The black-vented oriole (Icterus wagleri) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae, the oropendolas, New World orioles, and New World blackbirds.[2]. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua and has reached the United States as a vagrant.[3]
| Black-vented oriole | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Icteridae |
| Genus: | Icterus |
| Species: | I. wagleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Icterus wagleri Sclater, PL, 1857 | |
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| Range of I. wagleri | |
Taxonomy and systematics
editThe black-vented oriole was formally described in 1857 with the binomial Icterus wagleri, which it has retained ever since.[4]
The black-vented oriole has two subspecies, the nominate I. w. wagleri (Sclater, PL, 1857) and I. w. castaneopectus (Brewster, 1888).[2]
Description
editThe black-vented oriole is 20.5 to 23 cm (8.1 to 9.1 in) long. Males weigh an average of about 41 g (1.4 oz) and females an average of 39 g (1.4 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a black head, throat, upper breast, mantle, back, rump, uppertail coverts, and tail. Their lowermost belly and undertail coverts are also black. Their wing is mostly black with orange-yellow lesser and median coverts that show as an epaulet on the closed wing. Their underparts have a tinge of chestnut just below the black breast and are otherwise orange-yellow. Adult females are duller overall than males and generally more yellow than orange-yellow to the undertail coverts. Subspecies I. w. castaneopectus has more chestnut below the black breast but is otherwise like the nominate. Both sexes of both subspecies have a brown iris, a black bill with a bluish gray base to the mandible, and bluish gray legs and feet. Juveniles are duller than adults with an olive-buff crown and upperparts, some yellow on the face, and buff tips on the median and greater upperwing coverts.[5]
Distribution and habitat
editThe black-vented oriole has a disjunct distribution. Subspecies I. w. castaneopectus is the more northerly of the two. It is found in Sonora, Sinaloa, and western Chihuahua in northwestern Mexico. The nominate subspecies is found from Durango, Coahuila and Nuevo León in north-central Mexico south through central Guatemala, the northern tip of El Salvador, and southern Honduras into western Nicaragua. However, the nominate's range has a gap at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico.[5][6][7] The species has also wandered to Arizona and Texas in the U. S.[8][9]
The black-vented oriole inhabits dry scrublands, pine-oak forest, semi-deciduous and deciduous forest, and gallery forest in the upper tropical and lower temperate zones.[3][6][7] Sources differ on its elevational range. One says it is 100 to 2,500 m (330 to 8,200 ft)[3] and two others 500 to 2,500 m (1,600 to 8,200 ft)[5][6]. A third places it between 500 and 2,200 m (1,600 and 7,200 ft) south of Mexico.[7]
Behavior
editMovement
editThe black-vented oriole is not a migrant but makes some elevational movements and also some local ones in response to availability of flowering trees.[5]
Feeding
editThe black-vented oriole feeds on insects, other arthropods, fruit, and nectar. It forages in pairs and family groups.[5] It forages in the forest's mid- to upper levels.[7]
Breeding
editThe black-vented oriole's breeding season spans at least May to July. It is a solitary breeder and thought to be monogamous. Its nest is a shallow "hammock" woven from plant fibers and typically hung from a tree branch but sometimes from the underside of a palm or banana leaf. The clutch is three to four eggs that are creamy white with dark brown and yellowish markings. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known individually but combined span about 34 days. The bronzed cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) is a brood parasite.[5]
Vocalization
editStatus
editThe IUCN has assessed the black-vented oriole as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered "common to fairly common" in most of its range[5] and "fairly common" south of Mexico[7].
References
edit- 1 2 BirdLife International (2020). "Black-vented Oriole Icterus wagleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T22724139A138297071. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22724139A138297071.en. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (April 2026). "Oropendolas, orioles, blackbirds". IOC World Bird List. v 15.2. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. p. 651.
- ↑ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1857). "Notes on the Birds in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and other Collections in the United States of America". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (in Latin and English). XXV: 7. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fraga, R. (2020). Black-vented Oriole (Icterus wagleri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkvori.01 retrieved 18 June 2026
- 1 2 3 vanPerlo, Ber (2006). Birds of Mexico and Central America. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate and map 97.2. ISBN 0691120706.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fagan, Jesse; Komar, Oliver (2016). Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America. Peterson Field Guides. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 396–397. ISBN 978-0-544-37326-6.
- ↑ "Checklist of the Birds of Arizona". Arizona Bird Committee. January 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ↑ "Texas State List". Texas Bird Records Committee of the Texas Ornithological Society. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.