Yellow-backed Oriole (Icterus chrysater)

A medium sized member of Icteridae, the New World blackbirds, yellow-backed orioles are characterized by strongly contrasting yellow-and-black plumage (Howell and Webb 1995). As this species’ common name suggests, yellow-backed orioles have striking yellow backs and underparts. (Ridgely and Tudor 1989). This species’ yellow plumage is offset by black facial markings, a black throat-patch, and solid black wings (Jaramillo and Burke 1999; Howell and Webb 1995). Yellow-backed orioles are socially monogamous and lay one clutch of two to three eggs per year in shallow, dangling nests (Jaramillo and Burke 1999) These nests are woven from fine grasses and other plant fibers, and are placed high in mature trees (Wetmore et al. 1984). Yellow-backed orioles are native to Central and South America. While yellow-backed orioles prefer open woodland and scrub forest, they are found in an extremely wide range of habitats ranging from lowland deciduous woodland to cloud forest and urban areas (Jaramillo and Burke 1999; Howell and Webb 1995; Ridgely and Tudor 1989).