How to Identify aBullock's Oriole
Icterus bullockii · 6.7–7.5 in (17–19 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Flame-orange face and underparts with a black crown, black throat patch, black eye-line and a large white wing panel.
Female
Yellowish head and chest fading to a grayish belly, with two whitish wingbars.
Male photo: Kevin Cole from Pacific Coast, USA (en:User:Kevinlcole) / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 · Second photo: Clinton & Charles Robertson from Del Rio, Texas & College Station, TX, USA / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Black line through the eye, not a full black hood
- Large white wing patch
- Orange face with a black cap and bib
- Grayish belly on the female
Similar species
What it sounds like
A series of harsh and sweet whistled notes mixed with rattles — less flutey than a Baltimore Oriole.
Behaviour that gives it away
Weaves a hanging pouch nest and, unlike many songbirds, recognises and rejects cowbird eggs.
Habitat & range
Riverside cottonwoods, open woodland, orchards and suburbs across the West.
When you'll see it
A summer visitor that arrives to breed in western and southwestern North America.
What it eats
Insects, nectar and fruit; visits oranges and jelly feeders.
Did you know?
It and the Baltimore Oriole were lumped as the Northern Oriole for decades before being split again in 1995.
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