Ecuadorian Cacique

The male Ecuadorian cacique grows to a length of about 23 cm (9 in), with the female being a little smaller. The plumage of both sexes is entirely black, the beak is whitish, long and pointed, and the iris is blue in adults and brown in juveniles. This bird can be distinguished from the otherwise similar solitary cacique (Cacicus solitarius) because that species is larger, has a darker-coloured iris and spends more time in undergrowth and near the ground and less time in trees. Also similar is the red-rumped cacique (C. haemorrhous), but it reveals its bright red rump patch when in flight. This bird has a number of noisy calls, including a repeated "péach-yo" and "péach-yo-yo", uttered while perched with raised tail, a "k-cheeyow?", and a "kweeyh-kweeyh-kweeyh-kweeyh-wonhh?" among others.

The species is native to southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. It typically lives in moist woodland and the edges of riverside and Várzea forests, at altitudes of up to 400 m (1,300 ft).

An arboreal bird, the Ecuadorian cacique usually feeds alone but sometimes pairs of birds or small family groups move together through the tree canopy. It often visits flowering and fruiting trees and can sometimes be seen probing the petioles of Cecropia trees. Its diet is mainly insects such as ants, beetles and caterpillars, as well as fruit and possibly nectar.