Yellow-backed Oriole
Icterus chrysater
Attractive black-and-yellow oriole. Mainly in pine-oak forest of highlands, but also in humid tropical lowlands of Yucatan Peninsula. Often in flowering trees with other species of orioles. Both sexes have a yellow head and body with a small black mask and throat patch, black wings and tail. Bill is straight and pointed. Richly whistled and slightly halting song carries well.
Identification
Yellow-backed orioles are a yellow-bodied, sexually monomorphic species. They average 21.5 cm (8.5 in) in length from beak to tail; making it a relatively medium-sized oriole species. Exposed skin and claws are bluish-black; in adults, the bill is black, with the base of the mandible becoming bluish-grey.<p>Adult males display strongly contrasting yellow and black plumage. The wings, tail, shoulders, throat, and face are all black; by contrast, the back and underparts are an extremely bright yellow. Adult females closely resemble males, but yellow parts appear slightly greenish. Despite differences in plumage coloration between sexes, it is likely that this species is extremely difficult to sex in the field.<p>Immature yellow-backed orioles resemble adult females in overall pattern, but are greener; additionally, the flight feathers, which are black in females, are dark brown. Immature yellow-backed orioles are easily distinguished from adult females by their olive eye-line.<p>Similar species include the South American yellow oriole (Icterus nigrogularis).
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Icterus chrysater
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1844)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Icterus
Range and habitat
Yellow-backed orioles are found throughout Central America and northern South America. In particular, the species is divided into three allopatric populations. One population, designated as the subspecies I. c. giraudii, is endemic to southern Central America, including Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. The northernmost populations comprise the subspecies I. c. chrysater and I. c. mayanensis; these subspecies are found in northern Central America and in southern Mexico. The species is found in Belize, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.<p>Yellow-backed orioles are able to tolerate a wide variety of habitats, but prefer open, mixed pine-oak woodlands and dry scrub forest. This species has also been sighted in banana plantations. It has occasionally colonized lowland deciduous forest.<p>This species is usually found in regions that are less than 900 m (3,000 ft) in altitude, though in Central and South America populations are often seen residing at elevations greater than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The upper altitude limit for populations observed in the wild appears to be about 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Yellow-backed orioles have been observed to congregate in small flocks of up to eight individuals; these flocks are probably family units, as they are composed of individuals at varying stages of maturity. This species occasionally joins mixed-species flocks that include band-backed wrens, jays, and other medium-sized orioles.<p>This species has a clear, whistling voice, with a song resembling that of Spot-breasted orioles (Icterus pectoralis). The song generally consists of a series of clear notes, but it acquires a muddy, warbled quality among populations native to southern Central America.Both sexes are known to sing, which appears to be common to orioles that breed in tropical climates. Vocalizations are generally delivered from perches high in trees.<p>The most commonly used call has been described as a “nasal ‘chert’”, but other calls include a “whistling chatter” and a “nasal alarm”.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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