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Black-vented Oriole Icterus wagleri Scientific name definitions

Rosendo Fraga
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2011

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Introduction

The Black-vented Oriole is fairly widespread in Middle America, between western and central Mexico south to Nicaragua; it inhabits open woodland and scrubby areas, from sea level to 2500 m at least. This species is typically found in pairs, which remain together year-round, and sometimes in small groups, but it is rarely conspicuous. A small series of records from the USA provides some evidence of the species’ propensity to wander, or even perform partially migratory movements. The slim-bodied adult is primarily black above and over the head and neck, with a black tail, but the eponymous black vent is not especially easy to see. The rest of the plumage, namely the rest of the underparts and the smaller wing coverts, are orange-yellow, while the bill is rather long and somewhat downcurved.

Field Identification

20·5–23 cm; 36·7–46·3 g, male average 41·3 g, female average 39 g. Male nominate race has head, throat, upper breast, mantle and upper back black, uppertail-coverts, lowermost belly and undertail-coverts black; rest of body orange-yellow, faint chestnut tinge just below black breast; upperwing black, orange-yellow epaulet (lesser and median coverts); tail solidly black; iris brown; bill black, base of lower mandible bluish-grey; legs bluish-grey. Female is like male, but duller, on average more yellow, less orange. Juvenile is duller than adult, crown and upperparts olive-buff, superciliary line and face and faint supercilium yellowish, median and greater upperwing-coverts tipped buff, underparts dull yellow; immature resembles juvenile, but crown and upperparts olive-grey, variable amount of black in face (lores, throat) and upper breast, tail blackish-brown. Race castaneopectus is very like nominate, but chestnut coloration below breast more extensive.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies


SUBSPECIES

Icterus wagleri castaneopectus Scientific name definitions

Distribution

NW Mexico in interior Sonora and Sinaloa and adjacent W Chihuahua.

SUBSPECIES

Icterus wagleri wagleri Scientific name definitions

Distribution

C and S Mexico (from Durango, Coahuila and Nuevo León) S across C Guatemala, N El Salvador and SW Honduras to W Nicaragua.

Hybridization

Hybrid Records and Media Contributed to eBird

  • Black-vented x Streak-backed Oriole (hybrid) Icterus wagleri x pustulatus

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Inhabits dry woodland and scrub, open areas with scattered trees; mostly in uplands, 500–2500 m.

Movement

Undertakes some altitudinal movement, also local movements dependent on flowering season of trees. In S USA, nominate race accidental in Texas and castaneopectus accidental in Arizona.

Diet and Foraging

Insects and other arthropods, also fruits and nectar. Gleans arthropods from foliage. Takes nectar from flowering trees of Pseudobombax ellipticum and Erythrina oliviae, and from brush-like inflorescences of the vine Combretum fruticosum. Frequent visitor to flowers of maguey (Agave salmiana) in Mexico. Usually in pairs or family groups. Dominant over both I. bullockiorum and I. pustulatus at flowering trees.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song not too musical, a mix of fast warbles with twittering and nasal or rasping notes. Calls include nasal “nye”.

Breeding

Season Jun–Jul in S Mexico (Oaxaca) and May–Jul in El Salvador. Probably monogamous. Breeds solitarily. Shallow hammock-shaped nest, made from plant fibres, suspended at low or medium elevation in tree, sometimes stitched to underside of palm or banana leaves; one nest was attached to cables within a log cabin. Clutch 3–4 eggs, creamy white with dark brown and yellowish blotches, mostly at large end, mean dimensions of eggs attributed to this species 25 × 17·8 mm; combined incubation and nestling periods 34 days. Nests sometimes parasitized by Molothrus aeneus.
Not globally threatened. Rather abundant, common to fairly common in most of range.
Distribution of the Black-vented Oriole - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Black-vented Oriole

Recommended Citation

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
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