Hooded Oriole Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesHooded Oriole
Adult male
Long and slender with more delicate bodies than other orioles. Adult males vary from brilliant yellow to flame orange with a black throat that extends up around the eye. Note large white wingbar.
© Jerry Ting / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 25, 2020Female
Long and slender songbird with a slightly curved bill. Females are olive-yellow overall with grayer backs and thin white wingbars. Note unstreaked grayish back.
© Vicki Miller / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 04, 2017Adult male
Often forages rather sluggishly. Found in open woodlands with scattered trees, including cottonwoods, willows, sycamores, and especially palm trees.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 10, 2006Immature male
Immature males look similar to females are are olive-yellow overall, but have black throats like adult males.
© Paul Fenwick / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 26, 2017Adult male
Large and slender with a long tail and sharply pointed bill. Plumage of adult males varies from yellow in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. to brilliant orange in south Texas and eastern Mexico.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 20, 2013Adult male
Males in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. tend to be more yellow, while males in south Texas and eastern Mexico are more orange. Note large white wingbar.
© Steven Mlodinow / Macaulay LibraryBaja California Sur, March 17, 2010Adult male
Slender oriole with a slightly curved bill. Adult males in eastern Mexico are more orange than birds to the north.
© Fred Forssell / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 06, 2019Female
Females are olive-yellow overall including the belly.
© Delaney Kempf / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 16, 2019Adult male
Plumage color varies across their range from yellow-orange to bright orange.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 27, 2014Immature male
Found in open woodlands with scattered trees, including cottonwoods, willows, sycamores, and especially palm trees. In areas where ornamental palms have increased, Hooded Orioles are expanding and moving farther north.
© Joshua Rudolph / Macaulay LibraryWashington, May 31, 2017Similar SpeciesBullock's Oriole
Adult male
The male Bullock’s Oriole has a much larger white patch in the wing than male Hooded Oriole and a black eyeline and crown that Hooded lack.
© Shawn Billerman / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, May 11, 2015Similar SpeciesBullock's Oriole
Female
Female and young Bullock's Orioles have white or grayish, not yellow, bellies like female Hooded Orioles.
© Janey Woodley / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 27, 2017Similar SpeciesScott's Oriole
Male
The male Scott’s Oriole has a fully black head while Hooded has a mostly yellow-orange head with only a black throat patch.
© Aaron Marshall / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 04, 2013Similar SpeciesScott's Oriole
Female
Female and immature Scott's Orioles have gray-green heads and streaked backs unlike female and immature Hooded Orioles, which are yellow-green with unstreaked backs.
© Jim Hully / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 25, 2016Similar SpeciesOrchard Oriole
Female (Orchard)
Female and young Orchard Orioles are smaller than Hooded and have shorter, straighter bills, shorter tails, and yellow (not black) under the tail.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, October 20, 2015Similar SpeciesAltamira Oriole
Adult
Altamira Oriole overlaps with Hooded only in southern Texas and northeastern Mexico; look for Altamira's distinctive orange wingbar on both the male and female.
© David Disher / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 15, 2010Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Troupials and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Icteridae)
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