Bullock's Oriole

Bullock's Oriole, male; Portal, AZ

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Bullock's Oriole, female; Kern Co., CA

Bullock's Oriole, first-year male; Kern Co., CA

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A bird of open woodlands in the American West, the Bullock's Oriole is especially fond of tall trees along rivers and streams.

Description

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Long tail.
• Rather thin, straight, pointed bill.
• One large or two small wingbars on each dark wing.
• Orange or orange-yellow.
• Male bright orange with black back, throat, top of head, and nape, with a slender stripe through eye.

• Size: 17-19 cm (7-7 in)
• Wingspan: 31 cm (12 in)
• Weight: 29-43 g (1.02-1.52 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male brightly colored with orange underside and face, black back, head, and throat; female duller, with pale underparts, and without black.

Sound

Song a series of rich whistled notes interspersed with rattles. Call a chatter.

Conservation Status

Widespread and common. You can help scientists learn more about this species by participating in the Celebrate Urban Birds! project.

Other Names

Oriole de Bullock, Oriole à ailes blanches (French)
Bolsero calandria (Spanish)
Northern Oriole (in part) (English)

Cool Facts

• The Bullock's Oriole hybridizes extensively with the Baltimore Oriole where their ranges overlap in the Great Plains. The two species were considered the same for a while and called the Northern Oriole, but recently, they were separated again. Molecular studies of the oriole genus indicate that the two species are not very closely related.
• The Bullock's Oriole's nest is not always placed in territory where the male advertises.

• Both sexes of Bullock's Oriole sing, but the males and females sing different songs. The song of the female is similar to that of the male, but it ends differently and with harsher notes. Early in nesting period, and before and during nest-building, the female sings regularly, and may sing more than the male.

Sources used to construct this page:

Rising, J. D., and P. L. Williams. 1999. Bullock?s Oriole (Icterus bullockii). In The Birds of North America, No. 416 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.