Fun Cacique Facts For Kids

Caciques are South American birds with a number of subspecies. It includes selva cacique, yellow-rumped cacique and so on. The yellow-rumped cacique is a perching bird that belongs to the genus Cacicus. The bright yellow color of this bird creates a contrasting appearance with the black feathers. Thus it gets the name yellow-rumped cacique.

The females are much more black than the males. They live and build their nest in groups that are huge in size. There can be up to 100 nests in a single tree, and the nests are bag-shaped, which looks very creative.

An interesting fact about the cacique species is the way they acquire the songs. The chicks, after hatching, go through a memorization process that begins after few months and continues up to the first breeding season.

Then, in the third year, the process of crystallization starts. After that, they use a variety of vocal signals to attract mates or defend territories.

For more relatable content, check out these Hawaiian crow facts and vermilion flycatcher facts for kids.

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Cacique Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a cacique?

A cacique is a passerine bird also known as songbirds or perching birds.

What class of animal does a cacique belong to?

Caciques belong to the class Aves.

How many caciques are there in the world?

There isn't any estimated population of the cacique available.

Where does a cacique live?

The yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus cela) is found in the cultivation of large trees or open woodlands of central Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and northern parts of South America. They are also found in some regions of Mexico.

What is a cacique's habitat?

It is found in cultivation areas with large-size trees. They are also found in open woodlands with large trees. They prefer large size trees because they are colonial breeders and build bag-shaped nests, which can be up to 100 nests in a tree.

Who do caciques live with?

Yellow-rumped caciques of genus Cacicus are colonial species and live in group nests. There can be up to 100 bag-shaped nests in a single tree.

How long does a cacique live?

There is no recorded information on the lifespan of yellow-rumped caciques birds.

How do they reproduce?

Yellow-rumped caciques of genus Cacicus are polygynous in nature, meaning a single male cacique mates with multiple female caciques. These birds are colonial breeders and build group nests in large-size trees. Mating with females depends upon the dominance of the male.

The size of the males also determines the number of females to mate. Females are also seen competing with each other to mate. The females mainly compete for the prime nesting spot to safeguard their eggs.

It is also noticed that the nesting materials and sites are stolen by neighbors. They also fight through shouting and aerial grappling.

The males don't show parental care except protecting the nest. The females gather or forage nesting materials, build the nest, and lay only two eggs, and the eggs take around 15 days to hatch.

The chicks weigh only 0.07-0.1 oz (2-3 g) after hatching and mature after 25 days, and only the mother bird takes care and feeds the chicks.

What is their conservation status?

According to IUCN, the conservation status of yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus sela) from the genus Cacicus is Least Concern. Though there isn't any recorded information available about the number of the population, these birds are native to central Brazil, Peru, South America, and Bolivia.

Cacique Fun Facts

What do caciques look like?

The yellow-rumped cacique of genus Cacicus has a slim body with blue eyes, a pale yellow pointed bill and a long tail. The plumage is black with a bright yellow rump, lower belly, tail base, and wing.

There are certain spots of yellow in between black feathers that create a contrasting look. The yellow-rumped females are much more black and dull than the males, and the chicks resemble the female. The yellow-rumped chicks have brown bills and dark eyes.

How cute are they?

The yellow-rumped caciques of the genus Cacicus are very cute and beautiful-looking birds.

How do they communicate?

The yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus sela) sings different songs with brilliant mixtures of notes like that of a flute. It also includes wheezes, cackles, and mimicry while singing. The yellow-rumped caciques sing a variety of songs to defend their territories, attract mates, or advertise their status.

The yellow-rumped males, while competing, also shout on each other's faces to prove dominance. They also match each other's songs and compete until one loses. There are around five to seven song dialects in the colonies, and it changes every breeding season.

How big is a cacique?

The male yellow-rumped cacique has an average length of 11 in (28 cm), whereas the female yellow-rumped cacique is around 9 in (23 cm). The yellow-rumped caciques are twice the size of the North American goldfinch.

How fast can a cacique fly?

There is no recorded information on how fast this species of caciques can fly.

How much does a cacique weigh?

The male yellow-rumped caciques weigh around 3.5 oz (100 g), whereas the female yellow-rumped caciques weigh approximately 0.1-0.2 lb (60-104 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no names for males and females of this species.

What would you call a baby cacique?

A baby yellow-rumped cacique is called a chick.

What do they eat?

Yellow-rumped cacique (Cacicus cela) is a species that is mainly insectivorous, which means they feed on the young arthropods, crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, and orb-weaver spiders. The adults, however, consume fruits and nectar flowers to meet their protein demands. Their favorite is the fruits of chupa-chupa trees. They also consume caterpillars and other related invertebrates.

Are they dangerous?

No, yellow-rumped caciques are not dangerous birds. These species of birds are social in nature that build a nest in the outer areas of forests or live in towns. They show dominance only during the breeding season. These birds are territorial in nature.

Would they make a good pet?

Yellow-rumped cacique may become a good pet, but it is not recommended to have them as pets as these species are colonial breeders. In addition, these species of birds build bag-shaped nests on large trees, which pet owners won't be able to provide.

Did you know...

One of the interesting facts about the yellow-winged cacique is its appearance. This species of bird has a black feathered rocking hairstyle over its head which forms an elegant crest.

The young yellow-rumped cacique also features a change in the color of their eyes. The color of the eyes of the young caciques is purple, and it changes to blue when they are two years old. It changes to yellow when they attain sexual maturity at the age of three years.

One of the exciting facts of yellow-rumped caciques species is their mechanism to build nests in a way to confuse predators. First, they make their nest by clustering it with wasp nests. Then, they mix the active nests with the abandoned ones to hide the nests with eggs.

Different types of caciques

There are different types of cacique birds such as red-rumped cacique, scarlet-rumped cacique, golden-winged cacique, mountain cacique, solitary cacique, Ecuadorian cacique, and the selva cacique. These species of birds are mainly found in South America and Central America.

The birds are related to each other, but the only difference among the birds is the different types of ecosystems they live in.

The red-rumped cacique is a bird species from the family Icteridae and is found in the coastal areas of Guyanas in South America and the Amazon basin. The scarlet-rumped cacique from the family Icteridae is located in the Pacific lowlands and eastern Honduras to Panama.

The golden-winged cacique also belongs to the family of Icteridae and is native to Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The mountain cacique is found in the tropical and subtropical montane forests of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia.

In contrast, the Ecuadorian cacique comes from the same related places but is found in the tropical and subtropical lowland forest. The solitary cacique of family Icteridae, as the name suggests, is solitary. These species live single or in pairs, and unlike other birds of this species, these birds build their nests alone.

Naming the cacique

Cacique is pronounced ‘cuh-seek’.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our common myna facts and red-throated loon facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Cacique coloring pages.