Orchard Orioles, Icterus spurius
Orioles
The Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, migrate in flocks for wintering from central Mexico south through Central America to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.
In the Caribbean, they can often be found on the Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The specific name spurius refers to the original misidentification of the male as a female Baltimore Oriole. These birds are sometimes mistakenly identified as New World warblers.
Description:
The Orchard Oriole is the smallest species of icterid blackbird at 6.3 inches (16 cm) long and a weight of 20 g.
The adult has a pointed bill and white wing bars.
The adult male is chestnut on the underparts, shoulder and rump, with the rest of the plumage being black. One-year males are yellow with a black bib.
The adult female is olive-green on the upper parts, yellowish on the breast and belly.
Description:
The breeding habitat is semi-open areas with deciduous trees across eastern North America south to central Mexico, often near water.
The nest is a tightly woven pouch attached to a fork on a horizontal branch. In some parts of their range, they may nest in small colonies.
Diet / Feeding:
They forage in trees and shrubs, also making short flights to catch insects and feed from flowers. These birds mainly eat insects, particular fruit and nectar, and also other plantstuff.
Footnotes
- Trophis racemosa (Moraceae): (Foster 2007).
References
- BirdLife International (2004). Icterus spurius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Foster, Mercedes S. (2007): The potential of fruiting trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico. Bird Conservation International 17(1): 45-61. doi:10.1017/S0959270906000554 PDF fulltext
- Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comistock, Ithaca. ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
External links
- Orchard Oriole by John Audubon
- Orchard Oriole Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Orchard Oriole Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Orchard Oriole - Icterus spurius - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Orchard Oriole videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Orchard Oriole photo gallery VIREO
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Relevant Web Resources: Orchard Oriole - Icterus Spurius (USGS) ... Orchard Oriole - Birds of Nova Scotia ... USGS
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