New World Blackbirds (Icteridae)

Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus) - HBW 16, p. 774

French: Oriole variable German: Feuerflügeltrupial Spanish: Turpial Variable
Other common names: Yellow-shouldered Oriole

Taxonomy: Agelaius pyrrhopterus Vieillot, 1819, Paraguay.
Often treated as conspecific with I. chrysocephalus and/or I. cayanensis. Differs from latter in size and bill shape, broader habitat selection and more active behaviour; the two apparently occur sympatrically in a small area in Beni (Bolivia) without interbreeding. Races intergrade; valenciobuenoi a variable form, connecting tibialis and nominate race, and sometimes subsumed in one or the other of these (a few individuals with characters of valenciobuenoi can be found in nominate populations, e.g. in NE Argentina). Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution: