Species Fact Profile: Venezuelan Troupial (Icterus icterus)

                                                       Venezuelan Troupial

                                               Icterus icterus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Range: Northern South America (ranged centered on Venezuela, but also includes northern Colombia, as well as some islands of the Caribbean, (i.e. Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao).  Has been introduced to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and the US Virgin Islands

Habitat: Dry Woodland, Open Savannah, Scrub Forest, from sea level up to 500 meters elevation.  Found in plantations, gardens

Diet: Fruit (especially giant cacti), Insects, Eggs and Nestlings

Social Grouping: Pairs, Small Flocks

Reproduction: Monogamous, pairs staying together throughout the year.  Males sing to establish territories, vigorously defended from other birds.  Breed from March through September (year-round in the Caribbean.  Clutch of 3-4 eggs (whitish or pinkish with dark spots towards the bottom) incubated for 2 weeks.  Chicks fledge at 21-23 days.  Both parents care for chicks. 

Lifespan: 10-15 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

• Adult body length 22.5 centimeters.  Weight 56-82 grams.  Males often larger than females, but can’t reliably be sexed by size.  Wedge-shaped tail, chisel-like beak
• Sexes alike.  The head and tail are black, as are the wings, except for a white streak (runs the edge of the wing when the wing is closed) and orange epaulet on each wing.  The breast and back are bright orange.  Feathers on the neck and upper breast stick outward, making an uneven boundary between the black and orange sections.  When singing, the hackles of the throat stand out even further, giving a distinctive appearance.  The eyes are yellow, surrounded by a bare patch of blue skin.  Juveniles resemble adults, but are somewhat duller 
• Will visit suburban bird feeders.  Will also visit plantations, sometimes becoming an agricultural pest
• Obligate nest parasites, either using empty nests or driving other birds from their nests (especially common thornbird and great kiskadee, but also caciques, oropendolas), sometimes violently.  Some stolen nests are used for raising young, others for sleeping/roosting.  Upon ousting the previous occupants, they may eat the eggs or nestlings that are left behind. 
• Common name comes from the French troupiale for “troop,” probably because these birds live in flocks.  The Latin name come from the Greek ikteros for “jaundice” due to the ancient belief that the sight of some yellow birds (probably the Eurasian golden oriole) could treat jaundice
• Once just called the troupial, this bird is often now referred to as the Venezuelan troupial, reflecting the recent break up on Icterus icterus as a superspecies of three closely related species (other two being I. jamaicaii and I. croconotus).  This species in turn has three subspecies – the nominate, I. i. ridgwayi, and I. i. metae, varying slightly in size and coloration
• The National Bird of Venezuela, depicted on the 500 Bolivar Soberano note
• Excellent singing bird (sometimes called the “bugle bird”), popularly kept as a cage bird.  Pairs sing duets, and are capable of mimicking the songs of other birds