- Icterus northropi
Identification
Adult
- Black on head, most of upperside and upper breast
- Yellow on rump, most of underside, and shoulders
Immatures
Non-descript buffy-brownish and can be confusing compared to both adults and other oriole species.
Similar species
Yellow extending further forward on the underside than any other species of the Greater Antillean Oriole complex.
Distribution
Endemic to Bahamas (Andros where considered threatened, and probably extirpated from Great Abaco and Little Abaco).
Seems sensitive to nest predation by Shiny Cowbird.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly a part of Greater Antillean Oriole.
Habitat
Found in a variety of habitats including broadleaf and pines but do like coconut palms.
Behaviour
Palms are used both for nesting and for foraging. The nest is a hanging construction similar to related orioles.
Food includes fruit, nectar, insects, and flowers.
Song activity just after dawn but is not common.
References
- Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
- Thread in the Taxonomy forum discussing the possible splitting of this species
- This page at Birdlife International relates a proposal to split all four Greater Antillean Orioles into separate species, and raise concern for the Bahamas form
- 51st supplement to the AOU checklist of North American birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bahama Oriole. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bahama_Oriole
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
