Montezuma Oropendola

One of the birds I really looked forward to seeing in Tikal NP in Guatemala was the Montezuma oropendola. I'd never heard of an oropendola until we visited Colombia a few years ago and saw both the russet-backed and chestnut-headed oropendola. The oropendolas, at least the ones I've seen, are large, elongated and have huge bills. I'd read that the Montezuma oropendola nested near the Mayan ruins in Tikal and I gave it a decent chance I'd see one. I hadn't anticipated that we would find it nesting in a huge tree in the Central Plaza, between Temple I and Temple II, below the North Acropolis. The sun was not conducive to seeing them well, but I could see they were among tear-dropped shaped nests. It wasn't until I got home and was able to lighten up the shadows that I got a good look at them. 

Blue cheek patch and pink wattle are easily seen here. 

A female below and male above, illustrating the size differential between the two.

A female near a nest.

Adult males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and rump and a tail that is bright yellow except for two dark central feathers. It has a bare blue cheek patch, a pink wattle, a brown iris and a long black bill with a red tip. Females are similar but are smaller and have a smaller wattle. Males are 100% larger than females in body mass. They live in colonies, each with a dominant polygynous male which mates with most of the females. The females build the hanging woven nests of fibers and vines and she incubates the eggs. There are typically 30 nests in a colony, but up to 172 have been recorded. Females average two eggs per nest, but only one is fledged and only one-third of the nests are successful. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World.