Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 7.5–9.4 in
19–24 cm - Wingspan
- 12.6 in
32 cm - Weight
- 1.1–1.9 oz
31–53 g
Other Names
- Black-headed Oriole
- Oriole d'Audubon (French)
- Bolsero cabeza negra, Bolsero Capuchinegra, Chorcha cabeza negra, Calandria hierera (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Audubon's Oriole is the only black-hooded New World oriole (with an entirely black head and breast but not back). Indeed, it was formerly known as the Black-headed Oriole, but this name was changed in 1983 to Audubon's Oriole to avoid confusion with an Old World group of species in the genus Oriolus, the true orioles.
- The Audubon's Oriole is a favored host of the nest-parasitic Bronzed Cowbird. In Texas, more than half of all oriole nests have cowbird eggs in them.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Uses a variety of habitats, including riparian forest, thorn forest, and live oak forest in Texas, and humid tropical forests in Mexico.
Food
Insects
Insects, spiders, fruits. Sunflower seed at bird feeders.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale bluish white, with dark streaks and blotches, heaviest at large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Description
Nest a slightly hanging basket of woven palmetto fibers or grasses, lined with soft grasses or hair. Placed in trees, often quite low to ground, among twigs and leaves on central portion of limbs.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Forages in dense foliage, often near forest clearing. Inserts bill into dead wood or plants and opens it forcefully to expose insects hiding inside. Uses bird feeders.
Conservation
Least Concern
Has declined in Texas. Not listed as at risk in any part of its range. Vulnerability to habitat loss and fragmentation (particularly cowbird parasitism) suggests that special measures may be needed to maintain some populations.
Credits
- Flood, N. J., J. D. Rising, and T. Brush. 2002. Audubon's Oriole (Icterus graduacauda). In The Birds of North America, No. 691 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.