Black-cowled Oriole

About the Black-cowled Oriole

The black-cowled oriole (Icterus prosthemelas) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is common and widespread in the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from southern Mexico to western Panama. It lives primarily in humid or semihumid forest, as well as in clearings, along forest edges, in plantations, in semi-open areas with scattered trees and bushes, and in gardens. The adult male is black, with yellow on the belly, shoulder, rump, wing lining, and crissum. The female's plumage varies depending on location. In the south of its range, it is similar to that of the male. In the north, its crown and upperparts are olive-yellow, while its face, throat, upper breast, wings, and tail are black.

It forages mostly at mid-levels, and its diet includes a mix of arthropods, nectar and fruit. The female lays three eggs in a shallow pendent nest, which is stitched to the underside of a large leaf. Both parents defend the nest, and brood and feed the young. Due to its very large range and apparently stable population, it is considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to be a species of least concern.

First described by Hugh Strickland in 1850, the black-cowled oriole has at times been considered conspecific with several oriole species from the Greater Antilles. There are two subspecies, I. p. prosthemelas and I. p. praecox, which differ in their juvenile plumage. Wikipedia →