Selva Cacique Cacicus koepckeae Scientific name definitions

Selva Cacique is the most recently described icterid, its name honors Maria Koepcke, pioneer of Peruvian ornithology. This is a small and slim cacique with a long tail, it is black with a yellow rump. It appears that the all black Ecuadorian Cacique (Cacicus sclateri) is its closest relative. Interestingly a few specimens of the Ecuadorian Cacique show yellow tipped rump feathers, a tendency that approaches the look of the Selva Cacique; the two are essentially identical in shape and size. This little known oriole is found in lake edge thickets and riverine vegetation in lowland tropical forests. The nesting is not known. It may be found singly or in small groups which are likely family groups. For a long time this species was known from only two specimens, the original locality of observation was Balta, in Ucayali, southeastern Peru at 300 m above sea level. It is still rare and little known, but now there are more observations.

W Amazonia in E Peru (Ucayali, Cuzco and Madre de Dios) and nearby W Brazil (Acre).

ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in South-east Peruvian Lowlands EBA. Rare and local; possibly overlooked. Known range in Peru fragmented; thought to occur also in adjacent W Brazil (Acre). Was formerly known from only three localities within tiny area of E Peru; has recently been located in at least one additional protected area. This species’ preferred habitat is riparian vegetation and riverine forest and, although it is restricted to the vicinity of smaller watercourses, recent spatial models suggest that its distribution could be more extensive than currently known, and perhaps extend beyond 20,000 km² (2 Young, B. E., I. Franke, P. A. Hernandez, S. K. Herzog, L. Paniagua, C. Tovar, and T. Valqui (2009). Using spatial models to predict areas of endemism and gaps in the protection of Andean slope birds. Auk 126(3):554–565. Close ). All records have been in areas of sparse human population, apparently not at imminent risk of habitat loss. Occurs in Manu National Park (IUCN Cat. II; 17,163 km²) (3 Tobias, J. (2003). Further sightings of Selva Cacique Cacicus koepckeae in Manu National Park, Peru. Cotinga 19: 79-81. Close ); presence in Megantoni National Sanctuary (IUCN Cat. III; 2160 km²) recently confirmed (4 Vriesendorp, C., L. R. Chávez, D. Moskovits, and J. M. Shopland (2004). Perú: Megantoni. Rapid Biological Inventories 15. The Field Museum, Chicago. In Spanish and English. Close ), and may occur also in Cordillera Azul National Park. Based on a model of future deforestation in the Amazon basin (5 Soares-Filho, B. S., D. C. Nepstad, L. M. Curran, G. C. Cerqueira, R. A. Garcia, C. A. Ramos, E. Voll, A. McDonald, P. Lefebvre, and P. Schlesinger (2006). Modelling conservation in the Amazon Basin. Nature 440:520–523. Close ), this species is expected to lose over 70% of suitable habitat within its distribution over three generations (14 years) and its population therefore projected to decline by more than 50% (6 Bird, J. P., J. M. Buchanan, A. C. Lees, R. P. Clay, P. F. Develey, I. Yépez, and S. H. M. Butchart (2011). Integrating spatially explicit habitat projections into extinction risk assessments: a reassessment of Amazonian avifauna incorporating projected deforestation. Diversity and Distributions 18(3):432–439. Close ); in 2012 it was uplisted from Vulnerable to Endangered to reflect these new data.