Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Small, slender oriole. Adult males are a unique rich chestnut-brown color with a black head. Females are dull yellow-green with white wingbars. Immature males are similar to females, but with a black throat and mask. Breeds in open woodlands, river edges, pastures with scattered trees, and brushy orchards. Visits feeders with nectar and fruits. Departs breeding grounds early and heads to wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America, where it can be found in any open or wooded habitat. Compare with female Hooded Oriole, which is larger and longer-tailed and has a narrower, more curved bill.
Identification
Measurements:<p>The bill is pointed and black with some blue-gray at the base of the lower mandible. The adult male of the nominate subspecies has chestnut on the underparts, shoulder, and rump, with the rest of the plumage black. In the subspecies I. s. fuertesi, the chestnut is replaced with ochre. The adult female and the juvenile of both subspecies have olive-green on the upper parts and yellowish on the breast and belly. All adults have pointed bills and white wing bars. (Orchard orioles are considered to be adults after their second year.) One-year-old males are yellow-greenish with black lores and bib.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Icterus spurius
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- Genus
- Icterus
Range and habitat
The breeding habitat is semi-open areas with deciduous trees. I. s. spurius breeds in spring across eastern North America from near the Canada–United States border south to central Mexico. A 2009 study also found breeding in the thorn forest of Baja California Sur and the coast of Sinaloa during the summer "monsoon"; this region had previously been thought to be only a migratory stopover. I. s. fuertesi breeds from southern Tamaulipas to Veracruz. There is a record of a specimen of fuertesi from Cameron County, Texas.: 815 These birds prefer living in shaded trees within parks along lakes and streams. The nest is a tightly woven pouch attached to a fork on a horizontal branch. Their nests tend to sit close together.<p>The nominate subspecies' winter range extends from the coastal lowlands of central Sinaloa and southern Veracruz south to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela (Scharf and Kren 1996). The ochre subspecies has been observed in winter on the Pacific slope of Mexico.<p>Nominate orchard orioles depart from their winter habitats in March and April and arrive in their breeding habitats from late April to late May. Usually, they leave their breeding territories in late July and early August and arrive on their winter territories in mid August. These birds are nocturnal migrants.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
When in flight, orchard orioles generally swoop close to the ground and fly at or below treetop level.<p>During courtship, females display themselves in three ways. The first is by bowing their head and torso toward the male. Seesawing, the second courtship display, involves repetitively alternating lowering and raising the head and tail. The third display is begging, which is fast-paced fluttering of wings halfway extended, followed by a high whistle.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Riverside Wren
Cantorchilus semibadius
Medium-sized wren with rufous upperparts and bold black-and-white barred underparts. Complex black-and-white face pattern. Sexes alike. Found in pairs or small groups, foraging in the lower levels of forests and shrubby edges.
Dambo Cisticola
Cisticola dambo
Small cisticola that is pale and buffy below, and dark on the back. The crown, back of the neck, and back are heavily streaked. Note specific habitat preferences, which can help with identification: found in seepage zones of seasonally wet grasslands, alongside but in wetter situations than Wing-snapping Cisticolas, but avoiding the seasonally flooded habitat of Pale-crowned Cisticola. Very similar to Wing-snapping and Pale-crowned Cisticolas, but longer-tailed than both, and further distinguished from Pale-crowned in breeding plumage by the streaked crown. Also similar to Zitting and Desert Cisticolas, but has a different voice, and is darker on the back. Song consists of nasal notes, given from a low perch (termite mound or grass stem) or occasional brief display flight at grass top height. In contrast to other small cisticolas, it does not have a true aerial display flight.
Flightless Steamer-Duck
Tachyeres pteneres
A large heavily built duck that is uncommon to fairly common along rocky seacoasts; not found on lakes, unlike Flying Steamer-Duck. Both sexes are steely blue-gray overall, brighter than Flying Steamer-Duck, with a stouter and deeper-based bill. The bill of both male and female is bright orange in the southern parts of its range, but is orange with a greenish distal patch around Chiloé Island (likely a different species). The bill of juvenile birds is duller grayish to dull yellowish; attains adult color by winter.
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