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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

-New World Blackbirds and Orioles (Family Icteridae)

-New World Orioles (Genus Icterus)

-Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius)


Adult males are a unique rich chestnut-brown color with a black head. Females are dull yellow-green with white wingbars. Immature males are similar to females, but with a black throat and mask. They eat insects and spiders. When the season changes, their diet also includes ripe fruit, which quickly passes through their digestive tract. During the winter, their diet consists of fruit, nectar, insects and seeds. Breeds in open woodlands, river edges, pastures with scattered trees, and brushy orchards. Winters in Mexico and Central America, where it can be found in any open or wooded habitat.

Orchard Oriole - Female

Icterus spurius

Diet

  • Primarily insects, including caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, ants, spiders, and other arthropods.

  • Also feeds on nectar, berries, figs, and other small fruits, particularly during migration and winter.

  • Forages among tree canopies, shrubs, and flowering plants, gleaning insects from foliage or probing flowers for nectar.

Range

  • Breeds across the eastern and central United States and parts of northeastern Mexico.

  • Winters from southern Mexico through Central America to northern South America.

  • A regular winter visitor to the Zihuatanejo region, where it inhabits tropical dry forests, woodland edges, riparian forests, gardens, orchards, and flowering trees.

  • Prefers open woodland and semi-open habitats during the non-breeding season.

Male / Female

  • Adult Male: Rich chestnut (dark reddish-brown) underparts and rump, glossy black head, back, wings, and tail, with white wing bars.

  • Female: Olive-yellow upperparts with yellowish underparts, grayish wings with two pale wing bars, and no black plumage.

  • First-year Male: Resembles the female but gradually acquires black and chestnut plumage during its first breeding season.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished by their markedly different plumage.

Size

  • Length: 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in)

  • Wingspan: 23–27 cm (9.1–10.6 in)

  • Weight: 16–28 g

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