ANIMALS - BIRDS - SONGBIRDS - SCARLET-HEADED BLACKBIRD (AMBLYRAMPHUS HOLOSERICEUS)

Animals - Birds - Songbirds

Scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus)

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Passeriformes
Family : Icteridae
Genus : Amblyramphus
Species : A. Holosericeus

Description:

The Scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) is an icterid bird of southern South American wetlands.

This species is about 24 cm long. The bill is oddly shaped: long, slender, and very sharp, looking almost upturned. Adults of both sexes are described by their name. Juveniles have entirely black plumage; orange-red feathers first appear on their breast and throat, later spreading to the neck, head, and thighs. The song is given as "loud, clear, and melodic, a ringing 'cleer-cleer-clur, clulululu'." Calls are simpler but have a similar quality.

Scarlet-headed blackbirds occur in pairs in large reed beds in southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina; Bolivia has an isolated population at altitudes up to about 600 m. They often perch conspicuously on top of stems. They are uncommon, particularly away from the coast.

They eat mainly fruit, supplementing it with seeds and invertebrates, especially insects. They use their bill as a hammer to open food items.

Scarlet-headed blackbirds are monogamous, and territories are grouped together. The nest is an open cup placed in the crotch of a shrub or woven into vegetation, in which they lay two eggs.

Binomial Name:

Name : Amblyramphus holosericeus
Taxonomist : Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (Cavalese - Italy)
Year : 1786
Subspecies : None or not data available
Synonyms : None or not data available

Conservation Status by IUCN:

Status : Least Concern

Has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated but not qualified for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (prior to 2001) conservation dependent.

Philatelic Issues

2015 - Uruguay - Stamp 1 of 10, from Wetland Animals Series

Issue information:

Country: Uruguay
Date: June 5th, 2015
Printed: 10.000 Copies
Type: Stamp from Series of 10 Stamps
Value: UYP 15

Stamp: Rectangular
Size: 39 mm. x 27 mm.
Perforation: Circular
Gum: Water Activated