Scott's Oriole

Scott's Oriole, male

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Scott's Oriole, female

Scott's Oriole, male, 1st year

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The brilliant yellow and black Scott's Oriole is a bird of desert hillsides, found in the arid Southwest and into Mexico.

Description

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Long tail.
• Rather thin, straight, pointed bill.
• Two wingbars on each dark wing.
• Yellow to yellow-green.
• Male lemon yellow with black head and chest.

• Size: 23 cm (9 in)
• Wingspan: 32 cm (13 in)
• Weight: 32-41 g (1.13-1.45 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male bright yellow with extensive black hood, female duller and without black hood.

Sound

Song a series of clear whistled notes, some going up in pitch, others down. Call a harsh, nasal "chuck."

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable or slightly increasing. Data lacking from heart of range in Mexico.

Other Names

Oriole jaune-verdâtre (French)
Bolsero tunero, Bolsero parisino, Calandria tunera (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Scott's Oriole is closely associated with yuccas in much of its range. It forages for insects on the plant, eats nectar from yucca flowers, weaves its nest from fibers taken from dead yucca leaves, and hangs the nest from live yucca leaves.

• The Scott's Oriole is one of the first birds to start singing each day, starting before sunrise. It is a persistent singer too, and can be heard at all times of the day and throughout most of the summer. It even has been heard singing on its wintering grounds. The female will sing from its nest in response to the male's song.

Sources used to construct this page:

Flood, N. J. 2002. Scott's Oriole (Icterus parisorum). In The Birds of North America, No. 608 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.