From Opus

Photo by safariranger
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Alternative name: Eastern Black-headed Oriole

Oriolus larvatus

[edit] Identification

Bright yellow body, black head, olive central tail feathers, yellowish edge of its inner secondaries, flesh-coloured beak.

[edit] Similar Species

It can be distinguished from other similar species (eg the Western Black-headed Oriole or the Montane Oriole) by its olive central tail feathers and the yellowish edge of its inner secondaries.
Where it is conspecific with other black-headed Orioles it tends to be restricted to the forest edge.

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland

Non-breeding first year bird; the bill has not quite reached the red stage and the hood is not totally dark
Photo by jdbirdman
Oribi Gorge, South Africa, August 2004

[edit] Taxonomy

Oriolus larvatus has six subspecies:¹

• O. l. angolensis:

• Angola to Namibia and Zambia

• O. l. additus:

• South-eastern Tanzania and Mozambique

• O. l. tibicen:

• Coastal southern Tanzania to southern Mozambique

• O. l. reichenowi:

• Coastal southern Somalia to central Tanzania

• O. l. rolleti:

• Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (?) and eastern Zaire

• O. l. larvatus:

• Eastern South Africa, Mozambique and southern Zimbabwe

[edit] Habitat

Inhabits Acacia woodland and other types of open woodland as well as being seen in mangroves and forest.

[edit] Behaviour

The diet includes small fruit as well as large insects. The young are fed mostly with caterpillars.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Avibase

• List of references

[edit] External Links