ALTAMIRA ORIOLE

(Icterus gularis)

eBird describes the Altamira Oriole like this:  Large bright orange oriole with thick dark bill, found in open shrubby woodland. Limited black on face and throat; black back and wings with white wingbar and orange shoulder patch. Young birds duller yellow. Most similar to Hooded Oriole but larger and stockier with orange shoulder patch and thicker bill. Song is a series of sweet, clear whistles like many other orioles, but slower with a more deliberate, even pattern. Visits fruit feeders.  All About Birds adds to the description of the Altamira Oriole with this:  The brilliant Altamira Oriole is a tropical species with a tiny portion of its range reaching Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. Adults are flame-orange and black, with white highlights in the wings and a distinctive orange patch at the shoulder. In open woodlands, females find a high branch and then weave a remarkable hanging nest that can be up to 26 inches long. Like other orioles, they sing rich, sweet whistles interspersed with percussive clucks and chatters.

The Altamira Oriole was one of my three primary target birds for my June, 2020 Father’s Day trip to the Rio Grande Valley.  I saw them both times I stopped at the rest area south of Falfurrias, but was not able to get any decent photos at that site.  On my visit to Laguna Atascosa on the morning of June 23, 2020, I spotted an active nest near the visitor center and spent quite a bit of time watching the Altamira Orioles flying back and forth, feeding young ones.  Hope you enjoy my photos of these beautiful birds!

Altamira Oriole by its nest, located near the visitor center at Laguna Atascosa NWR, June 23, 2020.
Another shot of the Altamira Oriole and nest, June 23, 2020, Laguna Atascosa NWR.
Bringing food!
It was very difficult to get a completely clear shot of the Altamira Oriole entering its nest.
One of my favorite shots of the Altamira Oriole and nest.
Sorry about the focus!
Leaving the nest.
Stubby tail feathers indicate this is a recently fledged Altamira Oriole. Laguna Atascosa, June 23, 2020.


“Cool Facts” About The Altamira Oriole From All About Birds…

  • Altamira Oriole was known as Lichtenstein’s Oriole for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, named in honor of German natural historian Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein, a professor of zoology in Berlin and founder of the Zoological Gardens in Berlin.
  • DNA analysis indicates, perhaps surprisingly, that Altamira Orioles are not close relatives of the Hooded Oriole, which looks very similar to Altamira and is often mistaken for it, despite the difference in size.
  • The Altamira Oriole has been observed foraging for dead grasshoppers on the fronts of cars.
  • The Altamira Oriole is a solitary nester, with an average of about 800 feet between nests. Despite this wide spacing, it is not known to be territorial, and almost no aggression has been observed during the breeding season.