu

Latin                -             Psarocolius decumanus

I have photographed the Crested Oropendola in 2 different locations around Brazil. The first time was in the west of the country and the second time was in the east of the country. The first location (photo No 1) was on a farm we visited called Pousada São João Ecotour, in the Pantanal. Even though it’s a pousada, where you can stay and see amazing wildlife,  it is also a working farm where you can get to see real live ”vaqueros” in action. Photographing the Crested Oropendola was a fleeting moment as I was under a tree, tying to keep cool from the 37 degree temperature that day and I noticed the Crested Oropendola landed above me. Managed to take a couple of photos before it flew away. The second time I photographed it (photo No 2) was on the other side of the country, near a town called Itacare, in the state of Bahia. We had just finished a day tour to a waterfall and a “remote” beach and we were walking down a track back to the our tour van when our guide pointed out a colony of Crested Oropendola nesting in a tree. They were quite hard to photograph as they were high, I had to point the camera upwards and with the weight of the camera + lens found it hard to keep it steady.

* The Crested Oropendola also known as the Suriname crested oropendola or the corn-bird.

* It is a medium-sized bird with a length of around 43 cm and weighs around 300g.

* The Crested Oropendola is almost silent outside the breeding season.  During breeding and nesting periods though  they can let out a “cr-crreeeEEEooooooooooo” like sound. 

* It is a resident breeder in South America east of the Andes, from Panama and Colombia, southwards to northern Argentina, 

* It lives in forest edges and clearings. It can be found in cultivated areas and plantations, and at the edges of mature tropical forests. Its habitat may be variable, but it needs tall nesting trees for nesting.

* It’s diet includes large insects, lizards, frogs, mice, millipedes, spiders, eggs, fruit and some nectar.

* Female lays 1 or 2 eggs. Incubation lasts about 19 days. Young fledge about 39 days after hatching. 

* Nests of the Crested Oropendola can be parasitised by Giant Cowbirds and Shiny Cowbirds.

* The Crested Oropendola is not endangered. Populations are stable but not so big. Their tropical habitat is regularly being reduced by human developments but they can adapt to new habitat. They are classified as a species ”of least concern”.