Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus

Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus, dickermani, Males. Photographs taken in the greater Zihuatanejo area, Guerrero, March 2018. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuatanejo.

Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus microstictus, Male. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, February 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus microstictus, Male. Photograph taken in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2024. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus, is one of eight subspecies of Streak-backed Oriole, six of which are found in Mexico. They are a member of the Icteriidae Family of Troupials and Allies that includes Grackles, New World Blackbirds and Orioles, that has one hundred five individual species that have been placed into thirty genus and one of thirty-two global species of the Icterus Genus. They are also known as the Flame-headed Oriole. They have drawn attention because northern populations highly colored males and dull females and southern population have both the males and females are highly colored.

The Streak-backed Oriole is mid-sized in stature. The mature males of the northern populations have very salmon to reddish orange heads, a deep orange chest, contrasting black lores that extends from the chin to the upper breast; their underparts are orange with heavy black streaks on the mantle and back. They have a prominent wing-bar and their feathers are a combination of black and orange with white tips; their tail is black. They have a black bill, a dark brown iris, and bluish-gray legs. The females are similar in color the males but with less intensity. The dickermani subspecies is found year-round within the Pacific Slope from southwest Jalisco and Colima to southern Guerrero. The microstictus subspecies is found year-round within the Pacific Slope from Sonora and western Chihuahua south to Jalisco. The northern populations migrate for overwintering; the southern populations are year-round residents of their locations. They are found within the lowlands at elevations up to 500 m (1,640). In Mexico they are found within the canopy and edges of deciduous forests, swamps with palo verde shrubs, thorny woodland and scrub, savannas, and trees along roadsides and within villages. They feed in pairs, family groups or larger groups primarily on arthropods with their diets being supplemented by berries, fruits, and nectar. They have been poorly studied and very little has been documented about their biology and behavioral patterns. From a conservation perspective the Streak-backed Oriole is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. They have been bred in captivity ensuring their survival.