Maroon Oriole
Oriolus traillii
Large, pale-eyed songbird of lower and middle elevations of montane forests. Male blood red with inky black head and wings and dark bill; female similar but less richly colored. Juvenile brown above, pale with dark stippling below, paler bill, and tawny undertail coverts. Birds in Taiwan and central Vietnam are much brighter red overall. Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, sometimes with mixed-species flocks. Pairs often engage in an ethereal duet: male gives a series of melodic notes, to which the female responds with a long, airy whistle. Also gives harsh, rasping calls.
Identification
The maroon oriole has maroon and black plumage with a black head, neck and wings with a blueish beak. The females have slightly darker bodies and the juveniles have lighter bodies. The adult male is glossy crimson-maroon in color, with black head, neck and wings and a chestnut-maroon tail. The females and immature males have a greyish-white underpart with black streaks. Colouration varies somewhat across the range, with those in the Indian Subcontinent having duller colours and those in Southeast Asia having brighter colours, also tending to somewhat reddish tones.
Taxonomy
The maroon oriole was originally described in the genus Pastor. Along with the black, black-and-crimson and silver orioles, it belongs to a clade of red and black orioles.<p>Four subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Oriolus traillii
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1832)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Oriolidae
- Genus
- Oriolus
Range and habitat
The maroon oriole is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam. In India, it is found from Himachal Pradesh east to Arunachal Pradesh and the hills of Manipur.<p>Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The maroon oriole lives alone or in pairs. The nesting season is from April to May. The nest is a deep massive cup of bast fibre that is bound with cobwebs. Both male and female birds share the parental duties.<p>The maroon oriole eats wild figs, berries, insects and nectar.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise
Diphyllodes magnificus
A medium-sized bird of foothill and lower montane forest. Male has bottle green chest and yellow from the back of the neck, both of which it can erect into elaborate ornamentation during the display at a court on the ground. Long, flattened, curly tail feathers reflect blue. The female is brown above and barred below. Male is unmistakable. Female Magnificent is smaller than female parotias and lophorinas, and larger than female King, and has a blue bill and stripe behind the eye. Male gives a series of downslurred “joo!” notes, a loud ringing “jip!” or harsh rasps.
Snares Penguin
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Swamp Sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
A medium-sized sparrow with attractive rufous and gray pattern. Slightly smaller than Song Sparrow, with a blurrier look overall (like a watercolor vs. an oil painting). Look for bright reddish-brown wings and relatively plain underparts. Adults are plain grayish below with buffy sides; males have a rufous crown. Immatures often show buffy tones on the face and streaking on the underparts, but never as crisp and extensive as Lincoln’s Sparrow. Breeds in cattail marshes and other wetlands; found in a variety of shrubby habitats during migration and winter, but often in wet areas. Typically not in flocks with other sparrows, and rarely visits feeders. Compare especially with Song and Lincoln’s Sparrows.
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