Orioles are colorful Old World passerine birds in the family Oriolidae and genus Oriolus. They are not related to the New World orioles, which are Icterids, family Icteridae.
The orioles are a mainly tropical Old World group, although one species breeds in more temperate regions.
Species
- Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus
- Brown Oriole, Oriolus szalayi : Found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
- Halmahera Oriole, Oriolus phaeochromus : Endemic to Halmahera Island (the largest island in the Maluku Islands) in Indonesia. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Ceram Oriole aka Grey-collared Oriole, Oriolus forsteni : Endemic to Indonesia. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Buru Oriole, Oriolus bouroensis: Endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
- Timor Oriole, Oriolus viridifuscus: Found in Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. The Timor subspecies is sometimes split as the Timor Oriole, Oriolus viridifuscus
- Olive-backed Oriole or White-bellied Oriole, Oriolus sagittattus
- Yellow Oriole or Green Oriole, Oriolus flavocinctus
- Dark-throated Oriole, Oriolus xanthonotus: Found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The continued existence of this species is threatened by habitat destruction.
- White-lored Oriole, Oriolus albiloris: Endemic to the Philippines.
- Isabela Oriole, Oriolus isabellae: Found on Luzon, the Philippines. The bird that was presumed extinct for many years until it rediscovery in December 1993 near Diffun, Quirino, and in Mansarong, Baggao, Cagayan in September 1994. Additional sightings were made in 2004 near San Mariano, Isabela.
- African Golden Oriole, Oriolus auratus : A resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. It is a bird of thick bush and other well-wooded areas. The hanging basket-shaped nest is built in a tree, and contains two eggs. The food is insects and fruit, especially figs, found in the tree canopies where the orioles spend much of their time. The male is striking in the typical oriole black and yellow plumage, although the plumage is predominantly yellow, with solid black only in the flight feathers and tail centre. There is a great deal of gold in the wings, which is a distinction from Golden Oriole, Oriolus oriolus, which winters in Africa. The female is a drabber green bird, distinguished from the European species by more contrasting wings and black around the eye. Orioles are shy, and even the male is remarkably difficult to see in the dappled yellow and green leaves of the canopy. The flight is somewhat like a thrush, strong and direct with some shallow dips over longer distances. The call is a screech like a jay, but the song is a beautiful fluting fee-ooo fee-ooo, unmistakable once heard.
- Black-naped Oriole, Oriolus chinensis
- Green-headed Oriole, Oriolus chlorocephalus: Found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
- Great-billed Oriole, Oriolus crassirostris: Endemic to Sao Tomé and Principe. They inhabit subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist montanes. The continued existence of this species is threatened by habitat destruction.
- Western Black-headed Oriole, Oriolus brachyrhynchus: Found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist savanna.
- Forest Oriole, Oriolus monacha: Found in Eritrea and Ethiopia. This bird species inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forests.
- Black-headed Oriole, Oriolus larvatus
- Black-winged Oriole, Oriolus nigripennis: Found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland and mangrove forests.
- Black-hooded Oriole, Oriolus xanthornus
- Black Oriole, Oriolus hosii: Endemic to Malaysia. This bird species inhabits subtropical or tropical moist montanes. The continued existence of this species is threatened by habitat destruction.
- Black and Crimson Oriole, Oriolus cruentus : Found in Indonesia and Malaysia. They inhabit subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist montanes.
- Maroon Oriole, Oriolus trailili: Found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
- Silver Oriole, Oriolus mellianus: Found in Cambodia, China, and Thailand. They inhabit subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist montanes. The continued existence of this species is threatened by habitat destruction.
