A large bird compared to other oropendolas, Psarocolius montezuma are very visible because of their bright colors. Males and females are mostly deep chestnut in color, except for shades of yellow on their outer tail feathers and a black head complete with a pale, blue patch of skin and pink wattle. Their sharp bills are black and orange, and in males, the orange extends over their forehead. Males also have extra skin on either side of their chin and are considereably larger than females, which accounts for the wide ranges of mass. An adult male can grow to 51 cm in length, while females are 38cm in length on average. Juveniles are similar to adults except the colors are duller and they are smaller in size (Skutch 1996; Jaramillo and Burke 1999).

Range mass: 230 to 520 g.