Mountain Grackle

The Colombian mountain grackle is 27 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) long. It is slender and has a long tail. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults are almost entirely black overlain with a blue gloss. Their axillaries and underwing coverts are dark chestnut; this color is seldom visible in the field. They have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet. Juveniles are dusky brown with less gloss and chestnut than adults.

The Colombian mountain grackle is found on the western slope of the northern part of Colombia's Eastern Andes in Norte de Santander, Santander, and Boyacá departments. It inhabits humid montane forest heavy with epiphytes. It especially favors forest of the oak Quercus humboldtii. Sources differ slightly on its elevational range. One says it is 1,900 to 3,100 m (6,200 to 10,200 ft) and another says 2,000 to 3,200 m (6,600 to 10,500 ft).

The Colombian mountain grackle's diet has not been fully described but is known to include insects, other arthropods, and berries. It forages among leaves and epiphytes, typically between about 15 and 30 m (50 and 100 ft) above the ground. It roams in flocks with yellow-rumped caciques (Cacicus cela) and sometimes in flocks that include several icterids and members of other bird families.