Eurasian Golden Oriole Identification Guide
What I look like
The Eurasian Golden Oriole is about the size of a blackbird.
The male has bright yellow plumage...
with black wings and tail.
Hence its nickname of "golden oriole".
The female's plumage is more dull with yellowish-green and brown-gray colors and a light belly slightly speckled.
It has a long and sturdy beak with a black line running to the eye.
My songs, my calls
Despite its remarkable plumage, the Eurasian Golden Oriole is more often noticed by its song.
Its song is loud and fluty, with typical short onomatopoeias "lûolio" "didelio" sometimes interspersed with squeaky cries.
It is sometimes imitated by the Common Starling.
You might hear the Eurasian Golden Oriole from May onwards.
How I behave
The Eurasian Golden Oriole is rarely seen as it is shy and adept at hiding in trees.
As the Eurasian Golden Orioles come here in the warm season, they take advantage of dense foliage for hiding.
It has an undulating flight from tree to tree and sometimes hovers when hunting.
How I reproduce
The breeding season of the Eurasian Golden Oriole extends from May to August.
It lays one brood per year of 3 to 4 white eggs speckled with dark. Here, a juvenile...
It nests in tall deciduous trees.
Its nest is a cradle-like basket hung between two twigs, made of long stems and straw.
It nests in Europe during the warm season (except in northern Europe) and winters in Africa during the cold season.
What I eat
The Eurasian Golden Oriole eats large insects, spiders, and small mollusks.
It mainly eats fruits in late summer, during the cherry season.
Where to find me
The Eurasian Golden Oriole lives in deciduous woodlands with somewhat dense undergrowth.
It is found in deciduous woods (poplars, oaks, alders), orchards, and parks.
It likes to go to the edges of watercourses, where it sometimes bathes.
It is a long-distance migrant.
It arrives in Europe in May to spend the warm season and returns to Africa in August.
It migrates throughout the night.