Red-bellied Grackle Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster Scientific name definitions

The Red-bellied Grackle is a distinctive rare blackbird of cloud forest in the Colombian Andes. It is large, long-tailed, and heavy-billed with a bright red belly and otherwise glossy black plumage. Red-bellied Grackles moves through the forest in groups, giving a variety of calls and often flocking with Scarlet-rumped Caciques (Cacicus uropygialis) and other large birds. While it has been recorded from all three ranges of the Andes in Colombia, contemporary localities are few. Deforestation is thought to have been a major reason for declines, but other factors may be involved given that this species uses edge habitats and planted trees and that it has failed to increase in suitable areas following forest regrowth.

Male average 31·5 cm, 101 g; female average 27 cm. Distinctive, robust blackbird. Plumage is glossy black , with vivid red belly and crissum; feather shafts of head and throat pointed and shiny black, giving streaked appearance; iris pale yellow ; bill and legs black. Sexes similar, female smaller than male. Juvenile differs from adult in having black areas dull dark brown, red areas paler and more orange, thigh and rear flanks brown with reddish feather tips; immature like adult, but retained juvenile flight-feathers contrastingly brown.

Discontinuously in N W & C Andes and upper Magdalena Valley, in Colombia.

Possibly omnivorous. Feeds on arillate fruits of Cupania, also berries of Miconia and figs (Ficus), and reported as feeding on seeds of Chusquea bamboos during rare mast occurrences; arthropods taken include spiders (Araneae), orthopteroid insects and caterpillars (Lepidoptera). Nestling diet mostly insects. Forages mostly in canopy , in flocks of up to 30 individuals; sometimes with mixed-species foraging flocks of other mountain icterids, e.g. Cacicus uropygialis, also with Red-ruffed Fruitcrows (Pyroderus scutatus) and Green Jays (Cyanocorax yncas).

A rather musical “peero-peero”, also trills and warbles. Song  described as “glok-glok-schle-o”, but considerable geographical variation. Contact call a harsh note; shrill “peep”.

Season Jan–May in C Andes, Mar–Aug elsewhere, but reported also Aug–Dec. Solitary nester. Co-operative breeder, in groups of 3–6 individuals, including adults of both sexes and juveniles; mutual feeding between group-members reported. Nest built by female, a bulky open cup made from sticks and large dry leaves, one with external diameter 17·3 cm and external depth 15 cm, placed in tree or shrub of native species (Cupania, Tibouchina, Miconia), sometimes in exotic species, e.g. cypress; one nest was 9 m above ground in isolated tree in pasture. Clutch 2–4 eggs, greenish-grey with dark brown and lilac spots; incubation by female, period 13–15 days; chicks fed by many group-members, including older juveniles, nestling period 14–18 days; fledglings remain in vicinity of nest for c. 5 days.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Colombian Inter-Andean slopes EBA and Chocó EBA. Rare and local; fairly common in a few places. Although recently discovered at several new localities, total population fairly small and fragmented; currently estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals (1 Renjifo, L. M., M. F. Gómez, J. Velásquez-Tibatá, A. M. Amaya-Villarreal, G. H. Kattan, J. D. Amaya-Espinel, and J. Burbano-Girón, Editors (2014). Libro Rojo de Aves de Colombia, Volume I: bosques húmedos de los Andes y la costa Pacífica. Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana & Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Close )#R. Recorded in W Andes from Cerro Tatamá (Valle del Cauca) and N into Antioquia, in C Andes from Antioquia (many historical sites and a few modern ones) S locally to Putumayo, and in E Andes in S Huila and W Caquetá. Since c. 1980, observed in small numbers very locally, but reported as quite common in mountains around Medellín and La Linda, Las Nubes and La Noque, in Antioquia; captive-bred individuals released around Medellín in 1997–1998. Found recently at several new localities, e.g. Amalfi, in Antioquia. Main threat is deforestation for agriculture, cattle production, timber and mining throughout entire range (2 Garizábal, J.A., Londoño, L.V. and Cuervo, A.M. (2014). Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster. Pp. 356-360 in: . Close ). Has lost 64% of its original habitat, with a 7·8% reduction in the decade 2000–2010 (2 Garizábal, J.A., Londoño, L.V. and Cuervo, A.M. (2014). Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster. Pp. 356-360 in: . Close ). However, appears able to live at forest edges and in old second growth (and has nested in isolated tree in pasture), suggesting some tolerance of forest clearance and disturbance. Sometimes persecuted as a crop pest; sometimes captured for cagebird trade. Present known range includes at least seven national parks (2 Garizábal, J.A., Londoño, L.V. and Cuervo, A.M. (2014). Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster. Pp. 356-360 in: . Close ), such as Cueva de los Guácharos National Park (Huila), Las Orquídeas National Park (Antioquia), Cordillera de los Pichados National Park (Caquetá) and Tatamá National Park (Risaralda–Chocó–Valle). Also Ucumarí Regional Park (Risaralda); in Antioquia, reported as common in La Forzosa Nature Reserve, Alto San Miguel Ecological Reserve, La Romera and La Serrana Municipal Reserves and Arriero Antioqueño Reserve . Thought to be Endangered until 2012, when its population was estimated to be significantly higher than originally suspected#R. Considered Vulnerable at the national level in Colombia (1 Renjifo, L. M., M. F. Gómez, J. Velásquez-Tibatá, A. M. Amaya-Villarreal, G. H. Kattan, J. D. Amaya-Espinel, and J. Burbano-Girón, Editors (2014). Libro Rojo de Aves de Colombia, Volume I: bosques húmedos de los Andes y la costa Pacífica. Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana & Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Close ).