African golden oriole
A resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara.
The African golden oriole (Oriolus auratus) is a passerine bird of the oriole family that breeds in Africa south of the Sahara. It inhabits thick bush and well-wooded areas, building a hanging basket-shaped nest in a tree and laying two eggs. Its diet consists of insects and fruit, particularly figs, found in the tree canopies where it spends much of its time.
Quick Facts
- Genus
- Oriolus
- Species
- auratus
Facts from the source article.
Taxonomy and systematics
The word "oriole" comes from the Latin oriolus, a name Albertus Magnus recorded around 1250 that imitates the golden oriole's call. Although New World orioles look like the Oriolidae family, they actually belong to the icterids and are not related. Two subspecies exist: the Senegal golden oriole (O. a. auratus) and the South African golden oriole (O. a. notatus), which was first thought to be a distinct species.
Description
The male has black and yellow plumage, predominantly yellow with solid black only in the flight feathers and tail centre, and much gold in the wings—distinguishing it from the Eurasian golden oriole. The female is a drabber green bird, with more contrasting wings and black around the eye than the European species. Orioles are shy and hard to see in the canopy. Their flight is strong and direct like a thrush, and the call is a jay-like screech, while the song is a fluting fee-ooo fee-ooo.
More in Birds of Africa
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced