|
Family: Icteridae, Blackbirds and Orioles
Description 7-7 3/4" (18-20 cm). Male yellow to orange, with black wings crossed with 2 white bars, black tail, and black throat and upper breast. Bill thin and curved; tail long and graduated. Female olive-gray above, olive-yellow below, with 2 white wing bars. Yearling male looks like female, but has black throat. See Altamira Oriole.
Habitat Originally preferred streamside growth, but has adapted to tree plantations, city parks, and suburban areas with palm or eucalyptus trees and shrubbery.
Nesting 3-5 white eggs, blotched with dark brown and purple, in a basket of plant fibers with the entrance at the top, hanging from palm fronds or the branches of eucalyptus or other trees.
|
|
Range Breeds from central California, Nevada, central Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas southward. A few winter in southern California and southern Texas.
Voice Series of whistles, chatters, and warbles.
Discussion Probably the most common breeding orioles in southern Texas, these trusting birds often visit ranches and suburban areas for food. They are largely insectivorous but take fruit when it is available. This species is heavily parasitized by the Bronzed Cowbird. Most Hooded Oriole nests contain one or more eggs of this brood parasite.
|