Selva Cacique
The Koepckekassike or Loretokassike ( Cacicus koepckeae ) is a passerine bird of the family of blackbirds. It is endemic to Peru. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered ( Endangered ).
Features
The Koepckekassike reaches a body length of about 23 cm. Their plumage shines predominantly black with the exception of the rump, which is yellow with a slight golden tinge. The tail is graduated, with the central tail feathers, the outer protrude by approximately 19 mm. The curved beak not down first is not particularly wide and flat. The blue-gray beak at the tip slightly paler. The walking legs and toes are black, the iris bluish white.
Dissemination
It has long been the area around Balta, in which John Patton O'Neill collected, the only known habitat of Koepckekassike. To 20 April 1998, the environmentalist and ornithologist Nathaniel G. Gerhart held in the period 27 March ( 1975-2007 ) in Monte Toni, a Nanti Village at the headwaters of the Río Camisea in the region of Cusco and the nearby Río Manu Chico in the region Madre de Dios on. In both places he was observing several Koepckekassiken. Finally he discovered on October 1, 1998, a further pair on the Río Shihuaniro near the Machiguengastamm in the village Timpía in the region Cuzco. All copies kept to narrow creeks at elevations 300-550 meters above sea level. But between 24 and 29 July 2001 they found they Gerhart first time in a flowering Erythrina in the lower reaches of the Río Urubamba.
Behavior
The Koepckekassike lives mainly in trees along forest edges near riverbanks. Its habitat is the transitional forest in the hills near the eastern Andes in Peru. These are close to rivers with strong current gradient, as is the case on the Río Shihuaniro or the Río Manu Chico. Oftentimes, you will find in their habitat sagittatum also gynerium. There, they like to sit in the riverside trees. The slightly drier side arms of these rivers with strong current gradients are the reason for a very rich flora, which denote the locals as Otségoa. The Otségoa often consists of plants such as ants trees, balsa and gynerium. Koepckekassiken move alone, in pairs or small groups.
Reproduction
It is not much known about the reproduction of this type. Their nests they build in the lower branches, for example, coral trees, which are located near river banks. The nest is about 50 to 70 inches tall.
Vocalizations
The call consists of a repeating series of tchi chirp sounds which sounds like a duet Cheep - cheep ur chewchew. The sound is similar to the Trupiale, but less musical, but a little louder.
Etymology and History of Research
O'Neill was in 1963 on the road in the context of research in the hard to reach area on the outflow of the River Purus, near the border between Peru and Brazil. Between 1964 and 1965 he was again with John Farrand, Jr. and John Alan Feduccia in the context of a John Stauffer McIlhenny ( 1910-1997 ) sponsored expedition in a village called Kaxinawá - Balta on the Río Curanja in the region of Loreto go. Both expeditions O'Neill brought a Kassike who initially found little scientific attention. Only when the Museum of Natural Science at Louisiana State University conducted a routine compared with newly obtained skins from Bolivia, noticed that it was a new species. The holotype collected O'Neill on March 22, 1965 to a position in which the inflows Xumuya and Inuya flow into the Río Curanja.
The name Cacicus goes on Mathurin -Jacques Brisson back to 1760. This described the Rotbürzelkassike ( Cacicus haemorrhous ) as Cassique Rouge. The word comes from the Latin term Cassis (French: Casque ) for helmet off. The epithet " koepckeae " honors Maria Koepcke for her services around the Ornithology of Peru.