ORIOLES

Scott’s Oriole 

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Icterus parisorum

The Scott's Oriole is a medium-sized icterid. It has a contrasted yellow and black plumage. Primarily found in the Southwestern United States and south to Baja California Sur and central Mexico.

Males have a black hood, breast and back. The wings are black, with two white wing bars, and a conspicuous yellow shoulder patch edged with white below. The tail is black, but the tail feathers have yellow bases.

Females have olive-gray back and olive-yellow underparts. The wings are brownish-black and have two white wing bars. The tail is mainly olive-green, with yellowish in outer rectrices as in males.

Juveniles of both sexes have dull olive plumage without any pattern.

Both adults measure 7.4 - 8.3 inches in length, with a wingspan of 9.8 - 13.8 inches and weighs about 36 - 38 grams.

CALL: Includes a harsh “chuck”, given singly or in rapid series. It also utters a soft, nasal “huilt”.

SONG: A series of varied, rich, whistled phrases, with ascending and descending notes. It consists of 15 to 20 notes. Females give a similar song.

Feeds mainly on insects (adults and larvae) such as grasshoppers, small beetles, caterpillars and butterflies. It also consumes berries and cactus fruits, and nectar from flowers.

Arid and semi-arid habitats, relatively elevated areas, desert slopes of mountains, foothills and semi-arid plains where Yuccas are common, between mountainous areas. It avoids real desert.

Breeds in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Western Texas. Winters mainly south of the United States and Mexico border.

The female builds a woven hanging nest. She pulls at and strips off long, string-like fibers from borders of Yucca leaves and weaves them together to build the main part of the nest. It is lined with grasses and other soft materials.

The female lays 3 - 4 bluish eggs, marked with black, gray, brown and purple. She incubates them for about 11 - 15 days. The male may sometimes bring food to her.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com