Chestnut-headed Oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri) [XC11195]
by Andrew Spencer from Romer\u00f3n\/Bart\u00f3la, Nicaragua (call)
Chestnut-headed Oropendola (Psarocolius wagleri) [XC171903]
by Liliana Chavarria-Duriaux from Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua (begging call)
Subspecies
Formerly placed in a monotypic genus Zarhynchus because of its peculiar bill shape. However, recent analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicates that it belongs to a clade containing the "Andean oropendolas" (Dusky-green Oropendola (Psarocolius atrovirens) and montane subspecies of Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons)).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
wagleri (Gray, 1845) - Atlantic slope from south-eastern Mexico (Veracruz and northern Oaxaca) south to Honduras and north-eastern Nicaragua.
ridgwayi (van Rossem, 1934) - Eastern Nicaragua south to western Colombia and south-western Ecuador (Manabí, rarely to El Oro).