© GW - monacoeye • All rights reserved • Gambia • Feb 2013

Bird name: African Golden Oriole
Latin: Oriolus auratus
Other: Golden Oriole. Loriot d'Europe (Fr)
Family: Oriolidae • Orioles
Range: Sub-saharan Africa
Similar: Eurasian Golden Oriole

Just one African Golden Oriole seen while I was in Gambia, but what a stunner. More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Pantanal, Brazil, August 2011 • All rights reserved.

Bird name: Orange Backed Troupial
Latin: Icterus croconotus
Other: João-pinto (Br) • Matico (Es)
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles, Troupials
Range: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru.
Similar:

The Orange-backed Troupial is a real stunner, quite regularly seen in the Pantanal and reasonably approachable. The bird above was the first one I saw, on day three of my Pantanal trip, as I was driving along the Transpantaneira. Too good to be true that this bird was feeding on a tree with similarly-coloured flowers! Of couse I stopped the car for a good fifteen minutes. I’d like to know what tree this is.

Below, Orange-backed Troupial feeding, Pantanal, Brazil, August 2011
More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Pantanal, August 2011 • All rights reserved.

Bird name: Epaulet Oriole
Latin: Icterus cayanensis
Other: Boyerito (Es) • Encontro (Br)
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname.
Similar: Variable Oriole, Moriche Oriole

These Epaulet Orioles were seen in the southern part of the Brazilian state of Pará. See Variable Oriole for photos of similar birds in the Pantanal - a 2010 split.

There are a few subspecies - the epaulet can be yellow or orange-brown.

The Epaulet Oriole is a blackish bird with small patch of yellow or chestnut on shoulder.

Below, Epaulet Oriole feeding on some Cecropia fruit, Para, August.
More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Napo, Ecuador, March 2011 • All rights reserved.

Bird name: Oriole Blackbird
Latin: Gymnomystax mexicanus
Other: Maicero (Es) • Iratauá-grande (Br)
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles, New World Blackbirds
Range: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
Similar:

There are two populations for the Oriole Blackbird: one stretching along the Amazon from Brazil to Ecuador; the other from northern Venezuela into Colombia. I saw this individual in Ecuadorian Amazonia perched on a stump mid river.

An unmissable bird.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Pantanal, August 2011 • All rights reserved.

Bird name: Variable Oriole
Latin: Icterus pyrrhopterus
Other:
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Pantanal
Similar: Epaulet Oriole, Moriche Oriole

I’m now classing these as Variable Oriole, which is a c. 2010 split by IOC & SACC from Epaulet Oriole. I’ve been told birds in the Pantanal are Variable. Also seen in Rio Grande do Sul wetlands.

The Variable Oriole is a black bird with small patch of yellow or chestnut on shoulder.

Below, Variable Oriole, Pantanal, August.
More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Tailed Oriole
Latin: Icterus mesomelas
Other: Turpial de cola amarilla (Es)
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: Mexico to Peru, Venezuela
Similar: Yellow-backed Oriole

The Yellow-tailed Oriole. Yellow on underside of tail diagnostic.More photos...

Copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy without permission • Panama, May 2010

Bird name: Yellow Backed Oriole
Latin: Icterus chrysater
Other: Turpial toche, bolsero dorso dorado (Es)
Family: Icteridae • New World Orioles
Range: S Mexico to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela
Similar: Yellow-tailed Oriole

A record shot of Yellow-backed Oriole in Gamboa. Note the black underside of tail, which differentiates it from the Yellow-tailed Oriole.More photos...

Photo copyright: AS/monacoeye • Do not copy • Images: Masai Mara • Oct 2009

Bird name: Black Headed Oriole
Latin: Oriolus larvatus
Other: African Black Headed Oriole
Family: Oriolidae • Orioles

The Black-headed Oriole lives in sub-Saharan Africa, seen here in the Masai Mara.More photos...

© GW - monacoeye • All rights reserved • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009

Bird name: Eurasian Golden Oriole
Latin: Oriolus oriolus
Other: Golden Oriole. Loriot d'Europe (Fr)
Family: Oriolidae • Orioles
Range:
Similar:

The only Golden Oriole I've ever seen, as he flitted across a canal in the Danube Delta for about 3 seconds.

Not a brilliant shot, I grant you, but I was pretty chuffed with this observation on my first day, after the tour guide, who had been visiting this area weekly for four years, admitted that to her great frustration, despite peering through binoculars for hours on end, she had never seen a single Golden Oriole!

Unfortunately for her she was at the back of the boat reading a paper when this one flew by the front end. No amount of squinting at my camera's small LCD was going to convince her that this was indeed a Golden Oriole she had just missed either.

The proof is nevertheless there, for all to see, in glorious black and yellow!

The Golden Oriole is Europe's only oriole.

156 Oriolidae - Figbirds, Orioles - IOC 2.5 - 2010

Sphecotheres viridis - Green Figbird - Lesser Sundas
Sphecotheres hypoleucus - Wetar Figbird - Lesser Sundas
Sphecotheres vieilloti - Australasian Figbird - SE New Guinea, N, E Australia

Oriolus szalayi - Brown Oriole - New Guinea
Oriolus phaeochromus - Dusky-brown Oriole - N Moluccas
Oriolus forsteni - Grey-collared Oriole - S Moluccas
Oriolus bouroensis - Black-eared Oriole - Buru Is. Australasia
Oriolus decipiens - Tanimbar Oriole - Tanimbar Is. Australasia - Split from O. bouroensis
Oriolus melanotis - Olive-brown Oriole - Lesser Sundas
Oriolus sagittatus - Olive-backed Oriole - SC New Guinea, Australia
Oriolus flavocinctus - Green Oriole - Widespread Australasia
Oriolus xanthonotus - Dark-throated Oriole - Southeast Asia through Borneo & Philippines
Oriolus steerii - Philippine Oriole - Philippines
Oriolus albiloris - White-lored Oriole - Philippines
Oriolus isabellae - Isabella Oriole - Philippines
Oriolus oriolus - Eurasian Golden Oriole - W Eurasia - Africa
Oriolus kundoo - Indian Golden Oriole - E Afghanistan to Mongolia - India, Sri Lanka - Split from O. oriolus
Oriolus auratus - African Golden Oriole - Widespread Africa
Oriolus tenuirostris - Slender-billed Oriole - E Himalayas to Southeast Asia
Oriolus chinensis - Black-naped Oriole - Widespread Asia, also E Asia
Oriolus chlorocephalus - Green-headed Oriole - E Africa
Oriolus crassirostris - Sao Tome Oriole - São Tomé Africa
Oriolus brachyrhynchus - Western Oriole - W, C Africa
Oriolus monacha - Ethiopian Oriole - Ethiopia
Oriolus percivali - Mountain Oriole - E Africa
Oriolus larvatus - Black-headed Oriole - E, S Africa
Oriolus nigripennis - Black-winged Oriole - W, C Africa
Oriolus xanthornus - Black-hooded Oriole - N India through Southeast Asia to Borneo
Oriolus hosii - Black Oriole - N Borneo
Oriolus cruentus - Black-and-crimson Oriole - Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo
Oriolus traillii - Maroon Oriole - Southeast Asia
Oriolus mellianus - Silver Oriole - SC China

224 Icteridae - Oropendolas, Caciques, New World Orioles, Blackbirds, Grackles, Cowbirds - IOC 2.5 - 2010

Clypicterus oseryi - Casqued Oropendola - W Amazonia

Psarocolius wagleri - Chestnut-headed Oropendola - Mexico to Ecuador - was Zarhynchus wagleri
Psarocolius decumanus - Crested Oropendola - N, SC, South America, also Panama
Psarocolius viridis - Green Oropendola - Amazonia
Psarocolius atrovirens - Dusky-green Oropendola - Peru, Bolivia
Psarocolius angustifrons - Russet-backed Oropendola - W, N South America
Psarocolius montezuma - Montezuma Oropendola - S Mexico to Panama
Psarocolius cassini - Baudo Oropendola - NW Colombia
Psarocolius bifasciatus - Olive Oropendola - E, S Amazonia - was Para Oropendola
Psarocolius guatimozinus - Black Oropendola - Panama, Colombia

Ocyalus latirostris - Band-tailed Oropendola - W Amazonia

Cacicus cela - Yellow-rumped Cacique - Panama to SE South America
Cacicus haemorrhous - Red-rumped Cacique - Colombia to E Brazil & N Argentina
Cacicus uropygialis - Subtropical Cacique - Panama to Peru
Cacicus microrhynchus - Scarlet-rumped Cacique - Honduras to Panama - Split from C. uropygialis
Cacicus chrysopterus - Golden-winged Cacique - SC South America
Cacicus chrysonotus - Southern Mountain Cacique - Peru, N Bolivia
Cacicus leucoramphus - Northern Mountain Cacique - Venezuela to Ecuador, N Peru - Split from C. chrysonotus
Cacicus sclateri - Ecuadorian Cacique - Ecuador, Peru
Cacicus koepckeae - Selva Cacique - Peru
Cacicus solitarius - Solitary Cacique - C Amazonia to N Argentina
Cacicus melanicterus - Mexican Cacique - W Mexico to SE Guatemala

Amblycercus holosericeus - Yellow-billed Cacique - Mexico to N Bolivia

Icterus icterus - Venezuelan Troupial - Colombia, Venezuela
Icterus croconotus - Orange-backed Troupial - N, W, SW Amazonia
Icterus jamacaii - Campo Troupial - E Brazil
Icterus pectoralis - Spot-breasted Oriole - Widespread Middle America
Icterus graceannae - White-edged Oriole - Ecuador, Peru
Icterus mesomelas - Yellow-tailed Oriole - Mexico to Peru
Icterus cayanensis - Epaulet Oriole - N, C, SC South America
Icterus pyrrhopterus - Variable Oriole - Pantanal Brazil etc . split from cayanensis, added 2010
Icterus bonana - Martinique Oriole - Martinique
Icterus laudabilis - St. Lucia Oriole - St. Lucia
Icterus oberi - Montserrat Oriole - Montserrat
Icterus dominicensis - Hispaniolan Oriole - Hispaniola - Was Greater Antillean Oriole
Icterus portoricensis - Puerto Rican Oriole - Puerto Rico - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus melanopsis - Cuban Oriole - Cuba - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus northropi - Bahama Oriole - Bahamas - Split from Greater Antillean (Hispaniolan) Oriole
Icterus prosthemelas - Black-cowled Oriole - S Mexico to Panama
Icterus spurius - Orchard Oriole - SE Canada to C Mexico
Icterus fuertesi - Ochre Oriole - NE Mexico - Split from I. spurius
Icterus cucullatus - Hooded Oriole - SW USA, Mexico, Belize
Icterus wagleri - Black-vented Oriole - Mexico to Nicaragua
Icterus maculialatus - Bar-winged Oriole - S Mexico to El Salvador
Icterus parisorum - Scott's Oriole - SC USA, Mexico
Icterus auricapillus - Orange-crowned Oriole - Panama to Venezuela
Icterus chrysater - Yellow-backed Oriole - S Mexico to Venezuela
Icterus graduacauda - Audubon's Oriole - S Texas, Mexico
Icterus galbula - Baltimore Oriole - E North America - Colombia
Icterus abeillei - Black-backed Oriole - SC Mexico
Icterus bullockii - Bullock's Oriole - W North America - Mexico to Nicaragua
Icterus pustulatus - Streak-backed Oriole - Widespread Middle America
Icterus leucopteryx - Jamaican Oriole - Jamaica, Cayman Islands
Icterus auratus - Orange Oriole - SE Mexico
Icterus nigrogularis - Yellow Oriole - N South America
Icterus gularis - Altamira Oriole - S Texas to Honduras

Nesopsar nigerrimus - Jamaican Blackbird - Jamaica

Gymnomystax mexicanus - Oriole Blackbird - Amazonia

Macroagelaius subalaris - Colombian Mountain Grackle - Colombia
Macroagelaius imthurni - Golden-tufted Mountain Grackle - Tepuis

Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster - Red-bellied Grackle - Colombia

Lampropsar tanagrinus - Velvet-fronted Grackle - W, SW Amazonia, Tepuis

Gnorimopsar chopi - Chopi Blackbird - E, SE, SC South America

Curaeus curaeus - Austral Blackbird - Southern Cone
Curaeus forbesi - Forbes's Blackbird - E Brazil

Amblyramphus holosericeus - Scarlet-headed Blackbird - SE, SC South America

Agelasticus xanthophthalmus - Pale-eyed Blackbird - Ecuador, Peru
Agelasticus cyanopus - Unicolored Blackbird - SC, E Brazil
Agelasticus thilius - Yellow-winged Blackbird - SW, SC South America

Chrysomus ruficapillus - Chestnut-capped Blackbird - NE, SC South America
Chrysomus icterocephalus - Yellow-hooded Blackbird - N, C South America

Xanthopsar flavus - Saffron-cowled Blackbird - SC South America

Pseudoleistes guirahuro - Yellow-rumped Marshbird - SE South America
Pseudoleistes virescens - Brown-and-yellow Marshbird - SE South America

Agelaioides oreopsar - Bolivian Blackbird - Bolivia
Agelaioides badius - Baywing - SC South America

Molothrus rufoaxillaris - Screaming Cowbird - SC South America
Molothrus oryzivorus - Giant Cowbird - S Mexico through N South America
Molothrus aeneus - Bronzed Cowbird - SW USA to Panama
Molothrus armenti - Bronze-brown Cowbird - Colombia - Split from M. aeneus
Molothrus bonariensis - Shiny Cowbird - SE USA though C South America
Molothrus ater - Brown-headed Cowbird - S Canada to S Mexico

Dives atroviolaceus - Cuban Blackbird - Cuba
Dives dives - Melodious Blackbird - Mexico to Nicaragua
Dives warczewiczi - Scrub Blackbird - Ecuador, Peru

Agelaius phoeniceus - Red-winged Blackbird - Widespread North America, Middle America
Agelaius assimilis - Red-shouldered Blackbird - Cuba
Agelaius tricolor - Tricolored Blackbird - California
Agelaius humeralis - Tawny-shouldered Blackbird - Hispaniola, Cuba
Agelaius xanthomus - Yellow-shouldered Blackbird - Puerto Rico

Euphagus carolinus - Rusty Blackbird - N North America - SE South America
Euphagus cyanocephalus - Brewer's Blackbird - W, C North America - Mexico

Quiscalus quiscula - Common Grackle - C, E North America
Quiscalus lugubris - Carib Grackle - Lesser Antilles, N South America
Quiscalus mexicanus - Great-tailed Grackle - S USA through W, N South America
Quiscalus major - Boat-tailed Grackle - E, SE USA
Quiscalus palustris - Slender-billed Grackle - C Mexico
Quiscalus nicaraguensis - Nicaraguan Grackle - Nicaragua
Quiscalus niger - Greater Antillean Grackle - Greater Antilles

Sturnella militaris - Red-breasted Blackbird - Costa Rica through C South America
Sturnella superciliaris - White-browed Blackbird - SC South America
Sturnella bellicosa - Peruvian Meadowlark - Ecuador to N Chile
Sturnella defilippii - Pampas Meadowlark - SE South America
Sturnella loyca - Long-tailed Meadowlark - Southern Cone
Sturnella magna - Eastern Meadowlark - SE Canada to NE Brazil
Sturnella neglecta - Western Meadowlark - W North America, Middle America

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus - Yellow-headed Blackbird - W North America, Middle America

Dolichonyx oryzivorus - Bobolink - N, C North America - C South America