African Black-headed Oriole

Photo by safariranger
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Alternative names: Eastern Black-headed Oriole; Black-headed Oriole

Oriolus larvatus

Identification

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

Similar Species

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

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, ESwatini

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

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

Habitat

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

Behaviour

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

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.
2. Avibase

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) African Black-headed Oriole. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Black-headed_Oriole

External Links

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