The Story
I photographed this Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) at Hato El Diamante, near San Luis de Palenque, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It is black with a bright yellow rump, tail base, lower belly and shoulder patches, and it has blue eyes and a pale bill. It nests in colonies of up to 100 hanging bag nests in a single tree, which usually also holds an active wasp nest. Females build the nests and compete for the sites closest to the wasps’ protection. It eats large insects, spiders, nectar and fruit such as figs. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/3200 sec, f/9, ISO 6400. On the Pauto River at San Luis de Palenque, local guides take visitors by canoe to watch birds, reptiles, otters, monkeys and turtles.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) belongs to the family Icteridae (Troupials and Allies) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List
