Scott’s Orioles (Icterus parisorum) are striking songbirds found in arid and semi-arid habitats of the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. They are known for their love for yuccas. Males have a contrasting glossy black and lemon-yellow plumage whereas females are more subdued olive-yellow.
Identification
Scott’s Orioles are medium-sized songbirds measuring around 9.1 inches long with an average wingspan of 12.6 inches. They have a sleek, streamlined body, typical of many songbirds, long tails, and broad wings.
Their eyes are dark, and their bills are long, slightly downcurved but overall straight and pointed, resembling a spike. The bill is black with a pale-bluish base.
Male
Male Scott’s Orioles are generally slightly larger than females. Their summer plumage is a striking combination of jet black, vibrant yellow, and white. They have yellow undersides, shoulders, and lower backs, whereas their heads, upper backs, throat, and upper chest are black. Their black wings have one white wingbar and their long tail is yellow with the lower part being black.
Males in their winter plumage look similar, but there are a few minor differences. Their rump and upper tail coverts have an olive or grayish wash, their flanks an olive tinge, and their black back feathers are edged with gray. The white wing bars are broader.
Photograph © Greg Lavaty
Immature males, however, look mostly similar to females. They have olive-yellow undersides, darker olive uppersides, dirty olive tails, and dark wings with two white wing bars. Their heads become mostly black by their first spring but are generally darker even before. It takes two years for the full adult plumage to develop.
Female
Female Scott’s Orioles are generally smaller than males. Dull olive-yellow below and olive-green above with dark streaks on the back, they are less noticeable and blend into their surroundings.
Instead of only one, they have two white wing bars. Older females may have darker to almost black throats. Immature females are duller.
Vocalizations
The song of Scott’s Orioles is a series of melodious, flute-like whistles. It is similar to that of the Western Meadowlark but is louder and more repetitive. The song typically consists of 15 to 20 notes with ascending and descending tones. Both males and females sing. They are particularly vocal during the breeding season.
Scott’s Orioles’ most common call is a harsh nasal chuk that can either be given as a single note or in a rapid series. They also give softer whistled huilt calls and harsh rattles.
Food
Scott’s Orioles are primarily insectivorous but also consume nectar and occasionally feed on fruits. Insects form the bulk of their diet, especially during the breeding season when protein-rich food is crucial for raising young. This includes beetles, ants, grasshoppers, caterpillars, spiders, crickets, butterflies, moths, and their larvae.
They mostly hunt for insects in the upper parts of the foliage, although you can also see them picking at prey on tree trunks or the ground. You may even see them hanging upside down or swinging to get to their desired snack.
Scott’s Orioles also feed on nectar and fruits and even small lizards on occasion. They probe deep into the blossoms of various plants, especially flowering yuccas, agaves, and ocotillos. Fruit eaten includes apricots, figs, cactus fruit, and peaches. They may also visit hummingbird feeders for sugar water.
Nesting and Eggs
Scott’s Orioles are seasonally monogamous, meaning that they pair up for only one breeding season. Adult males reach the breeding grounds first, and females arrive a few days later.
Courtship is not well researched, but males fly after females, drop to the ground, walk for a bit, and fly around while perching and singing in various places, which is presumably done to indicate their territory. Paired birds sing to each other in the early stages of the breeding season.
Scott’s Orioles nest in tall trees or plants generally 5-7 feet above the ground. They prefer yucca or Joshua-trees, but may also choose palm trees, oak, juniper, pine, or sycamore.
Females select the spot and build the basket-like pendant nest of yucca leaf fibers, grass, cactus fibers, and other plant fibers, line it with hair, plant down, and finer plant material. On average, it measures a bit over four inches across and four inches tall.
They have up to two broods in a year with 1-5, usually 3 eggs in a clutch. Scott’s Oriole eggs are very pale blue and have dark spots and streaks concentrated towards the larger end.
Incubation takes around 7-14 days with the female doing the incubating and the male occasionally feeding her. However, both parents take care of and feed their offspring. Young fledge and leave the nest at around 2 weeks after hatching.
Current Situation
Scott’s Orioles range throughout Mexico, Baja California, and the southwestern United States. They have resident populations in central Mexico and the southern half of Baja California with their breeding range extending further south and wintering range further north.
Scott’s Orioles prefer arid and semi-arid habitats at elevations from 980 to 8,200 feet, including foothills, semi-arid plains, mountain canyons, desert grassland prairies, dry woods, and scrub in desert mountains.
They can be most often found in places abundant with yucca, agave, juniper, or pine. However, they avoid real desert.
Scott’s Orioles are listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Their population is in a very slight decline, most probably due to habitat destruction and degradation in the form of decimation of yuccas and agaves. These plants play a very important role in their life both as food sources and nesting spots.
Facts About Scott’s Orioles
- Scott’s Orioles have a very close connection to yuccas. They use these plants as foraging and nesting grounds and use their fibers as nest material. However, this is also beneficial for the plants. The birds keep the numbers of certain moth species under control that would otherwise feed on the plant’s seeds.
- Scott’s Orioles are one of the bird species that eat monarch butterflies despite them being toxic. They taste the butterflies and only eat the less toxic ones.
- The oldest wild Scott’s Oriole on record was at least 6 years and 5 months old.
Similar Species
Scott’s Orioles are fairly similar to many other oriole species. However, while it may be easy to mix them up at a glance, then you should be able to tell the difference quite easily after some further observation.
Audubon’s Oriole
Audubon’s Orioles are resident throughout their range along the southwestern and northeastern coasts of Mexico. Their range extends only slightly into the state of Texas.
Adults have black heads, throats, upper chests, wings, and tails. Their undersides are yellow, their uppersides have an olive wash, and some of their wing feathers have white edges. Juveniles have a green back, duller yellow bellies, and olive-yellow heads.
The two species are similar, but male Scott’s Orioles have a black instead of a yellowish back, their tails are partially yellow instead of fully black, and they have a white wingbar instead of random white edges to their black feathers.
Hooded Oriole
Hooded Orioles breed throughout the southern ranges of the southwestern United States.
Males are yellow on the underside and yellow to orange on the upperside. They have a black face mask, throat, back, tail, and wings with a white wingbar. Females are a soft pale yellow to olive-yellow overall with grayer backs and wings and thin white wingbars.
Compared to Scott’s Orioles, male Hooded Orioles have more orange and have a distinct yellow-to-orange ‘hood’ instead of a completely black head. Hooded Orioles also have completely black tails instead of also having yellow like the Scott’s Oriole does.
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Orioles breed throughout the eastern half of the United States. Males are black above, dark rust-colored below, with chestnut shoulders. Females are yellowish below and greenish-yellow above with dark wings and two white wingbars. Immature males look similar to females but have a black throat.
Males of the two species are noticeably different, but females are fairly similar. However, female Orchard Orioles have paler heads, pinkish bills, and paler backs unlike the darker heads, dark bills, and streaked backs of the female Scott’s Orioles.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Scott’s Orioles get their name?
Scott’s Oriole was named in honor of General Winfield Scott by an American soldier and naturalist Darius N. Couch.
Where do Scott’s Orioles live?
Scott’s Orioles live in arid and semi-arid habitats in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico that typically have lots of yuccas, agaves, or other tall plants or trees suitable for nesting and foraging.
What do Scott’s Orioles eat?
Scott’s Orioles mainly eat insects, but they also feed on nectar and fruit.
What is the difference between a Scott’s Oriole and a Hooded Oriole?
The main difference between a Scott’s Oriole and Hooded Oriole is that male Scott’s have a completely black head whereas male Hooded Orioles have a yellow to orange ‘hood’.
