The Golden Oriole it’s a bird with an exotic appearance, its closest relatives live in the African and Asian tropical areas. It has reserved habits and despite its showy yellow-black plumage, it’s not easy to discover this bird in the foliage of the trees bathed in light.
His melodious flute singing, however reveals its presence. The Oriole stays in Europe only for three months a year, for the rest of the time it lives in the equatorial forests, next to its sedentary relatives.
Everything to know about the golden oriole:
The Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) is a passerine bird and member of the Oriole family. The name derives from the Latin aureolus, which means golden, in reference to the yellow color of the male’s feathers. It’s one of the best known birds for its flamboyant plumage and melodious song.
The male is in fact a yellow bird with black wings, often tending to orange color. The female, on the other hand, is an olive green color with a grey-streaked belly. It has an agile flight with which it moves from one branch to another continuously, emitting a long sequence of calls.
The oriole lives mainly in pairs, on the low branches of trees and in the undergrowth. Its habitat is very extensive, and goes from Europe to Asia and Africa. If attacked, the Golden Oriole defends its nest strenuously even from the attack of predators much larger than him.
- Scientific name: Oriolus oriolus.
- Weight: around 70 g.
- Wingspan: 43 – 48 cm.
- Age: 7 years.
- Diet: Insects, spiders, fruits.
- Habitat: Deciduous forests under 1800 m of altitude.
- Threats: It’s affected by the cutting of tall forests, with consequent degradation or destruction of the habitat suitable for nesting. Loss of broods due to predators would seem to be not very common due to the aggressive defence put on by the adults.
1. Aspect
The Golden Oriole is one of the most striking birds in our skies, thanks to its golden yellow livery. The black wings and tail give even more prominence to its beautiful coat. Its dimensions reach 27 centimetres in length.
The color of the plumage can vary in intensity and yellow can also tend to orange sometimes. The female, very mimetic, has an olive green coat with a brown beak. The juveniles will have the same colours and shape of the females.
To be difficult to identify, he rarely sings from the same branch, constantly moving to confuse those who have heard him. Its flight is agile and quick, even during migrations, when he prefers to move at night to be more undercover.
He does not like coniferous forests, he prefers wooded areas, but also isolated and inaccessible areas that are near inhabited communities. Its is a solitary bird and it lives as a couple at best. Only after nesting is it possible to observe family groups of Golden Orioles still united.
2. Distribution
The distribution area of the Golden Oriole extends from Portugal, Spain and France, Italy to Poland, Russia, the Balkans, Turkey and western Asia to the Caucasus up to Mongolia and China.
Spring migration can happen during the day, but, given the reserved and discreet nature of this bird, they usually prefer to migrate overnight when they go spend their winters in central and southern parts of the African continent. When autumn arrives, they migrate back, across the eastern Mediterranean, where they know there are fruits to be found.
Wide open deciduous forests and orchards are their favourite habitats in western Europe, as well as river forest and large gardens. In eastern Europe they can live in coniferous forests, they generally avoid treeless habitats.
In their wintering habitat they go through numerous environments, from semi-arid areas to humid forests, high forests and savannahs. Golden Orioles have an extremely wide range with large and seemingly stable populations.
3. Diet
These birds love to feed on insects; but they also integrate their diet with other food of vegetable origin, such as buds, berries, fruits (especially apple and hawthorn, the latter is sought before reproduction to accumulate energy) and flowers: very limited and sporadic is the contribution to the adult’s diet represented by insects and small invertebrates, as well as by their eggs and larvae.
4. Breeding
The breeding season is announced by a frenetic activity made of chases and fights around the trees. The formation of the pair occurs after a courtship made by the male, who closely follows the female in all its movements among the vegetation.
Once the coupling has taken place, they chose the site where to build the nest, generally at the end of a branch of a tree, far from the trunk and quite high. It’s up to the female to build the nest in the shape of a “hammock”, formed by a dense texture of leaves, grass, twigs and earth. This structure is very solid and can be used for several years.
The choice of the territory where to nest is not random, but carefully picked. The Golden Oriole in fact looks for areas where both water and food are readily available, that’s near streams, orchards or vineyards. Once it find these spaces, it’s easy to see them nest in that same area every year.
During the year, it usually delivers a brood, exceptionally two. In May 3-4 eggs are laid, the incubation of which is carried out mainly by the female for 16-17 days. The chicks are nestlings and are cared for by both parents; at the age of about 2 weeks they leave the nest, but remain in the company of their parents until it’s time to undertake the migration.
5. Conservation
At the moment the species in Europe is considered to be in a favourable state of conservation and it’s not threatened. It’s a species well known as far as distribution goes, but poorly studied when it comes to its ecology and reproductive biology, and informations on the main demographic parameters are missing. In Europe, densities vary greatly with changes in habitat, altitude and geographic location.
It’s undoubtedly desirable to carry out large-scale monitoring activities, also in consideration of the fact that the species was subject to a slight overall decline in the European Union in the decade 1990-2000, in order to draw indications from a management and conservation perspective. General management directions include the need to maintain and restore lowland forests and valley floors, rich in oaks and fruit trees.
A forested pine area on the edge of a ravine,
Near the River Ebre,
Catalonia
After reading your article, it appears we have orioles nesting in our garden. We live on the edge of a small ravine and, normally, they nest in pine trees opposite. This year, I’m delighted to say, they have chosen our garden. The nest is in a pine tree at the entrance. We live in a pine wood, in a caravan, but we are usually outside, so I’m surprised they have chosen here. Is there any way we can avoid disturbing them?
The nest appears to contain plastic, which is a bit worrying. The males have been fighting over a female (I think), and making an unusual sound.
If it’s possible for you to not go directly near the nest, that would be the best. If they have made a nest in an area where they come often, it’s because they feel safe there. As long as you don’t go directly and look in the nest too often, i don’t think it’s going to be a problem. It would be a good idea for you to make your self visible and to your day-to-day activities while the bird is there so they get habituated and used to them. If they chose to stay while they brood their eggs, then they will probably stay there for good.
About the plastic. It’s very common for birds in this modern age to use manmade items in their nest lining such as plastics, cotton swabs, cigarette filters and more. Plastic being in their nest shouldn’t worry you, it’s, unfortunately, very common.
Good morning All. I live in the South of Spain and I’m lucky enough to have Golden Orioles around my house, We only have three large trees and my neighbour also has large trees, but not many, but between the two of us have about six to eight pair’s, for several years I’ve been chasing away Magpies, they have large colonies and take our local small birds such as sparrows blackbirds Goldfinch’s, my house sparrow population numbering about twenty has totally disappeared, but the Orioles have built eight nests for the first time in the ten years that I’ve lived here, I know some of you will say leave the Magpies alone its nature doing its job, but they are thriving. Why the sparrow population has disappeared baffles me as they next in large Barnes that I have without threat of predation, a snake or two are about, but that has not deterred them for the years I’ve been here. The Orioles are still here eating figs and grapes. By for now.
Sounds like an amazing property with a lot of life! Magpies are very adaptable and you scaring them away to improve the conditions of other birds is not a problem in my opinion. They’re a very abundant and versatile species and will easily find other prey and nesting places. There can be multiple explanations as to why the sparrows have sought after different places. They might get outcompeted by the other species, leaving no nesting sites or food for them. It could also be predation (though you say that magpies are chased away). Putting out nestboxes specifically for the types of sparrows you have seen earlier, might be a way to lure them back!
A person in Shreveport, LA U.S.A says he has just seen a Golden Oriole (October , 2023) inspecting a new birdhouse. I think it may not be a Golden. I identified a bird that looks like this as a female Orchard Oriole. She was sitting on my birdbath on Easter Sunday of 2019. Do Golden Orioles usually visit the Northwest corner of Louisiana?
There are one or two pairs of very active Golden Orioles here in Cebu Philippines. They start singing at daybreak and don’t finish until the evening. Their sounds pierce the quiet of the area. When they are on the windowsills of my house, they sound quite loud throughout the house but I still enjoy having them around..