Montezuma Oropendola is a very strange name for a cool looking bird I saw in Costa Rica. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean lowland from Mexico to Panama. The males are mainly chestnut with a blackish head and a bright yellow tail. The male song is heard during a bowing display and consist of bubbling followed by loud gurgles. Sounds weird right? I found these sounds to be funny and we heard them often at the Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero.
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The Montezuma Oropendola's nest. I didn't count the nest but there were a lot of them hanging from the palm trees.
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The Montezuma Oropendola is consider a common bird in parts of its range. It is seen in small or larger flocks foraging in the trees for insects, fruits including bananas. There are a lot of banana trees in Costa Rica.
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The Montezuma Oropendola is a colonial breeder and builds it hanging woven nest of fibers and vines and hangs high in a tree.
For two days we were able to watch these birds flying around with there bright yellow tails making their crazy sounds and then land on the trees that held their nest.
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Each colony has a dominant male which mates with most of the females following a elaborate bowing display. The female will lay two eggs which hatches in 15 days and they will fledge in 30 days. There are typically about 30 nest in colony.
I loved all the birds I saw in Costa Rica but I found the Montezuma Oropendola to be one of the more interesting birds.
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To see more wonderful birds and critter please visit the Friday Ark
As always thanks for visiting my blog and have a great weekend.
48 comments:
This was a very informative post and I liked the photos a great deal. The nest is so unusual to me. I've never seen anything quite like it.
You asked if lavender is easy to grow. The variety I pictured in my post is and keeps coming back. I think it's called lady lavendar if my memory serves.
Now this is a bird I want to see. Beautiful, but also such a fantastic name.
What an interesting and beautiful bird. It must have been fascinating to watch them. Great photos!
Very interesting post and beautiful photos of a bird I might never see. Thanks Eileen. And thanks for visiting my blog while I was so "absent" because of being on holiday in South Africa. We're back in the Sudan and I'm back on-regular-line again!
Fantastic bird!
If I remember right, Montezuma was a king.
This bird for sure looks proud, maybe he knew you were taking pictures ;)
A wonderful start into the weekend for you.
daily athens
How exciting to see all these birds from your trip! Your post is so informative!
That is indeed a great bird. How beautful!
And those nests are intriguing :)!
That is the most interesting looking nest and it must have taken some time to construct. Another male that has kind of a harem... what happens to all the other males. Poor guys.. LOL... Thank you for posting to Nature Notes...I do appreciate it and enjoy the posts... Michelle
What an interesting bird. Those nests are amazing. He sounds like a rooster with all his girls. Great shots and info.
that is one cool bird. :)
now you were fast posting to my Eider. My time is 11.00 what is it at your destinatiopn?
:)
Nature Footstep
Thansk for your reply and comment. the time here is 6:00am Eastern Standard time.
Yes I agree this is a very informative post with such an unusual bird - and the nest is unique. You always have the most interesting photos and infomation thanks for sharing it with us.
Beautiful shots and we can see why he was your favorite. We love the info provided too.
Darryl and Ruth : )
Someday I just HAVE to visit Costa Rica! Thanks for all the interesting information you included with your photos!
Wow, what a nest. Great shots and thanks for sharing them. Have a great weekend
Beautilul bird and photos.
Oh wow, what great capture! I have never seen something so intricate like those nests before!
Lovely informative post. The next is something else! Thanks for introducing me to the Montezuma Oropendola. Happy Critter Day!
Beautiful photos of the bird and thank you for sharing information about it.Great captures.
What a beautiful and interesting bird. And, what a nest this guy can create...nature is so amazing!
Wonderful post and all your photos were great. Costa Rica is a place I have always wanted to visit because of the bird life. Hopefully one day. In the meantime I can look at fantastic shots such as these. Thanks Eileen.
Eileen: You got some real beautiful photos of that bird.
such an informative post Eileen, thanks for the beautiful pictures that goes with it..
Hope you ca take a peek of my a wandering goose, have a great weekend.
An attractive bird, thanks for sharing the info too. Who knew birds could have a harem?
beautiful bird, love their deep color
and those nests are very impressive
Wow what a great looking bird! Thanks for sharing these photos!
Very informative Eileen! You really have lots in store for us from your Costa Rica trip.
Their nest is surely interesting. I wonder what the advantage is to have them hang. Joan
It's an informative post. Interesting finding about Montezuma Oropendola that live on palm trees. :-)
Fabulous critters! I love visiting other places. Thank you for visiting <A HREF="http://mymuskoka.blogspot.com/2010/04/critters-are-busy.html </A> !
Oh I can't believe I couldn't see this bird when I was in Costa Rica three months ago! Very nice photos dear Eileen and very informative post! This is absolutely a very interesting species!
Have a delightful Sunday,
Ciao! :)
Beautiful bird, Eileen. I like the photo in your banner, too. And those nests - wow! Isn't it amazing what birds will construct?
I enjoyed this post, Eileen. Those nests seem so unusual.
what a wonderful shot again! lovely creatures! have a great week ahead Eileen!
what a striking bird! It looks nothing like the African weaver birds and I guess they're not related but their nesting habits are very similar!
Wow!!! How cool. Love the gorgeous birds and their very cool nests.
Just catchng up - and love your photos from the trip - wonderful birds. Makes me want to go someplace new again, and soon.
Eileen,
To answer your question about the osprey:
Yes I have seen an osprey on the nest and the other standing on a light standard close by acting as lookout.
Wow! How interesting! ~ks
Lovely shots of an interesting bird, Eileen!
An interesting series on the birds in Costa Rica. This must be a birder's paradise as I see several other bloggers have gone there too.
such a cool bird! love all the photos you got. I love the vocalizations of this guy, and their nests - so cool! Great shots!
beautiful birds,i love its color...
I'm just amazed to have seen ospreys and cormorants, and you've hit the jackpot! Those pendulous nests are certainly interesting.
Those nests are so awesome! Great, informative post.
Great post on the Montezuma Oropendola Eileen! You got some incredible shots of the birds and their nests. Very cool nests!
Where is the opening on these nests? Is it about half way up where the bird in that last photo landed?
Good pictures and an informative post. I just got back from Costa Rica and think I was looking at the same colony in the palm tree at Tortuguera. I found it wasn't easy to get pictures like yours of these busy nest-building birds. Thanks for posting them.
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