 Confusingly, the name "olive oropendola" is usually used for this combined species, despite the fact that the nominate subspecies has no olive to its plumage, as its head and chest are black (these are olive in "P. b. yuracares").The back, wings and belly of this large oropendola are brown, the outer rectrices are yellow (i.e.tail appears all yellow from below), the bare facial skin is pink, the eyes are brown, and the bill is black with an orange tip.