Weekend Birding: Hooded Oriole
I saw this bird a few years ago while on vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. There were quite a few of them at the resort and they didn’t seem to mind people. While sitting on the balcony I could see them eating the fruit in the trees.
If you’ve seen the movie The Big Year you will know what I mean when I say this bird was a ‘lifer’ for me. I knew I was looking at an Oriole but I needed my bird guide to know exactly which one. The Hooded Orioles are only found in the southwestern US and Mexico so this is not a bird I would expect to see at home. The Orioles that I usually see are the Baltimore variety found in the eastern half of the United States.
The bird in the photo above is a male. He is more brightly colored as is usually the case in the animal world. In the photo to the right there is a male and a female eating fruit in the palm tree. (Click on images for sharper view.)
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
What an astonishing bird! The sheen on the male is extraordinary. I hadn’t noticed the female in the second shot, until I read your words. The Big Year hasn’t been released in Australia yet (I hadn’t heard of it even). It’s released next week. I’ll keep an eye out for it. I find Jack Black very funny. Owen Wilson not so much.
Owen Wilson is the guy everyone is trying to beat so you can cheer for the other guys.
It was a cute movie and I enjoyed it for the birds. It was pretty accurate and funny too.
Beautiful color on this guy! I’ll have my husband put The Big Year in the netflix queue.
What beautiful birds! I almost didn’t even see the female there, she’s so much more camouflaged.
What a beauty! Great capture.
He is beautiful!
His colors are so astounding! The close-up is great…but I also like the other one, too, that shows the fruit of the palm tree. Thanks for sharing.
Here’s MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT
That’s where I usually saw them, eating the fruit. I got lucky and the male sat on top a palm and posed nicely.
The female was so out of sight when I first saw the pictures!! Then I remembered that it was eating a fruit and saw her!
Thanks for sharing what, for me, is a bird I will never see in person. It’s a delight to get to know him here!
Lovely picture — and I think it’s terrific that on your vacation you got to see something so special. I bet hundreds of people see those birds and don’t think anything of them.
Such vivid color in the male! Loved these shots. I’ve never seen one of these birds.
He is beautiful. I, too, would have missed the female if it was not pointed out.
I love the bright orange, what a pretty bird. Thank you for stopping by my Saturday Snapshot today
Book Savvy Babe
I love those bright colors!
What great colors! The orange and black are beautiful together. Wonder why they male is always so much brighter than the female?
The females compete for the ‘prettiest’ male so it’s an advantage for them to be colorful. It’s the opposite for the females. They need to be less visible when sitting on their nests.
What a beautiful bird! We don’t have a lot of pretty ones here, probably because of the crows in the summer.
The farther south I travel, the prettier the birds seem to be. Must be the warmer weather!
And how lucky am I that I have them visiting my back garden!
Yes, smart birds. They stay where it’s warm!
What a great looking bird. Lovely colors.
I’ve never seen a bird like this before. He’s very striking. Here’s Mine
Gorgeous colors, gorgeous photos!
As someone with an interest in birds I’m fascinated to see this north American one that we don’t have here. So pretty!
Those are gorgeous birds! I would love to see one!
I haven’t seen this type of oriole either. He’s beautiful.
This birds coloring is so beautiful and you took a terrific photo! I hope you had an amazing trip to Mexico.
How pretty! You take such great shots of birds.
My daughter just finished a picture of a couple of orioles, at least I think that’s what she said they were. I’ll have to post it this weekend.
Stunning pictures, I’ve never seen this oriole before. We have golden orioles here in Bulgaria, I love their call but it’s surprising difficult to spot them despite their bright colours!