Belongs within: Emberizoidea.
Contains: Sturnella, Cacicus, Icterus, Agelaius, Molothrus, Quiscalus, Agelasticus.
The Icteridae, sometimes referred to as New World Orioles or New World blackbirds, are a family of small to large passerine birds found in North and South America. Icterids have pointed bills and generally dark, often glossy plumage, often also with brightly-coloured patches (Fraga 2011).
The bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus is a distinctive member of the family, being more finch-like in appearance than other icterids, that migrates between temperate regions of North and South America. The yellow-headed blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus migrates between northerly and southerly regions of North America, and has more extensive and brighter yellow coloration on the head in the male than the female (Fraga 2011). The yellow-billed cacique Amblycercus holosericeus is an all-black species with a long, chisel-shaped bill found in Central and northwest South America (Fraga 2011).
Icteridae [Icterinae, Icterini]
|--+--SturnellaBKB15
| `--+--Xanthocephalus Bonaparte 1850BKB15, F11
| | `--X. xanthocephalus (Bonaparte 1826) (see below for synonymy)S05
| `--Dolichonyx Swainson 1827BKB15, F11 [Dolichonychinae]
| `--D. oryzivorus (Linnaeus 1758) [=Fringilla oryzivora]F11
`--+--CacicusBKB15
`--+--IcterusBKB15
`--+--Amblycercus Cabanis 1851BKB15, F11
| `--A. holosericeus (Deppe 1830) [=Sturnus holosericeus]F11
| |--A. h. holosericeusF11
| |--A. h. australis Chapman 1919F11
| `--A. h. flavirostris Chapman 1915F11
`--+--Nesopsar Sclater 1859BKB15, F11
| `--N. nigerrimus (Osburn 1859) [=Icterus nigerrimus]F11
`--+--Dives Cassin 1867BKB15, F11
| |--D. dives (Deppe 1830) [=Icterus dives]F11
| `--D. warszewiczi (Cabanis 1861) [=Lampropsar warszewiczi]F11
| |--D. w. warszewicziF11
| `--D. kalinowskii Berlepsch & Stolzmann 1892F11
`--+--AgelaiusBKB15
`--+--MolothrusBKB15
`--+--+--QuiscalusBKB15
| `--Euphagus Cassin 1867BKB15, F11
| |--E. carolinus (Statius Müller 1776)F11 (see below for synonymy)
| | |--E. c. carolinusF11
| | `--E. c. nigrans Burleigh & Peters 1948F11
| |--E. cyanocephalus (Wagler 1829) [=Psarocolius cyanocephalus]F11
| `--E. magnirostrisFP64
`--+--Macroagelaius Cassin 1866BKB15, F11
| |--M. imthurni (Sclater 1881)AP21, F11 [=Agelaeus imthurniF11]
| `--M. subalaris (Boissonneau 1840) [=Quiscalus subalaris]F11
`--+--+--Gymnomystax Reichenbach 1850BKB15, F11
| | |--G. melanicterusSS66
| | `--G. mexicanus (Linnaeus 1766) [=Oriolus mexicanus]F11
| `--+--Hypopyrrhus Bonaparte 1850BKB15, F11
| | `--H. pyrohypogaster (de Tarragon 1847) [=Cassicus pyrohypogaster]F11
| `--Lampropsar Cabanis 1847BKB15, F11
| `--L. tanagrinus (Spix 1824) [=Icterus tanagrinus]F11
| |--L. t. tanagrinusF11
| |--L. t. boliviensis Gyldenstolpe 1941F11
| |--L. t. guianensis Cabanis 1848F11
| |--L. t. macropterus Gyldenstolpe 1945F11
| `--L. t. violaceus Hellmayr 1906F11
`--+--+--Amblyramphus Leach 1814BKB15, F11
| | `--A. holosericeus (Scopoli 1786) [=Xanthornus holosericeus]F11
| `--Curaeus Sclater 1862BKB15, F11
| |--C. curaeus (Molina 1782) [=Turdus curaeus; incl. C. curaeus recurvirostris]F11
| | |--C. c. curaeusF11
| | `--C. c. reynoldsi Sclater 1939F11
| `--C. forbesi (Sclater 1886) [=Agelaius forbesi, Gnorimopsar forbesi]F11
`--+--AgelasticusBKB15
`--+--+--Gnorimopsar Richmond 1908BKB15, F11
| | `--G. chopi (Vieillot 1819) [=Agelaius chopi]F11
| | |--G. c. chopiF11
| | |--G. c megistus (Leverkühn 1889)F11
| | `--G. c. sulcirostris (Spix 1824)F11
| `--Chrysomus Swainson 1837BKB15, F11
| |--C. icterocephalus (Linnaeus 1766)F11 (see below for synonymy)
| | |--C. i. icterocephalusF11
| | `--C. i. bogotensis (Chapman 1914)F11
| `--C. ruficapillus (Vieillot 1819) [=Agelaius ruficapillus]F11
| |--C. r. ruficapillusF11
| `--C. r. frontalis (Vieillot 1819)F11
`--+--+--Xanthopsar Ridgway 1901BKB15, F11
| | `--X. flavus (Gmelin 1788) (see below for synonymy)F11
| `--Pseudoleistes Sclater 1862BKB15, F11
| |--P. guirahuro (Vieillot 1819) [=Agelaius guirahuro]F11
| `--P. virescens (Vieillot 1819) [=Agelaius virescens]F11
`--+--Oreopsar Sclater 1939BKB15, F11
| `--O. bolivianus Sclater 1939 [incl. Agelaioides oreopsar]F11
`--Agelaioides Cassin 1866BKB15, F11
|--A. badius (Vieillot 1819) [=Agelaius badius, Molothrus badius]F11
| |--A. b. badiusF11
| `--A. b. bolivianus (Hellmayr 1917)F11
`--A. fringillarius (Spix 1824) (see below for synonymy)F11
Icteridae incertae sedis:
Tangavius armentiFP64
Cassiculus Swainson 1827F11
`--C. solitarius [incl. C. nigerrimus]SS66
OstinopsSS66
|--O. angustifronsSS66
|--O. atrovirensSS66
|--O. cristatusSS66
`--O. yuracariumSS66
Xanthosomus icterocephalusSS66
Megaquiscalus majorS18
|--M. m. majorS18
`--M. m. macrourusS18
Cremaster tytthus Brodkorb 1959U93
PandanarisF11
|--P. convexaF11
`--P. floridana Brodkorb 1957U93
Pyelorhamphus molothroidesF11
‘Colinus’ eatoni Shufeldt 1915U93
Scolecophagus Swainson 1831S05
LeistesAP21
|--L. bellicosusAP21
|--L. defilippiiAP21
`--L. loycaAP21
Anumara forbesiAP21
Ptiloxena Chapman 1892F11
`--P. atroviolacea (d’Orbigny 1839) [=Quiscalus atroviolaceus, Dives atroviolaceus]F11
Agelaioides fringillarius (Spix 1824) [=Icterus fringillarius, Molothrus fringillarius]F11
Chrysomus icterocephalus (Linnaeus 1766)F11 [=Oriolus icterocephalusF11, Agelaius icterocephalusF11, Zanthornus icterocephalusJ23]
Euphagus carolinus (Statius Müller 1776)F11 [=Turdus carolinusF11, Scolecophagus carolinusS05; incl. S. ferrugineus Harting 1871S05]
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bonaparte 1826) [=Icterus xanthocephalus; incl. I. frenatus Reinhardt 1843, Xanthocephalus icterocephalus Newton 1875, Agelaeus perspicillatus Reinhardt 1861]S05
Xanthopsar flavus (Gmelin 1788) [=Oriolus flavus, Agelaius flavus; incl. Icterus xantholemus]F11
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AP21] Arlott, N., & B. van Perlo. 2021. Collins Birds of the World. William Collins.
[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.
[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.
[F11] Fraga, R. M. 2011. Family Icteridae (New World blackbirds). In: Hoyo, J. del, A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 16. Tanagers to New World Blackbirds pp. 684–807. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.
[J23] James, E. 1823. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, sec’y of war: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. From the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party vol. 1. H. C. Carey & I. Lea: Philadelphia.
[S05] Schalow, H. 1905. Die Vögel der Arktis. In: Römer, F., & F. Schaudinn (eds) Fauna Arctica. Eine Zusammenstellun der arktischen Tierformen, mit besonder Berücksichtigung des Spitzbergen-Gebietes auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Deutschen Expedition in das Nördliche Eismeer im Jahre 1898 vol. 4 pp. 79–288. Gustav Fischer: Jena.
[SS66] Sclater, P. L., & O. Salvin. 1866. Catalogue of birds collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the River Uyacali, Eastern Peru, with notes and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 175–201.
[S18] Stone, W. 1918. Birds of the Panama Canal Zone, with special reference to a collection made by Mr. Lindsey L. Jewel. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 70: 239–280.
[U93] Unwin, D. M. 1993. Aves. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 717–737. Chapman & Hall: London.