Nov. 9, 2014 - Costa Rica - Montezuma Oropendola

One of the places we stayed in Costa Rica was the Arenal Observatory Lodge near the Arenal Volcano in the north central part of the country. Each morning the staff placed fruit on this bird feeding station. We could stand on the deck and watch birds come to feed. These two Montezuma Oropendolas came for breakfast.

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Montezuma Oropendolas are large birds in the Blackbird family. Males are 20 inches long and females are 16 inches. They were named after the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II (also known as Montezuma).

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The name Oropendola comes from the Spanish words meaning gold pendulum. As part of his courtship display, the male bows forward while clinging to a branch. He sometimes goes a little too far and makes a complete flip around the branch. During this action, the bright yellow tail might look like a gold pendulum.

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Oropendolas are colonial nesters. That means a group of them build their nests in close proximity, possibly all in one tree. Females build a woven, hanging nest which looks like a giant Oriole’s nest. The nest can be from 24 to 72 inches long. One male will be dominant in the colony and will mate with most of the females. A typical colony will have about 30 nests, but up to 172 have been seen in a single colony.

OropendolamontezumaPsarocoliusArenalObservatoryLodgeCostaRica20141019

These birds are primarily fruit eaters. They also eat some flowers and insects. This close-up shot shows the large, sharply pointed beak useful for piercing the outside of fruits like watermelon and papaya. The colors of the beak make me think of Halloween candy corn. The white area is a featherless patch of skin and the pink area is a wattle.

OropendolamontezumaPsarocoliuscloseArenalObservatoryLodgeCostaRica20141020