Audubon’s Oriole

Icterus graduacauda

eBird describes the Audubon’s Oriole like this:  Entirely yellow body with greenish back and black hood. Young birds slightly paler than adults; they develop black hood within a couple months of hatching. Tends to be more secretive than other orioles. A Mexican species with limited U.S. range. Most similar to Scott’s Oriole but note greenish, not black, back; range does not overlap. Found in wooded habitats with dense brushy undergrowth. Sometimes visits feeders for fruit and seed. Song a slow series of low-pitched whistles.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information for the Audubon’s Oriole:  The brilliant yellow-and-black Audubon’s Oriole is a shy species of woodlands and brush in Mexico and South Texas. Its pleasing, rising-and-falling whistles are usually the first clues to its presence. Both sexes sing this song, often back and forth to each other during the nesting season. Unlike many orioles, the male and female look very much alike—with a black head, wings, and tail contrasting with a lemon-yellow body. Audubon’s Orioles can be hard to see as they forage deep in thick vegetation and even on the ground.

I was delighted to meet my first Audubon’s Oriole on the morning of January 4, 2021 at the Calliham Unit of Choke Canyon State Park.  I watched this bird at the blind located in the main campground.  They were attracted to oranges placed in the trees at the blind.  To read details about the trip that included my sighting of this bird, look here.  Here are a couple of photos that I took that morning.