Crested Oropendola

How to find it

Head for the far south Pacific, mainly around Golfito and San Vito, which a Costa Rican bird database lists as its main areas in the country. Scan the upper levels of trees, because it feeds high up. Check forest edges, clearings, open areas and plantations with a few large trees rather than the forest interior. Watch for mixed flocks of caciques and other oropendolas. One photographer found it near San Vito and at Las Cruces, but did not find it on the Osa Peninsula.

How to recognise it

Adult males look mostly black with a chestnut rump and belly.

The tail is bright yellow with two dark central feathers, and the yellow shows well in flight. The eye is blue and the bill is long and pale. Males also carry a thin crest, though it is often hard to see.

Females are similar but smaller, duller and have no crest. Males are about 46 to 47 cm long and females about 37 cm. These sizes describe the species across its whole range.

In the far south of Costa Rica, a black-headed oropendola with a chestnut rump is this species.

What it sounds like

Recording: Tomás Carranza Perales, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

The Crested Oropendola feeds mainly on wild and cultivated fruit, insects and spiders. It forages alone or in small flocks, and it feeds high in the trees, mostly in the upper level. Look for it with mixed flocks of caciques and other oropendolas.

It nests in colonies, building long hanging woven nests high in a tree. Across its range it is usually a year-round resident that stays in one area.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it lives only in the far south, on the Pacific side next to the Panama border. In that small range it occurs from about 100 to 1,500 m (300 to 4,900 ft).

Across its wider range it uses forest edges and clearings, gallery forest, savanna, and coffee or cacao plantations with large trees. It is not regularly found inside extensive primary forest, and in Costa Rica it is seldom in intact primary forest either.

Similar birds

The Chestnut-headed Oropendola is the one to compare, since both have a pale bill, blue eye-ring and yellow tail. In Costa Rica the Crested has a black head, and its call is harsh rather than liquid. Of the three oropendolas in the country (Montezuma, Chestnut-headed and Crested), only the Crested lives in the far south near Panama.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides the AOCR name Oropéndola Crestada, Spanish sources also call it cacique crestado. Elsewhere in its range it is known as conoto yapú, conoto negro and yapú, and its English alternative name is cornbird.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R); it is still uncommon in Costa Rica but is spreading its range.

Photography tips

Visit the nesting tree near Las Cruces in early morning or late afternoon for the best chance of success. Because it feeds high in the upper levels of trees, look for it at forest edges and in open areas where the canopy is visible.