Altamira oriole

Altamira Oriole
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Icteridae
Genus:	Icterus
Species:	I. gularis
Binomial name
Icterus gularis (Wagler, 1829)

The Altamira Oriole, Icterus gularis, is a New World oriole. The bird is widespread in subtropical lowlands of the Mexican Gulf Coast and northern Central America, the Pacific coast and inland. It also can be found in the extreme south of Texas, (locally called the Rio Grande Valley).

At 25 cm and 56 grams, this is the largest oriole of the Icterus genus. This bird nests in open woodlands. The nest is a very long woven pouch, attached to the end of a horizontal tree branch, sometimes to telephone wires.

This bird forages high in trees, sometimes in the undergrowth. They mainly eat insects and berries.

These birds are permanent residents, and unlike the migratory orioles that breed in the US, the species is "sexually monomorphic" -- both the males and the females have elaborate coloration and patterning.

References

• Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Further reading

• Brush, T. and Barbara Y. Pleasants (2005). Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis). The Birds of North America Online. (A. Poole, Ed.) Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North American Online database.
• Flood NJ. (1989). Coloration in New World Orioles 1. Tests of Predation-Related Hypotheses. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. vol 25, no 1. pp. 49–56.
• Gorena RL. M.S. (1995). Feeding and nesting ecology of the great kiskadee, Pitangus sulphuratus texanus (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae) in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The University of Texas - Pan American, United States—Texas.
• Hathcock CR. M.S. (2000). Factors affecting reproductive success in hosts of the bronzed cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The University of Texas - Pan American, United States—Texas.
• Hathcock CR & Brush T. (2004). Breeding abundance and nest-site distribution of the Altamira oriole at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 49, no 1. pp. 33–38.
• Ortiz-Pulido R. (2000). Abundance of frugivorous birds and richness of fruit resource: Is there a temporal relationship?. Caldasia. vol 22, no 1. pp. 93–107.
• Pleasants BY. (1981). Aspects of the Breeding Biology of a Subtropical Oriole Icterus-Gularis. Wilson Bulletin. vol 93, no 4. pp. 531–537.
• Thurber WA & Villeda A. (1980). Notes on Parasitism by Bronzed Cowbirds Molothrus-Aeneus in El-Salvador. Wilson Bulletin. vol 92, no 1. pp. 112–113.

Hybridisation

• Patrikeev, Michael, Jack C. Eitniear, Scott M. Werner, Paul C. Palmer (2008) Interactions and Hybridization between Altamira and Audubon's Orioles in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Birding 40(2):42-6

External links

• Altamira Oriole videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Altamira Oriole photo gallery VIREO-(with pictures of hanging bird nests)