Alternative name: Abeille's Oriole.
- Icterus abeillei
Identification
Male
- Black face, nape and back
- Black auriculars bordered by a dark orange malar stripe
- Black throat
- Orange on side of the breast
- Black bib
- Small orange spot in the lore area
- Orange underparts
- Light yellow lower breast and belly
- Black sides and flanks
- Wings
- Large white panel on greater coverts
- Conspicuous white fringes on the tertials and secondaries
- Black and yellow tail
- Black bill; slightly curved bill
- Black legs
Female
- Olive-grey crown
- Yellow cheek and forehead
- Pale, whitish stripe on midline of throat
- Yellow-orange breast and throat
- Greyish, pale yellow belly
- Olive grey back, shoulders, and rump
- Light olive yellow uppertail coverts
- Blackish-brown wings with white markings
Juveniles - similar to females, duller, yellow underparts with a green wash
Distribution
Central and eastern Mexico.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
This taxon is considered a subspecies of Bullock's Oriole (or even of Northern Oriole) by some authorities[2].
Habitat
Riparian woodlands and moist montanes, in spring it visits xerofit highlands searching the agave flowers.
Behaviour
Breeding
Nests are built in a tree or bush.
Diet
The diet includes insects and nectar.
References
Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- Animal Diversity Web
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-backed Oriole. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-backed_Oriole
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
