Yellow-tailed Oriole
Icterus mesomelas
Flashy black-and-yellow oriole of humid tropical lowlands. Favors tangles and thickets along rivers and near water, also overgrown fields. Usually in pairs, often rather skulking. Both sexes have black back and wings with a big yellow shoulder bar, black tail with yellow sides that flash in flight. Immature has same pattern but duller, with a greenish back. Rich whistled song has a rollicking, rhythmic cadence.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Icterus mesomelas
- Authority
- (Wagler, 1829)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Icterus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Yellow-throated Toucan
Ramphastos ambiguus
Large conspicuous bird with oversized bill. Mostly black overall with yellow throat and face. Note bicolored bill: dark below and yellow above. Found in pairs or small groups, often parading through the canopy in search of fruit. Sometimes perches very obviously at the top of a tree. Favors forested areas, but can also be found in gardens and edges. Yelping call helps distinguish from similar looking species.
Yellow-bellied Siskin
Spinus xanthogastrus
Small boldly patterned finch. Male has black hood, yellow belly, and yellow wing patch. Female much drabber, overall dull yellowish-green but still shows yellow wing patch. Most often seen in pairs, often perched in the canopy but sometimes lower. Usually close to forest, but hangs around clearings and edges.
Ancient Antwren
Herpsilochmus gentryi
This antwren is known only from a small area in northeastern Peru and adjacent border areas of Ecuador. It is confined to rainforest that grows in nutrient-poor soils with a specific mineral composition. Note the yellowish underparts, black crown and black eye-stripe separated by a pale eyebrow, and bold white wingbars and tail edges. Similar to Dugand’s Antwren, but male has yellowish underparts and female has a black (not brown) crown. Stays quite high in the trees and often joins mixed-species flocks. Song is decelerating series of notes that rises and then falls.
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