Icterus chrysater
The striking Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater) is a dazzling resident of humid Neotropical forests, celebrated for its vibrant plumage and melodious calls. Measuring approximately 20-23 cm (8-9 inches) in length and weighing around 40-50 grams, both sexes display a brilliant golden-yellow body contrasting sharply with glossy black wings, tail, and a black mask around the lores and eyes. A distinctive white wing bar on the covert feathers serves as a key field mark, differentiating it f...
Found primarily in humid tropical and subtropical evergreen forests, semi-deciduous woodlands, and forest edges, often near rivers or clearings. It typically inhabits low to mid-elevation areas, from sea level up to around 1500 meters.
Feeds primarily on insects and other arthropods gleaned from foliage, supplemented significantly by nectar from various flowering plants and small, soft fruits.
Yellow-backed Orioles are primarily diurnal, typically observed alone or in pairs, foraging quietly within the dense canopy or along forest edges. Their foraging strategy involves gleaning insects from foliage and bark, probing flowers for nectar, and occasionally consuming small fruits. They are...
The Yellow-backed Oriole is a resident species distributed across a wide swath of southern Mexico and Central America. Its northernmost range begins in the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and the Yucatán Peninsula. From there, it extends southward through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, ...
Least Concern
- The Yellow-backed Oriole's vivid golden-yellow plumage is remarkably consistent between sexes, making sexual identification primarily by behavior or slight size differences. - Unlike many migratory orioles, Icterus chrysater is a year-round resident throughout its Central American range, rarely...