Indian Golden Oriole

 

Indian Golden Oriole Male 

    Introduction of  Indian Golden Oriole

 The Indian Golden Oriole (Scientific name: Oriolus Kundoo) is a species of oriole. Order of this species is  Passeriformes and belongs to the Family Oriolidae. It is a medium sized bird of  wingspan of 17 to 18.5 inches.  The Indian species is a partial migrant. Those  reside in the northern parts of the country move to the south during winter. Average life span of Indian golden oriole is between five to ten years.

     How to Identify Indian Golden Oriole

  It was once regarded as a subspecies of the Eurasian Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus). But  now  it is considered as another species.  Both the Indian and Eurasian Golden Oriole species are  very similar. But there are some differences by which these species can be separated. 

  Adult male Indian Golden Oriole  has golden yellow head, upper parts and underparts. The underwing coverts are yellow and the flight feathers  have narrow, yellowish white tips. Wings are  black  and have yellow-tipped coverts. There are black eye stripe which extends behind the eye and by which it can be differentiate  from Eurasian Golden Oriole. Tail are a shiny black.  The eyes are a deep dark red and the medium to large bill is a bright pinkish red. Legs are grey blue in color.

  Females lacks the male’s distinctive golden yellow color. They are almost greenish with a yellowish-white underpart with black streaks. Bill is more pink than red. Wings are dark grey to black.  

  Juveniles are similar to the adult female but duller and with heavier underpart streaking. Juvenile has bright golden-yellow face and upperparts and has yellowish supercilium. 

Indian Golden Oriole Female

       Habits and Habitats

  Indian Golden orioles are diurnal birds which means active during the day. They  usually lives  alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Indian Golden orioles forage on the ground and in tree canopy. Its flight is  strong and  direct like the  flight of thrush. These birds live in various habitats like open deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, woodland, forest edge, mangroves, open country with scattered trees, parks, gardens orchards and plantations. 

       Distribution

  The Indian golden oriole species is distributed in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Indian subcontinent.

      Food

  Golden orioles are more or less omnivorous.  Small insects, fruits, seeds, nectar, and pollen are there main food. But small mammals, small lizards, eggs, and nestlings are also in their food list.

      Call

   Golden orioles use whistles to communicate with each other.  But  they produce harsh, alarm calls  to warn nearby birds about potential predators. Their alarm call is a screech like a jay.  Their song is a beautiful fluting weela-wee-ooo or or-iii-ole. Breeding pairs often sing in duets when females answer to the males' song with a short skweeeeer. 

           Breeding and Nesting

    Indian Golden orioles are monogamous and form long-lasting pair bonds. Males usually arrive at the breeding areas several days before the females. The breeding season is April to August. Orioles make their deep cup-shaped nest  on high  tree.  The  nest hangs below a horizontal fork of thin branches. The nest  is built mainly by the female, but the male  sometimes help to gather nest making  material. Size of the nest is  16 inch in length. It is made by plant fibers, fine grass, feathers, and wool. Female lays  3 to 5 eggs at daily intervals early in the morning. Color of the  eggs can be white, cream or very pale pink with black marks. The eggs are mainly incubated by the female but the male also take part  for short periods.  Incubation period is 16-17 days.  Nestlings are fed both by the male and female and fledging  normally occur by three weeks.