Black-cowled Oriole

Overview

The black-cowled oriole (Icterus prosthemelas) is a medium-sized passerine bird native to the Caribbean lowlands and foothills of eastern Central America. It is a common and widespread resident species that occupies a variety of forested and semi-open habitats. Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, the bird shows no evidence of population decline despite its large range.

Identification

• Medium-sized passerine, 18.5 to 21 cm in length, with a slender, slightly decurved black bill featuring a silvery base on the lower mandible.
• Adult males are mostly black with bright yellow on the belly, shoulder, rump, and crissum, separated by a narrow wash of chestnut on the breast; females vary by region, often showing an olive-yellow crown and upperparts with a black face and throat.
• Song is a quiet, complicated series of soft, whistled notes and harsher chattering, described as clear, metallic, and slurred; calls include a scratchy rising weet, a nasal eeahnk, and sharp beehk notes.
• Both sexes possess blue-grey legs and feet and brown eyes.

Habitat

Found in humid and semihumid forests, clearings, forest edges, plantations, and gardens across the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from southern Mexico to western Panama. Typically inhabiting elevations from sea level to 1,300 m, it favours open woodland and is frequently associated with palms, bananas, and waterways.

Diet

Consumes a mixed diet of arthropods, fruit, and nectar. It forages at mid-levels, often in palms, by poking and prodding among foliage and sometimes hanging head-downward to extract prey from the undersides of leaves.

Did you know?

The female constructs a shallow, pendent nest by making holes in large leaves of plants such as heliconia, palm, or banana, and lacing fine, pale fibres through these holes to suspend the structure. On rare occasions, pairs have been observed hanging their nests from nails or wires under the eaves of houses.