Icterus jamacaii

Geographic Range

Icterus jamacaii (campo troupials or campo orioles) is a Neotropical species found exclusively in northeastern Brazil. This range extends south to include the regions of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo.

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Icterus jamacaii lives at low elevations and occupies dry habitats such as the Caatinga zone, a region in Northern Brazil composed of shrublands and tall cacti. This species can also be found on the edges of forests, dry savanna, woodlands with deciduous trees, and in other open areas within the Caatinga zone. Icterus jamacaii may be found at elevations of up to 500 m above sea level.

• Habitat Regions
• tropical tropical
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland
• forest forest
• scrub forest scrub forest

Physical Description

Icterus jamacaii adults share many similarities with other troupial species, however, it also has distinct features that make it morphologically different such as the size of its ocular patch. Campo troupials significantly lack the ocular patch that is common to the other two troupial species. This species measures 23 to 23.5 cm in length and features a wingspan of 105 to 107 mm.

Campo troupials are beautiful birds with striking orange, black, and white plumage. They feature a black hood, breast, and wings. The black wings are patterned with white and orange feathers. The feathers of the upper and lower back are orange, as are those of the rump and upper tail. The upper parts, the lower back, and the area from the lower breast to the undertail are orange as well. Campo troupials' tails are solid black, unlike the black and white patterned tails of Venezuelan troupials. Feathers of the breast and throat are pointed, similar to orange-backed troupials. The legs and feet are grey and the eyes are orange-yellow.

Female campo troupials are very similar to males both in size and color. A 2008 study conducted by Hoffman, Cronin, and Omland showed that there is very little difference in the color saturation of male and female breast feathers. The same study also verified that there is little to no difference between the throat feathers of the two sexes. Like most other tropical species, campo troupials are observed to be sexually monomorphic.

Juvenile I. jamacaii are not very different from adults in color. The black in the adult is replaced by a dull brownish-black color, and the under-parts are a dull orange-yellow color rather than bright orange. They also have darker eyes than adults.

Immature I. jamacaii are similar to adults with the exception of brown secondaries and primaries. Some immature I. jamacaii may still have a few brown tail feathers, as opposed to adults' solid black tails. The brown tail feathers are remnants from juvenile plumage.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Reproduction

All members of the genus are thought to be socially monogamous. There is speculation that tropical species including I. jamacaii may have lifelong pair bonds.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

The breeding season for I. jamacaii occurs in February. Currently, there is no other information about reproduction in this species.

It is known that the closely related I. icterus produces 3 eggs per clutch. It takes 21 to 23 days for its young to fledge. Once the young leave the nest they travel with their families for an unknown period of time.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• oviparous oviparous

There is not a significant amount of information about the extent of parental investment in I. jamacaii . However, it is known that before breeding this species is either found alone, or with its mate, but once it breeds it is found in a group with its family. This particular characteristic of I. jamacaii may be an indication of the extent of its parental investment.

Parental investment in this species also includes providing yolk to the egg and providing a nest for the offspring. Icterus jamacaii is known to steal nests which are used as shelter for its offspring.

• Parental Investment
• male parental care male parental care
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
  • protecting
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
  • protecting
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
  • protecting

Lifespan/Longevity

There is no record of the lifespan of campo troupials.

Behavior

There are both male and female songs in this species, and the breeding season is characterized by a great deal of singing. While singing this bird also exhibits a physical display that is made up of an extended neck, raised tail, downward pointed bill, and display of neck feathers. Similar to some other birds, this species makes notable swishing sounds as it flies.

Similar to other troupials, I. jamacaii is a “nest pirate.” It settles into abandoned nests or takes over nests that belong to other birds. Campo troupials prefer domed stick nests built by firewood-gatherers ( Anumbius annumbi ) and caatinga cacholotes ( Pseudoseisura cristata ). It has also been found to use nests built by great kiskadees ( Pitangus sulphuratus ) and rufous horneros ( Furnarius rufus ).

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal arboreal
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary

Home Range

There is no available information on the home range of I. jamacaii ; however, it is known that this species does not seasonally migrate.

Communication and Perception

Like other species of birds, I. jamacaii communicates through sounds, specifically songs. Its songs are similar to that of other Icterus species, and is composed of simple whistled phrases. However, compared to the songs of I. croconotus , the songs of I. jamacaii are longer. In addition to their characteristic songs, caged members of this species can be taught different tunes. It is common practice in Brazil for owners of this bird to teach it the Brazilian National Anthem!

Its calls sound like: "prru".

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• acoustic acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• mimicry mimicry
• duets duets

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

There is no detailed information about the food habits of campo troupials in the literature, however, most Icterus include fruit, nectar, and arthropods in their diets.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

• Plant Foods
• fruit
• nectar

Predation

There are no identified predators of I. jamacaii .

Ecosystem Roles

Campo troupials are nest pirates. They not only move into abandoned nests but also take over occupied nests. Orange-backed troupials do the same, and that species may even kill the occupants of the nests during the invasion. Regardless, campo troupials likely have a negative effect on populations of other bird species such as: firewood-gatherers , rufous cacholotes , great kiskadees , and rufous horneros .

Even though they are nest pirates, campo troupials are occasionally host to nest parasites such as shiny cowbirds .

As the diet of campo troupials includes fruits, these birds may disperse seeds as they forage.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Icterus jamacaii is frequently caught and traded in Brazil. It is often kept as a pet caged bird in local homes.

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade pet trade

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There is no information suggesting that this species has a negative impact on humans.

Conservation Status

Currently the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists I. jamacaii as least concern given it's wide geographic range and stable population size. However, I. jamacaii is prevalently hunted in the Caatinga zone in Brazil. There have been calls to place stricter regulations on the hunting or capturing of I. jamacaii and other birds living in the region.

Other Comments

The information present in the literature about the species I. jamacaii is limited, in part because it has not yet been studied much as a separate species. The majority of the literature treats it as a subspecies within I. icterus or simply neglects it. As a result I. jamacaii presents an interesting case study in where taxonomists draw species boundaries.

The best available source that not only recognizes I. jamacaii as a species but also has an extensive account on the related species is Jaramillo and Burke’s 1999 “New World Blackbirds: The Icterids.” Other sources are contradictory when it comes to the acknowledgment of I. jamacaii as a species. There is a recognizable pattern in the literature that shows how this species and its two other closely related species, I. icterus and I. croconotus , have been categorized throughout history.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s I. icterus , I. jamacaii , and I. croconotus were originally described as three separate species. Sclater (1886) recognizes I. jamacaii and I. croconotus as distinct species. Bond (1953) claims that I. jamacaii and I. croconotus are two entirely different species. Ridgway (1902) treats the Troupial Complex as three separate species as well.

Later these three species were all lumped into a single species, I. icterus . In other words they were classified as I. i. croconotus , I. i. jamacaii , and I. i. icterus ! Ridgely and Tudor (1989) claim that these birds form three main groups and that although I. icterus and I. jamacaii are geographically separate they should be considered as one species. Sibley and Monroe (1990) name I. i. icterus and I. i. jamacaii , and do not separate I. croconotus . Three years later, Monroe and Sibley (1993) list I. jamacaii and I. croconotus as subspecies within I. icterus . Hilty (2003) also treats I. jamacaii and I. croconotus as subspecies within I. icterus .

Since the late 1990s the three species have generally been separated. Many other oriole species that had been lumped during the 1960s to 1980s are also now considered separate species (e.g. Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula , and Bullock’s Oriole, Icterus abeillei ).

Although there has been decades of inconsistency in the classification of these three species, there is an emerging consensus among the most recent sources that I. icterus , I. croconotus , and I. jamacaii are three separate species.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Leila Bahmani Kazerooni (author), University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Kevin Omland (editor), University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Rachelle Sterling (editor), Special Projects.

References

Alves, R., E. Nogueira, A. Helder, B. Sharon. 2009. Bird-keeping in the Caatinga, Northeast Brazil. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedecine , 38/1: 154. Accessed April 16, 2011 at http://www.springerlink.com/content/g724127wkw135654/fulltext.pdf .

Bond, J. 1953. Notes on Peruvian Icteridae, Vireonidae and Parulidae. Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia Notulae Naturae , 255: 5.

Clements, J. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World . Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

Hilty, S. 2003. Birds of Venezuela . New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Hofmann, C., T. Cronin, K. Omland. 2008. Evolution of sexual dichromatism. 1. Convergent losses of elaborate female coloration in New World orioles ( Icterus species). The Auk , 125: 783-785.

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

Monroe, B., C. Sibley. 1993. A World Checklist of Birds . United States: Yale University Press.

Omland, K., S. Lanyon, S. Fritz. 1999. A Molecular Phylogeny of the New World Orieles (Icterus): The Importance of Dense Taxon Sampling. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , 12/2: 235.

Perlo, B. 2009. A Field Guide To The Birds of Brazil . New York: Oxford University Press.

Price, J., N. Friedman, K. Omland. 2007. Song and plumage evolution in the New World orioles ( Icterus ) show similar lability and convergence in patterns. Evolution: Internation Journal of Organic Evolution , 61/4: 850.

Price, J., S. Lanyon, K. Omland. 2009. Losses of female song with changes from tropical. Proceedings of The Royal Society Biology , 276: 1971.

Ridgely, R., G. Tudor. 1989. The Birds of South America . Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.

Ridgway, R. 1902. The birds of North and middle America: A descriptive catalogue of the higher groups, genera, species and subspecies of birds known to occur in North America, from the Arctic lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other islands of the Caribbean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. Bulletin of the United States National Museum , 50: 257.

Sclater, P. 1886. Catalogue of The Passeriformes or Perching Birds in The Collection of The British Museum . London: Adamant Media Corporation.

Sibley, C., B. Monroe. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World . United States of America: Yale University.

Tudor, G., R. Ridgely. 2009. Field Guide To The Songbirds of South America The Passerines . United States: Universtiy of Texas Press.