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Eurasian Golden Oriole
(Oriolus oriolus)
: "Golden Oriole"
German name(s): "Pirol", "Pfingstvogel", "Goldamsel"
Size: 22-25 cm; wing span: 44-47 cm
Weight: 42-100 g
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Golden Orioles are roughly thrush-sized birds.
Their plumage
is dimorphic, i.e.
males and
females
are different.
Male
Eurasian Golden Orioles are basically all golden-yellow, except
the lores, flight feathers and uppertail, which are black.
Female
Eurasian Golden Orioles are much more inconspicuous. They have
a light-grey front, from chin to undertail coverts, with faint
grey streaking and yellow flanks. The lores are grey, the crown
and nape of the neck are yellow. The mantle and wing coverts
are olive-yellow. The flight feathers are black, with thin grey
edge lining. The uppertail is olive-grey.
The irises of both sexes are orange-brown.
The strong, slightly downcurved bill is bright-orange. The legs
and feet are grey.
Juvenile and immature
Eurasian Golden Orioles roughly resemble
females,
but with duller colours (olive instead of yellow; grey instead
of black), more streaking down the front and much wider edge
lining on the flight feathers.
Juveniles
have a dark-grey bill; second-year immature sub-adults already have an
orange bill.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Eurasian
Golden Oriole at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Eurasian Golden Oriole is available
HERE
.
Eurasian Golden Orioles are a strongly migratory species.
Their breeding grounds are anywhere from the north-western
African coastal fringe, via the northern Mediterranean,
all of western Europe, but not the British Isles, central
and eastern Europe (not Scandinavia and the highest mountain
ranges) and eastward into mid-latitude western and central
Asia, as far as the border area of southern Russia with
Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In the South-east their range
extends around the Black Sea into Asia Minor, towards
the western coastline of the Caspian Sea and into the
western half of Iran.
During their migration they can be found in Arabia and in
the northern half of Africa.
They spend the northern winters mostly in Africa South of
the equator, except the eastern highlands and the western
coastal strip. Some may also stay half-way in areas that
are usually only visited in passage (such as e.g. the
northern African coastal fringe or coastal areas in Arabia).
In Europe Eurasian Golden Orioles are found as breeding migrants
anywhere to the South of the Baltic Sea, except southern Greece
and the highest regions of the Alps and Pyrenees. Except for one
location in East Anglia and a few on the southern Swedish coastline,
they are not found on the British Isles or Scandinavia. Except
for eastern Sicily and Cyprus, where they breed, they are found
on the Mediterranean islands only during migration.
Eurasian Golden Orioles are shy and will usually stay up in
the canopy of trees when not on the ground to take water.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
D. Wilczynska reports spotting Eurasian Golden Orioles near
Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in August 2016, when their
calls were
recorded.
Next, D. Wilczynska found Eurasian Golden Orioles along the
river Narew, near Wizna, Podlaskie, Poland, in May 2018.
D. Wilczynska also observed a family of Eurasian Golden Orioles
near the river Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, in August
2019.
J. Pires reports finding a family of
Eurasian Golden Orioles at Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal,
Portugal, in July 2019. Another was found along the Cavado River,
Esposende, Braga, Portugal, in July 2020.
Eurasian Golden Orioles were previously spotted by us in
Oman.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Eurasian Golden Oriole;
note the rich yellow, the black lores and the lack of
striation
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Narew, near Wizna, Podlaskie, Poland, May 2018]
Lateral view of a male Eurasian Golden Oriole looking away
from the observer
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal, Portugal, July 2019]
Near-lateral/ventral view of a male(?) Eurasian Golden Oriole
at take-off
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal, Portugal, July 2019]
Dorsal view of a departing male(?) Eurasian Golden Oriole
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal, Portugal, July 2019]
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FEMALE |
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Near-lateral view of an Eurasian Golden Oriole - although
richly coloured, this bird may be a female; note the grey
(rather than black) lores and the hint of striation on the
flanks
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal, Portugal, July 2019]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Lateral view of a juvenile Eurasian Golden Oriole - note the
dark-grey bill; this is one of four birds observed at the
time
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, August 2019]
Lateral view of a juvenile Eurasian Golden Oriole
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Ribeira de Lucefecit, Alandroal, Portugal, July 2019]
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Call(s)/Song |
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For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own; are welcome.
More Eurasian Golden Oriole sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
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These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.