The Story
I photographed this Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons) at the Mirador Turístico Don Yo, on the old road from Villavicencio to Bogotá, Colombia, in January 2020. It is a noisy, social bird that forages, nests and roosts in groups. Males are much larger than females and carry a crest of long nape feathers. It eats almost anything, from arthropods and frogs to fruit and nectar, and often searches bromeliads for prey. It nests in colonies, and the female weaves an open-topped bag nest of plant fibers that hangs from a branch. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though its numbers are believed to be falling.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. Villavicencio’s Bioparque Los Ocarros is the only zoo in Colombia devoted entirely to the wildlife and ecosystems of the Orinoquía.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons) 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 2018), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List