Icteridae:  Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Orioles, and Oropendolas

Venezuelan Troupial.  © Steven Mlodinow

The “icterids” are a large, diverse family of songbirds found in varied habitats throughout most of the Americas.  Their most prominent shared trait is a long, thin bill that tapers to a sharp tip.

Some species groups are wetland or grassland specialists, some are restricted to forests, and others are generalists that adapt readily to urban lifestyles.  Some are highly social and nest colonially, and some of these build enormous nests.  Some build no nest at all, but instead reproduce parasitically, laying their eggs in the nests of other birds.

Many icterid species are highly vocal and conspicuous. These species include some of the most numerous birds in the Americas, such as the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) and Common (Quiscalus quiscula) and Great-tailed (Q. mexicanus) Grackles.

Identification

Icterids present an array of identification challenges.  Most species groups include several similar forms that differ only in subtle details.  In particular, the meadowlarks, oropendolas, blackbirds, and grackles all include clusters of species that are often indistinguishable by sight alone.

Taxonomy

Recent advances in the understanding of relationships within the Icteridae suggest that there are seven distinct lineages that can be regarded as subfamilies:

Xanthoncephalinae: Yellow-headed Blackbird (1 species)

Dolichonychinae: Bobolink (1 species)

Sturnellinae: Meadowlarks (7 to 9 species)

Amblycercinae: Yellow-billed Cacique (1 or 2 species)

Cacicinae: Caciques and oropendolas (22 to 27 species)

Icterinae: Orioles (33 to 40 species)

Agelaiinae: Blackbirds, grackles, and cowbirds (43 to 48 living species, plus 1 extinct)

The family therefore consists of somewhere between 108 and 128 species (plus one recently extinct).

Several icterids invite further study and taxonomic reconsideration, as has occurred in recent years with family members that include: the former Northern Oriole, now recognized as three distinct species (Bullock’s, Baltimore, and Black-backed); the former Black-cowled Oriole, now split into five species (Black-cowled, Bahama, Cuban, Hispaniolan, and Puerto Rican); and the former Troupial, now regarded as three species (Venezuelan, Campo, and Orange-backed Troupials).

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)

“Eastern Meadowlark” (S. m. magna)

“Cuban Meadowlark” (S. m. hippocrepis)

“Lilian’s Meadowlark” (S. m. lilianae)

Red-breasted Blackbird (Leistes militaris)

White-browed Blackbird (Leistes superciliaris)

Peruvian Meadowlark (Leistes bellicosa)

Long-tailed Meadowlark (Leistes loyca)

Pampas Meadowlark (Leistes defilippii)

Yellow-billed Cacique (Amblycercus holosericeus)

“Prevost’s Cacique” (A. h. holosericeus)

“Chapman’s Cacique” (A. h. australis)

Yellow-winged Cacique (Cassiculus melanicterus)

Chestnut-headed Oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri)

Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons)

“Russet-backed Oropendola” (P. a. angustifrons)

“Yellow-billed Oropendola” (P. a. alfredi)

Dusky-green Oropendola (Psarocolius atrovirens)

Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus)

Green Oropendola (Psarocolius viridis)

Olive Oropendola (Psarocolius bifasciatus)

“Amazonian Oropendola” (P. b. yuracares)

“Pará Oropendola” (P. b. bifasciatus)

Montezuma Oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma)

Black Oropendola (Psarocolius guatimozinus)

Baudó Oropendola (Psarocolius cassini)

Solitary Cacique (Cacicus solitarius)

Golden-winged Cacique (Cacicus chrysopterus)

Selva Cacique (Cacicus koepckeae)

Ecuadorian Cacique (Cacicus sclateri)

Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela)

“Saffron-rumped Cacique” (C. c. vitellinus)

“Yellow-rumped Cacique” (C. c. flavicrissus)

“Amazonian Cacique” (C. c. cela)

Scarlet-rumped Cacique (Cacicus microrhynchus)

“Scarlet-rumped Cacique” (C. m. microrhynchus)

“Pacific Cacique” (C. m. pacificus)

Subtropical Cacique (Cacicus uropygialis)

Northern Mountain Cacique (Cacicus leucoramphus)

Southern Mountain Cacique (Cacicus chrysonotus)

Band-tailed Oropendola (Cacicus latirostris)

Casqued Oropendola (Cacicus oseryi)

Red-rumped Cacique (Cacicus haemorrhous)

Scott’s Oriole (Icterus parisorum)

Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater)

Audubon’s Oriole (Icterus graduacauda)

“Audubon’s Oriole” (I. g. graduacauda)

“Dickey’s Oriole” (I. g. dickeyae)

Jamaican Oriole (Icterus leucopteryx)

Orange Oriole (Icterus auratus)

Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis)

Yellow Oriole (Icterus nigrogularis)

Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

Streak-backed Oriole (Icterus pustulatus)

“Scarlet-headed Oriole” (I. p. pustulatus)

“Tres Marías Oriole” (I. p. graysonii)

“Streak-backed Oriole” (I. p. sclateri)

Black-backed Oriole (Icterus abeillei)

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Yellow-tailed Oriole (Icterus mesomelas)

Spot-breasted Oriole (Icterus pectoralis)

White-edged Oriole (Icterus graceannae)

Venezuelan Troupial (Icterus icterus)

Orange-backed Troupial (Icterus croconotus)

Campo Troupial (Icterus jamacaii)

Bar-winged Oriole (Icterus maculialatus)

Black-vented Oriole (Icterus wagleri)

Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus)

“Eastern Hooded Oriole” (I. c. cucullatus)

“Western Hooded Oriole” (I. c. nelsoni)

“Yucatán Hooded Oriole” (I. c. igneus)

Black-cowled Oriole (Icterus prosthemelas)

Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)

Ochre Oriole (Icterus fuertesi)

Cuban Oriole (Icterus melanopsis)

Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi)

Martinique Oriole (Icterus bonana)

Puerto Rican Oriole (Icterus portoricensis)

Montserrat Oriole (Icterus oberi)

St. Lucia Oriole (Icterus laudabilis)

Hispaniolan Oriole (Icterus dominicensis)

Orange-crowned Oriole (Icterus auricapillus)

Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus)

“Yellow-shouldered Oriole” (I. p. tibialis)

“Chestnut-shouldered Oriole” (I. p. pyrrhopterus)

Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis)

“Moriche Oriole” (I. c. chrysocephalus)

“Epaulet Oriole” (I. c. cayanensis)

Jamaican Blackbird (Nesopsar nigerrimus)

Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus)

Tawny-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius humeralis)

Tricolored Blackbird (Agelaius tricolor)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

“Red-winged Blackbird” (A. p. phoeniceus)

“California Bicolored Blackbird” (A. p. californicus)

“Mexican Bicolored Blackbird” (A. p. gubernator)

Red-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius assimilis)

Screaming Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris)

Giant Cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus)

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)

Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus)

Bronze-brown Cowbird (Molothrus armenti)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Scrub Blackbird (Dives warszewiczi)

Melodious Blackbird (Dives dives)

Cuban Blackbird (Ptiloxena atroviolacea)

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)

Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)

Nicaraguan Grackle (Quiscalus nicaraguensis)

Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris)

“Carib Grackle” (Q. l. lugubris)

“Barbados Grackle” (Q. l. fortirostris)

Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger)

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)

Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)

Slender-billed Grackle (Quiscalus palustris) †

Red-bellied Grackle (Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster)

Velvet-fronted Grackle (Lampropsar tanagrinus)

“Velvet-fronted Grackle” (L. t. tanagrinus)

“Bolivian Grackle” (L. t. boliviensis)

“Violaceous Grackle” (L. t. violaceus)

Oriole Blackbird (Gymnomystax mexicanus)

Colombian Mountain Grackle (Macroagelaius subalaris)

Golden-tufted Mountain Grackle (Macroagelaius imthurni)

Austral Blackbird (Curaeus curaeus)

Scarlet-headed Blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus)

Forbes’s Blackbird (Anumara forbesi)

Chopi Blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi)

Bolivian Blackbird (Oreopsar bolivianus)

Grayish Baywing (Agelaioides badius)

Pale Baywing (Agelaioides fringillarius)

Yellow-winged Blackbird (Agelasticus thilius)

Pale-eyed Blackbird (Agelasticus xanthophthalmus)

Unicolored Blackbird (Agelasticus cyanopus)

Chestnut-capped Blackbird (Chrysomus ruficapillus)

Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus)

Saffron-cowled Blackbird (Xanthopsar flavus)

Brown-and-yellow Marshbird (Pseudoleistes virescens)

Yellow-rumped Marshbird (Pseudoleistes guirahuro)

References

Boyd, J.H., 2017. Taxonomy in Flux: Core Passeroidea IV: Phaenicophilidae, Icteridae, Parulidae. http://jboyd.net/Taxo/List31.html. (Posted July 15, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2021.)

Jaramillo, A., and P. Burke. 1999. New World Blackbirds: The Icterids. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.

Powell, A.F.L.A., F.K. Barker, S.M. Lanyon, K.J. Burns, J. Klicka, and I.J. Lovette. 2014. A comprehensive species-level molecular phylogeny of the New World blackbirds (Icteridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71: 94-112.

Remsen, J.V., A.F.L.A. Powell, R. Schodde, F.K. Barker, and S.M. Lanyon. 2016. Revised classification of the Icteridae (Aves) based on DNA sequence data. Zootaxa 4093:285-292.

Roberson, D. 1999. Bird Families of the World: Icterids, Icteridae: The orioles, blackbirds, cowbirds and allies, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/icterids.html. (Posted October 15, 1999. Accessed December 29, 2017.)