Black-naped oriole

Oriolus chinensis

Photo by Nick Dean (Flickr)

Common name:
black-naped oriole (en); papa-figos-de-nuca-preta (pt); loriot de Chine (fr); oropéndola china (es); schwarznackenpirol (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Oriolidae

Range:
This species is found throughout eastern China, marginally into south-eastern Russia, in Korea, and also through the Philippines into Indonesia and Singapore. Population breeding in China, Russia and Korea migrate south and south-west to winter in Indochina and in north-eastern and western India.

Size:
These birds are 23-28 cm long and weigh 65-100 g.

Habitat:
The black-naped oriole is mostly found in forests, particularly in moist tropical forests, but also in temperate forests and mangroves, also using second growths, plantations and both rural and urban gardens.

Diet:
They feed on various fruits and berries, namely Ficus and Trema orientalis, but also take insects, the eggs and fledglings of small birds and the nectar if large flowers such as Salmalia and Erythrina.

Breeding:
Black-naped orioles breed in January-June. The nest is a deep cup made of bark, small twigs, grass and roots. It is placed in a fork near the end of a tree branch, often near the nest of a black drongo Dicrurus macrocercus. There the female lays 2-3 bluish-white eggs with brown spots, which she incubtes alone for 14-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-15 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common, with breeding populations estimated in the range of 10.000-100.000 pairs in both China, Russia and Korea. The black-naped has expanded in range over the 20th century, namely in Singapore and Indonesia.

Australasian figbird

Sphecotheres vieilloti

Photo by Georges Olioso (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
Australasian figbird (en); papa-figos-australiano (pt); sphécothère de Vieillot (fr); oropéndola australiana (es); Australischer feigenpirol (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Oriolidae

Range:
This species is found in northern and eastern Australia, from northern Western Australia and the Northern Territories, through coastal Queensland and into the coast of New South Wales down to Canberra. Also in south-eastern Papua-New Guinea.

Size:
These birds are 27-30 cm long and weigh about 130 g.

Habitat:
The Australasian figbird is mostly found in rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests, also using mangroves and urban parks and gardens, especially those with figs and other fruit trees.

Diet:
They forage in flocks of about 20 birds, mostly eating figs and other soft fruits and berries, but also some insects.

Breeding:
Australasian figbirds breed in September-January. They nest semi-colonially, with pairs nesting in adjoining canopy trees. The nest is a cup made of vine tendrils and twigs, supported by its rim from an horizontal fork of an outer branch of the canopy, up to 20 m above the ground. There the female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 18 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 17 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is reported to be common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Black-headed oriole

Oriolus larvatus

Photo by Gerda van Schalkwyk (Flickr)

Common name:
black-headed oriole (en); papa-figos-de-cabeça-preta (pt); loriot masqué (fr); oropéndola enmascarada (es); maskenpirol (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Oriolidae

Range:
This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, specially in East Africa, from Ethiopia down to South Africa, and also into Angola and northern Namibia in West Africa.

Size:
These birds are 23-27 cm long and weigh 60-70 g.

Habitat:
This species is found in most woodland and forest habitats within its range, especially dry forests and savannas. They are also found in mangroves, scrublands, along rivers and streams, pastures, plantations, arable land and also within urban areas.

Diet:
The black-headed oriole feeds on insects, fruits, berries, seeds and nectar. They are known to take bees, caterpillars, dragonflies, damselflies and termite alates, figs, olives, bone-apples, the seeds of Brachychiton and the nectar of Aloe, Greyvillea and Erythrina latissima.

Breeding:
These birds breed in September-February. The nest is a deep cup made of lichen, moss, tendrils and grass woven together, placed between the stems of a fork in a horizontal branchof a tree, 6-9 m above ground. The female lays 2-3 pinkish eggs with brown and grey spots, which are incubated for 14-16 days. The chicks fledge 14-18 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This black-headed oriole has a very large breeding range and is common to fairly common, although scarce in south-east Ethiopia. This population is suspected to be expanding its range with urban development, as they readily adapt to urban environments.

Eurasian golden oriole

Oriolus oriolus

Photo by Abdul  Al-Sirhan (Kuwait Bird Sightings)

Common name:

Eurasian golden oriole (en); papa-figos (pt); loriot d'Europe (fr); oropéndola europea (es); pirol (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Oriolidae

Range:

This species is found throughout most of continental Europe, from Portugal and Spain to southern Sweden, and east into Russia and Turkey and into Asia all the way to Afghanistan, western China and Mongolia. They migrate south to winter in sub-Saharan Africa, from Cameroon to Kenya and south to South Africa.

Size:

These birds are 20-24 cm long and have a wingspan of 44-47 cm. They weigh 42-72 g.

Habitat:

Eurasian golden orioles breed in a wide range of forested habitats, including open broadleaved forests and plantations, copses, riverine forest, orchards, large gardens, as well as mixed or coniferous forests. They winter in semi-arid to humid woodland, tall forests, riverine forest, woodland-savanna mosaic and savanna.

Diet:

They are omnivorous, feeding on insects, namely bees, butterflies and caterpillars, fruits and berries, and seeds high up in the tree canopy. Occasionally, they also take mice and other small mammals.

Breeding:

Eurasian golden orioles breed in April-July. The female builds the nest, a shallow cup made of plant fibres and stems, placed in a fork in a tree. There she lays 3-4 white eggs with dark speckles, which she mostly incubated alone for 15-18 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14-20 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

This species has an extremely large breeding range and a global population estimated at 20-100 million individuals. This population is suspected to be stable overall, although in Europe, trends in the last 3 decades suggest a moderate increase.

African golden oriole

Oriolus auratus

Photo by Martin Goodey (Biodiversity Explorer)

Common name:

African golden oriole (en); papa-figos-africano (pt); loriot doré (fr); oropéndola africana (es); schwarzohrpirol (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Oriolidae

Range:

This species is found is most of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Sahel region in the north, down through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, into southern D.R. Congo, Angola, Zambia and Malawi, and down south to northern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, western Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa.

Size:

African golden orioles are 24 cm long and weigh 75 g.

Habitat:

They are found in thick bush and well wooded areas, namely miombo Brachystegia sp. and Burkea Burkea africana woodland, and also in more arid savanna and suburban gardens.

Diet:

It feeds on insects and fruit, mainly foraging among the tree canopy. They mostly take figs and guarris, and locusts, caterpillars and flies.

Breeding:

The African golden oriole breeds in August-January, with a peak in September-November. The nest is woven cup made of dry grass and plant detritus held together with spider web, about 8-9 cm wide and 5.0-5.5 cm deep. It is slung between the two branches of a fork, usually 5-13 m above ground, well away from the main trunk of the tree. The female lays 2-5 eggs, which are incubated for 17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents until fledging, which takes place 15 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The species is described as generally common over its very large breeding range. There is no evidence for any declines or substantial threats so the species is not considered threatened at present.