Scarlet-headed blackbird

Scarlet-headed blackbird
	in the Pantanal, Brazil
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Icteridae
Genus:	Amblyramphus; Leach, 1814
Species:	A. holosericeus
Binomial name
	Amblyramphus holosericeus; (Scopoli, 1786)

The scarlet-headed blackbird (Amblyramphus holosericeus) is an icterid found in the South American wetlands.

Description

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.^[2]

Scarlet-headed blackbirds occur in pairs in large reed beds in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil; Bolivia has an isolated population living at an altitudes of about 600 m. They often perch conspicuously on top of stems. They are uncommon, particularly away from the coast.^[2]

They eat mainly fruit, supplementing it with seeds and invertebrates, especially insects. They use their bill as a hammer to open food items.^[3]

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.^[3]