Bullock's Oriole
Icterus bullockii
Summary 8
The Bullock's oriole (Icterus bullockii) is a small New World blackbird. At one time, this species and the Baltimore oriole were considered to be a single species, the northern oriole. This bird was named after William Bullock, an English amateur naturalist. Adult males are characterized by strongly contrasting orange and black plumage, a black throat patch and a white wing bar. The underparts, breast, and face are orange or yellow; by contrast, the back, wings, and tail are black. A black line extends from each eye to the black crown. The wing coverts (feathers not directly used in flight) are fringed white, forming a wing patch. Although the tail is mostly black, the outermost three or four retrices (flight feathers) are tipped orange, forming a T shape. Adult females, by contrast, have gray-brown upperparts, duller yellow on the breast and underparts, and an olive crown. Some females may also have a dark throat patch, similar (but less extensive) to the one found in adult males; in all cases females lack the black eye-line present in adult males. Adults are 6.7 to 7.5 inches in length. The COSA lies in the Bullock's Oriole's breeding range, and can be spotted there from April to September
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jerry Oldenettel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7457894@N04/2497639099
- (c) David A. Hofmann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/23326361@N04/40588662784/
- (c) Alan Vernon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanvernon/6961958608/
- (c) David A. Hofmann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/23326361@N04/42979665632/
- (c) J. Maughn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmaughn/14234156725/
- (c) Alan Vernon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanvernon/17320576248/
- (c) Biodiversity Heritage Library, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7699532508/
- Adapted by dirstine from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icterus_bullockii
