- Icterus pustulatus
Identification
20cm. Bright orange body, with black streaks on back, deep orange-red head and breast, black face, chin, black wings with two white bars and white base to primaries, black tail with white corners. The culmen is straight.
The female and immature show more yellow/less orange than the male, and even show some yellow on the tail.
Variation
Males of some subspecies have wider black stripes on the back sometimes giving the impression of a solid black mantle.
Similar Species
The Altamira Oriole, with which it shares range, has solid black mantle instead of black streaks. It also has orange instead of the upper white wing bar.
Distribution
Mainly along the Pacific slope from sea level to 1800m. of Mexico south to Costa Rica. A rare winter visitor to Southern California and southern Arizona. Accidental vagrant to Oregon, Texas, and Colorado. The first documented visitor to Texas was photographed mid-February, 2005 at Brazos Bend State Park.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species[1], consisting of eight subspecies[1] :
- I.p. microstictus - Tropical western Mexico (northern Sonora and Chihuahua)
- I.p. yaegeri - Coastal lowlands of western Mexico (southern Sinaloa to southern Nayarit)
- I.p. pustulatus - Tropical southwest Mexico (Colima to northern Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz)
- I.p. dickermani - W Mexico (lowlands of southwest Jalisco and Colima to southern Guerrero)
- I.p. formosus - Arid tropical southern Mexico - (Oaxaca and Chiapas) to northwest Guatemala
- I.p. sclateri - Pacific slope of El Salvador to southwest Costa Rica (Nicoya Peninsula)
- I.p. alticola - Arid tropical Guatemala and Atlantic slope of Honduras
- I.p. graysonii - Tres Marías Islands (off western Mexico)
Habitat
Tree canopy in open, wooded sites, forest edges and scrub or grassland areas with scattered trees.
Behaviour
Seen singly or in small groups, often with other orioles.
Diet
They mostly eat insects, fruit, and seeds.
Breeding
The nest is a short hanging basket of plant fibers where it lays 3-4 white or pale bluish eggs, splotched brown.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Fagan and Komar, Peterson field guide to birds of northern Central America
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Streak-backed Oriole. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Streak-backed_Oriole
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
