Black-headed Oriole ( Oriolus larvatus, family: Oriolidae)

black headed oriole kruger national park birds The Black-headed Oriole (Latin name Oriolus larvatus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 545 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 682 also a picture of the Black-headed Oriole on page 705. The Black-headed Oriole belongs to the family of birds classified as Oriolidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Black-headed Oriole is also known by these other names: Eastern Black-headed Oriole.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Black-headed Oriole is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Black-headed Oriole in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Black-headed Oriole : see above distribution map.

The Black-headed Oriole.

Kruger Park Eastern Black Headed OrioleIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Black-headed Oriole is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Black-headed Oriole is about 25 cms and its weight is about 65 gms

The male and female Black-headed Oriole have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is crimson.
  • Bill is pink.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is yellow.
  • Legs are blue, grey.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Black-headed Oriole feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Black-headed Oriole is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Oriolus larvatus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Black-headed Oriole is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are pink in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Black-headed Oriole are: woodlands and grasslands

You will normally see the Black-headed Oriole by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Umkro/Umqokolo

Zulu ... umBhicongo/umQoqongo

Afrikaans ...Swartkopwielewaal

German ... Maskenpirol

Portuguese ... Papa-figos-de-cabea-preta

French ... Loriot masqu

Dutch ... Maskerwielewaal

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 545

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za