Family New World Blackbirds (Icteridae)
Least Concern
Black-backed Oriole (Icterus abeillei)
Taxonomy
French: Oriole d’Abeillé German: Schwarzmanteltrupial Spanish: Turpial dorsinegro
Taxonomy:
Xanthornus Abeillei
Lesson
, 1839,Mexico
.Distribution:
C Mexico from Durango and Nuevo León S to Michoacán and WC Veracruz; winters in C Mexico mostly along Transvolcanic Belt S to Oaxaca.
Descriptive notes
18–20·5 cm; 31–37 g. Male has crown to side of head, nape and upperparts black, orange supraloral line, narrow orange crescentic patch above and below eye (looking like... read more
Voice
Song a rich warble, often with some scratchy notes, covering rather wide frequency range, resembles... read more
Habitat
Breeds in open forest, clearings and forest edge, riparian habitats, orchards and gardens; in... read more
Food and feeding
Insects, spiders (Araneae), fruits, nectar. One of main avian predators of the toxic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) that... read more
Breeding
Season Apr–Aug. No other published information.
Movements
Apparently a short-distance migrant within C Mexico.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Fairly common to common. Estimated global population in range 50,000–500,000 individuals. Occurs in some protected areas, such as Pico de Orizaba... read more
Sometimes treated as conspecific with I. bullockiorum, but DNA data indicate that it is sister to I. galbula; all three formerly treated as conspecific. Monotypic.