parent_taxon quiscalus
Jaundice , also known as icterus , is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and whites of the eyes due to high bilirubin levels . It is commonly associated with itchiness . The feces may be pale and the urine dark . Jaundice in babies occurs in over half in the first week following birth and in most is not a problem . If bilirubin levels in babies are very high for too long a type of brain damage , known as kernicterus , may occur . Causes of jaundice vary from non - serious to potentially fatal . Levels of bilirubin in blood are normally below 1 . 0 mg / dL ( 17 µmol / L ) and levels over 2 - 3 mg / dL ( 34 - 51 µmol / L ) typically results in jaundice . High bilirubin is divided into two types : unconjugated ( indirect ) and conjugated ( direct ). Conjugated bilirubin can be confirmed by finding bilirubin in the urine . Other conditions that can cause yellowish skin but are not jaundice include carotenemia from eating large amounts of certain foods and medications like rifampin . High unconjugated bilirubin may be due to excess red blood cell breakdown , large bruises , genetic conditions such as Gilbert ' s syndrome , no eating for a prolonged period of time , newborn jaundice , or thyroid problems . High conjugated bilirubin may be due to liver diseases such as cirrhosis or hepatitis , infections , medications , or blockage of the bile duct . In the developed world the cause is more often blockage of the bile duct or medications while in the developing world it is more often infections such as viral hepatitis , leptospirosis , schistosomiasis , or malaria . Blockage of the bile duct may occur due to gallstones , ___MASK79___ , or pancreatitis . Medical imaging such as ultrasound is useful for detecting bile duct blockage . Treatment of jaundice is typically determined by the underlying cause . If a bile duct blockage is present surgery is typically required , otherwise management is medical . Medical management may involve treating infectious causes and stopping medication that could be contributing . Among newborns , depending on age and prematurity , a bilirubin greater than 4 - 21 mg / dL ( 68 - 360 µmol / L ) may be treated with phototherapy or exchanged transfusion . The itchiness may be helped by draining the gallbladder or ursodeoxycholic acid . The word " jaundice " is from the French " jaunisse ", meaning " yellow disease ". Icterids make up a family ( ___MASK20___ ) of small - to medium - sized , often colorful , New - World passerine birds . Most species have black as a predominant plumage color , often enlivened by yellow , orange or red . The family varies widely in size , shape , behavior and coloration . The name , meaning " jaundiced ones " ( from the prominent yellow feathers of many species ) comes from the Ancient Greek " ikteros " via the Latin " ictericus ". This group includes the New World blackbirds , New World orioles , the bobolink , meadowlarks , grackles , cowbirds , oropendolas and caciques . The New World blackbirds consist of 26 species of icterid birds that share the name blackbird but do not correspond with a formal taxon . The distributions of all species are limited to the Americas , and this group is distinct from the Eurasian common blackbird (" ___MASK83___ merula "). A passerine is any ___MASK100___ of the order Passeriformes , which includes more than half of all ___MASK100___ species . A notable feature of passerines compared to other orders of Aves is the arrangement of their toes , three pointing forward and one back , which facilitates perching . Sometimes known as perching birds or , less accurately , as songbirds , the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders , with over 5 , 000 identified species . It has roughly twice as many species as the largest of the ___MASK54___ orders , the ___MASK61___ . It contains more than 110 families , the second - most of any order of tetrapods ( after Squamata , the scaled reptiles ). The passerines contain several groups of brood parasites such as the viduas , cuckoo - finches , and the cowbirds . Most passerines are omnivorous , while the shrikes are carnivorous . Southern Cone is a geographic region composed of the southernmost ___MASK96___ of South America , south of and around the Tropic of Capricorn . Traditionally , it covers ___MASK70___ , Chile and Uruguay , bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean , and south to the junction between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans , which is the closest continental area of Antarctica ( 1000 km ). In terms of social and political geography , the Southern Cone comprises ___MASK70___ , Chile , Uruguay , Southern Brazil and sometimes Paraguay . The cuckoo - finch (" ___MASK47___ imberbis "), also known as the parasitic weaver or cuckoo weaver , is a small passerine ___MASK100___ now placed in the family Viduidae with the indigobirds and whydahs . It occurs in grassland in Africa south of the Sahara . The male is mainly yellow and green while the female is buff with dark streaks . The eggs are laid in the nests of other birds . Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family ___MASK20___ . They are brood parasitic New World birds which are unrelated to the Old World cuckoos , one of which , the common cuckoo , is the most famous brood parasitic bird . A songbird is a ___MASK100___ belonging to the clade ___MASK1___ of the perching birds ( Passeriformes ). Another name that is sometimes seen as a scientific or vernacular name is Oscines , from Latin " oscen ", " a songbird ". This group contains some 4 , 000 species found all over the world , in which the vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate ___MASK100___ song . Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia ( from Latin " mamma " " breast "), a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of a neocortex ( a region of the brain ), hair , three middle ear bones and mammary glands . The sister group of mammals may be the extinct " Haldanodon ." The mammals represent the only living Synapsida , which together with the ___MASK36___ form the Amniota clade . The mammals consist of the Yinotheria including monotrema and the Theriiformes including the theria . The avian genus Quiscalus contains six of the ten species of grackle , gregarious passerine birds in the icterid family . They are native to North and South America . The six species are : Boat - tailed grackle , Quiscalus major Common grackle , Quiscalus quiscula Great - tailed grackle , Quiscalus mexicanus Slender - billed grackle , Quiscalus palustris - extinct ( 1910 ) Nicaraguan grackle , Quiscalus nicaraguensis Greater Antillean grackle , Quiscalus niger Carib grackle , Quiscalus lugubris The oropendolas comprise two or three genera of South and Central American passerine birds in the ___MASK20___ New World blackbird family . Grackle is the common name of any of eleven passerine birds native to North and South America . They belong to various genera in the icterid family . In all the species with this name , adult males have black or mostly black plumage . Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in both South America and Latin America . As the world ' s fifth - largest country by both ___MASK63___ and population , it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas . Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east , Brazil has a coastline of . It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and covers 47 . 3 % of the continent ' s land ___MASK63___ . Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest , home to diverse wildlife , a variety of ecological systems , and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats . This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries , and is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection . Rodents ( from Latin " rodere ", " to gnaw ") are mammals of the order ___MASK61___ , which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws . About 40 % of all mammal species are rodents ; they are found in vast numbers on all continents except Antarctica . They are the most diversified mammalian order and live in a variety of terrestrial habitats , including human - made environments . The bobolink (" ___MASK38___ oryzivorus ") is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ___MASK38___ . South America is a continent located in the western hemisphere , mostly in the southern hemisphere , with a relatively small portion in the northern hemisphere . It is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas , which is the model used in nations that speak Romance languages . The reference to South America instead of other regions ( like Latin America or the Southern Cone ) has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics ( in particular , the rise of Brazil ). A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth . Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria , up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents . Ordered from largest in size to smallest , they are : Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Australia . In geology , ___MASK96___ of continental crust include regions covered with water . ___MASK34___ is a genus of sparrows , also known as the true sparrows . The genus includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow , some of the most common birds in the world . They are small birds with thick bills for eating seeds , and are mostly coloured grey or brown . Native to the Old World , some species have been introduced throughout the world . Shrikes are carnivorous passerine birds of the family Laniidae . The family is composed of thirty - one species in four genera . They are fairly closely related to the bush - ___MASK48___ family Malaconotidae . Vertebrates comprise all species of animals within the subphylum ___MASK30___ ( chordates with backbones ). Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata , with currently about 64 , 000 species described . Vertebrates include the jawless fish and the jawed vertebrates , which include the cartilaginous fish ( sharks and rays ) and the bony fish . Brood parasites are organisms that rely on others to raise their young . The strategy appears among birds , ___MASK37___ and some fish . The brood parasite manipulates a host , either of the same or of another species , to raise its young as if it were its own . The cuckoos are a family of birds , ___MASK60___ , the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo , roadrunners , koels , malkohas , couas , coucals and anis . The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families , the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively . The order ___MASK24___ , or the scaled reptiles , are the largest recent order of reptiles , comprising all lizards and snakes . With over 10 , 000 species , it is also the second - largest order of extant vertebrates , after the perciform fish , and roughly equal in number to the Saurischia ( one of the 2 major groups of dinosaurs ). Members of the order are distinguished by their skins , which ___MASK27___ horny scales or shields . They also possess movable quadrate bones , making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the neurocranium . This is particularly visible in snakes , which are able to open their mouths very wide to accommodate comparatively large prey . They are the most variably sized order of reptiles , ranging from the dwarf gecko (" Sphaerodactylus ariasae ") to the green anaconda (" Eunectes murinus ") and the now - extinct mosasaurs , which reached lengths of . Birds ( Aves ), also known as avian dinosaurs , are a group of endothermic vertebrates , characterised by feathers , toothless beaked jaws , the laying of hard - shelled eggs , a high metabolic rate , a four - chambered heart , and a lightweight but strong skeleton . Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ___MASK84___ . They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species , at approximately ten thousand , with more than half of these being passerines , sometimes known as perching birds or , less accurately , as songbirds .