Audubon's Oriole

About the Audubon's Oriole

The Audubon's Oriole is the quiet one in the South Texas oriole lineup -- a lemon-and-black bird of dense cover that is heard far more often than seen. Its whole head is black over a greenish-yellow body, and its song is a slow, sweet whistle that sounds almost human, drifting out of the thornscrub like someone absent-mindedly whistling to themselves.

Unlike the bold Altamira Oriole that shares its range, Audubon's prefers to stay inside the brush, slipping out to feeders for a few seconds and melting back in. In the United States it is found only in South Texas, from the Rio Grande north to about the Nueces, which makes it a target species for every birder who visits the Valley.

The best places to actually see one are the feeding stations along the Rio Grande -- Salineno is famous for them -- where peanut butter smeared on a snag brings this shy bird into the open. My photographs come from Valley feeder setups in December 2022 and from Starr County in the fall of 2025.

Patience is the whole game with this species. Set up on the feeder, stay still, and wait through the Green Jays and chachalacas until that black head finally pokes out of the brush.