Backyard Birding: Hooded Oriole

Ever heard of nectar robbing? 

It's what happens when a pollinator (a bird, bee, other insect) takes nectar from a plant without transferring pollen. You might be wondering....uhhh how is that possible?

Simple! Flowers are very soft and can be easily pierced by a beak or mouth part so instead of this...

happening where the bee is making physical contact with the pollen of the flower...

this happens...

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the pollen is not touched by the pollinator but the animal still gets its sugary treat!

Cheating perhaps...but this is one clever, time saving trick that has been developed by many pollinating species such as the Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus).

This vibrantly vocal bird is native to coastal northern Mexico and migrates into the southwestern states during breeding season. Orioles are sexually dimorphic - meaning males and females have obvious physical differences which we use to tell them apart. The one above is the male - they have the characteristic black bib which extends above their beak and can range from bright yellow to orange. The female is still very colorful but not to the same extent.

She lacks the black bib and her wings are grey rather than black but they share the same white bars and curved beak...though the female's is a little shorter. This curvature and a long agile tongue allows for more efficient nectar collection. We often see them at the hummingbird feeders...

Photo Credit: Trevor Adler

scaring off the hummingbirds -_____-

Orioles are also big time insectivores which is also made easy by that thinly arched beak. You'll often see them maneuvering around eucalyptus and palm trees searching for bugs.

Palm trees are a favored nesting location...this particular male oriole has been so illusive and edgy this season that I've had to con him out of hiding to get any decent photographs. This last weekend I played some pre-recorded oriole vocalizations to draw his attention and the first place he showed up was on a nearby palm tree...where we assume his nest is placed.

Orioles will build hanging nests hidden in fan palm trees and have 3-5 eggs per season which both parents will care for until the young leave the nest after about 14 days. I recently caught the mama oriole scouting out the hummingbird feeders with what I first thought was a second female adult...but the next day realized was her young female offspring.

The offspring is on the right above and left below

It was really sweet watching the mother oriole show her baby the ropes of being a bird. While her daughter sat at the feeder, the mom hopped around and kept a vigilant eye out for any predators which include raptors, cats or crows. If you're wondering how I know it was a juvenile female, it is because the juvenile males of this species start developing their bib but it doesn't extend as far as their adult form...looks like...

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So what can we learn from these beautiful birds?  

1. Birds (and animals in general) are highly adaptive. They have variable diets and variable mechanisms/strategies to get that food. If stressed to eat or survive they are capable of finding a way, learning and teaching their offspring. This says a lot about their intelligence and cognitive abilities. Animals are in no way dumb and mindless. Very cool!
2. They are great parents! Way better parents than we could ever be to them. Could you fly around and teach a young oriole how to identify food sources and look for predators? Sounds like fun but us humans just can not --- I'm sad about it too. This is why we urge the public to never ever ever keep wild animals (other than it's very illegal in many states)

So next time you're visiting the southern states or Mexico and you hear something like....

take a look at the nearby palm trees and see if you can spot the Hooded oriole.

For more vocalization examples, use this link.

Happy Birding!!