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The Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, is a small blackbird, 16 cm long and weighing 20 g..

Adults have a pointed bill and white wing bars. The adult male is chestnut on the underparts, shoulder and rump with black everywhere else. The adult female is olive-green on the upper parts, yellowish on the breast and belly.

Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas with deciduous trees across eastern North America south to central Mexico, often near water. The nest is a tightly woven pouch attached to a fork on a horizontal branch. In some parts of their range, they may nest in small colonies.

These birds migrate in flocks to winter from central Mexico south through Central America to northern Colombia and northwesternVenezuela.

They forage in trees and shrubs, also making short flights to catch insects and feeding from flowers. These birds mainly eat insects, berries and nectar, also flower parts.

The spurious in the species name refers to the original false identification of the male as a female Baltimore Oriole. These birds are sometimes mistakenly identified as warblers.

References

* Hilty, Birds of Venezuela, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
* Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-0814-9600-4

External links

* Orchard Oriole by John Audubon