The Story
This Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) was at Reserva Natural La Palmita in Trinidad, Casanare, Colombia when I photographed it. The females build the hanging nests, 30 to 45 centimeters long, at the ends of branches, and they compete for sites near wasp nests. The male’s song mixes fluting notes with cackles and wheezes, sometimes with mimicry. It breeds from Panama, Venezuela and Trinidad south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil. La Palmita is a civil-society nature reserve in Trinidad that protects about 400 hectares of flooded savanna and 250 hectares of forest. IUCN lists the Yellow-rumped Cacique as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100. La Palmita’s research center also monitors the savanna’s birds and mammals and rehabilitates and releases wildlife rescued from illegal trafficking.
©2019 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