Audubon'sOriole (Icterus graluacaula) in Indiana:First United States record awayfrom Texas
DON GORNEY ß G207 CARRIrJGTDr4 DRIVE ß II•DIArJAPDLIS, IrJDIArJA 4G23G-820g ß (EtvlAIL: [email protected])
JASON LEWIS ß IJ.S. FISH Arid WILDLIFE SERVICE ß 24279 STATE HIGHWAY 51 ß PIJXICD, tvllSSDIJRI G3gGD
Abstract black bird at his feederseast of Canaan,Jef- ver Maple (Acer saccharinurn)next to the Thispaper documents the presenceof an af- fersonCoun W, Indiana (38.88 ø N, 85.25ø W, house and obtainedseveral photographs. ter-second-yearfemale Audubon'sOriole elev.257 m). It visitedirregularly, so it was Duringthe next hour, the oriole was observed (Icterus graduacauda)of the subspecies severaldays before his wife, Carol, and a fam- nearthe house as well asin an adjacentsmall auduboniifrom JeffersonCounty, Indiana, ily friend,Dale Sides, were able to observethe apple orchard. Photographsobtained by duringlate January and early February 2007. bird.In earlyFebruary, Bill Smockidentified Lewisand sharedlater that daywith Goruey The criteriaused in identifyingit to sub- thebird as an Audubon's Oriole (Icterus grad- andothers conclusively identified the bird as species,age, and sex, as well as the larger con- uacauda)by useof a fieldgutde. On 6 Febru- an Audubon's Oriole. text for this recordand the issueof prove- ary,Jason Lewis of the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Gorneyvisited the site on 8 Februarywith nance,are alsodiscussed. Service was contacted to confirm the observa- Lewis,obtained additional photographs, and tion,and the nextday, Lewis contacted Got- took detailed field notes. The bird was in view Field Encounter hey, discussedthe report,and visitedthe forapproximately 40 minutesduring this two- On approximately24 January2007, Bill Smockhome. Upon arriving at theSmock res- hourvisit. The bird was seen feeding at twooil Smock noticed an unfamiliar yellow and idence,Lewis spotted the oriole in a bareSil- sunflowerseed feeders, foraging and resting in
Audubon'sOriole visiting a feeder near Canaan, Jefferson County, Indiana on 11 February 2007. fielevant field marks include the large blackhood extending onto the breast, olive-yellow backand rump, bright yellow collar, and yellow underparts. Theprominent white edgingtoall remiges and the greater coverts indicate this bird is of the subspecies audubanii. Phot•raph •yl?onAesting. AUDUBON'SORIOLEININDIANA
a bareSilver Maple, and foragingin matted grassesand cattailsbordering a smallsnow- covered,frozen pond. While at the feedersit primarilyperched on thewooden platforms to feed,but it wasalso observed feeding on the ground.The oriole and the other species pres- ent were wary. A vehiclepulling into the drivewayor movementoutside of the house wouldcause the oriole to fly away. Duringthe nextweek, the oriolesporadi- cally visitedthe Smocks'feeding area. Bill Smockreported that it was absentfrom the feeders[or one48-hour period and sometimes [or hoursat a timeon dayswhen i! did visit. Thebird was occasionally seen flying towards or at severallocations on the property,thus it appearedto makewide use of the Smocks' 110-acre homestead. Ihere are few other resi- dences besides the Smock home in the vicini- ty,so the bird was likely obtaining food on its ownwhen not presentat the feeders.Several other birders besides those mentioned above wereable to observethe oriole during the re- mainderof itsstay. Wildlife photographer Ron Austingobtained photos on 11February (Fig- ures 1 and 2). The Audubon'sOriole was last seenon 15 February2007 by Bill Smock.No vocalizations were heard from the bird. Physiographically,the local regionis a plateauof up to 330 m abovesea level and dissectedby streamsthat may be 150m below the hilltops. Natural communitiesinclude glades,barrens, and mesophyticforests asso- ciatedwith ravines.The area surrounding the Smockhome is decidedlyrural and undevel- oped,with agricultureand natural vegetation being the primary land cover (Campbell 1997,pers. obs.). Identification Audubon'sOriole is a distinctivelymarked species.The individualobserved in Indiana Audubon'sOriole near Canaan, Jefferson County, Indiana on 11 February 2007. The dean edge to the back of the hood and the wasa largeoriole with a blackhood; yellow neatnessandreduced size of the breast spot strongly suggests afemale. Diagnostic fora female are the extensive undertail spots. underparts;olive-yellow back, scapulars, and Photo9raphbyRon Austing. rump; bright yellow collar separatingthe markingswere most extensive on R6 andap- Crimson-collaredGrosbeak (Rhodothraupis hoodand the back;black wings with white pearedless so on each feather moving towards celaeno)can be eliminatedby differencesin edgingon eachremex and the greater coverts; the centraltail feathers(R1). Comparedto wingand tail color,overall duller coloration, anda long,black, graduated tail with pale edg- otherspecies present at thefeeders, the oriole andbill shapeand size.The long,graduated ingon theunderside of theretrices. The hood was closest in size to Northern Cardinal but tail and the uniqueundertail pattern also extendedpast the crown but did notreach the wasslightly bigger and bulkJer. points to the Indiana bird as being an nape.It extendedonto the chin, throat,and While severalspecies of oriolesin defini- Audubon's Oriole. breast.Eye color was black. Ihe medium- tive plumageshow variations of yellowand Four subspeciesof Audubon'sOriole are length,pointed, and mostlyblack bill was black---e.g.,Scott's (I. parisorum),Black- currently recognized:audubonii, dickeyae, thicker at the base and narrowed to a fine cowled(I. prosthemelas),and Yellow-hackedgraduacauda, and nayaritensis.Audubonii is point.Ihe mandiblewas powder blue from (I. chrysater)-•Audubon'sOriole is uniquein the only subspeciesknown to occurin the thebase to a pointslightly more than halfway havinga blackhood and yellowish back. Im- UnitedStates (Flood et al. 2002;Brush, pers. to thetip. Onlya minimalportion of themax- maturesof severaloriole species are yellow comm.). It alsooccurs in the Mexican statesof ilia was so colored.The tips and the outer andblack but canbe eliminatedby a variety Coahuila, Nuevo LeOn, and Tamaulipas edgesof the undersidesof the outermosttail of [actorssuch as bodyshape and size,bill (Brush2005). The remaining three subspecies feathers(R6) wereextensively marked with a shape,wing markings,lack of hood, and are foundonly in Mexico(Jaramillo 1999). combinationof off-whiteand dull yellow. The overall coloration0aramillo 1999). Female Flood et al. (2002) state that the four sub-
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Table1.Reports oforioles fromwinter 2006-2007 inthe greater OhioRiver Valley4 ed to R6 andprobably noticeable only with a bird in the hand. The Indiana bird had an ex- tensivelymarked undertail, including a small BaltimoreOriole McHenryCo., Illinois 8 February2007; P.Zeller, IBET IJstserv paletip to thecentral taft feathers, an indica- Bullock'sOriole ScottCo., Indiana 1January-15 April 2007; pets. obs.; IN-BIRD IJstserv tionthat the bird was a female(Figure 2). Audubon'sOriole JeffersonCo.,Indiana approx.24January-15 February 2007; present paper Another difference between the sexes that BaltimoreOriole FranklinCo., Kentucky approx.14January-mid-February 2007;B. Palmer-Ball is mentioned in most references is that the fe- ScottsOriole FranklinCo.,Kentucky earlyFebruary-23 April2007; B. Palmer-Ball males'upperparts are duller than those of the BaltimoreOriole MonroeCo., Ohio LateDecember 2006-1ate January 2007; V.Fazio, W.Murphy male,with theback and rump appearing olive BaltimoreOriole SummitCo., Ohio 17December 2006; V. Fazio rather than yellow.The authorsfound this markto beinconclusive when they examined BaltimoreOriole FranklinCo.,Ohio December2006-1ate January 2007; B. Whan old, presumablyfaded, specimens, although BaltimoreOrioles Various sites, Pennsylvania 13 birds; December 2006-February 2007;V. Fazio theystill found that males were often brighter ScottsOriole CombedandCo.,Pennsylvania 19 February-April 2007;V. Fazio than females. The Indiana bird had an olive- BaltimoreOriole WilliamsonCo., Tennessee 5-13December 2006;TN-Bird Netlistserv, Jan Shaw yellowback and rump, anotherindication BaltimoreOriole ShelbyCo., Tennessee 17December 2006;TN-Bird Netlistserv, Chris Sloan that it was a female. BaltimoreOriole GreeneCo., Tennessee 18December 2006; TN-Bird Net listserr, Chris Sloan Fieldmarks that appeared useful in sexing BaltimoreOriole MonroeCo.,Tennessee 7January 2007; TN-Bird Net listserr, Chris Sloan specimensbut that arenot well addressedin referencesinclude the raggedness of the mar- speciesare moderately well markedbut they brownish(Flood et al. 2002,Pyle 1997). An gin of thehood at thenape, the shaggy lower intergradewhere ranges meet. The Indiana individualafter Prebasic 1 molt appears simi- hood, and the overallsize of the breastmark- birdwas identified as an auduboniiprimarily lar to onein definitiveplumage except that ing (Gorney2007). Male specimens tended to becausethe remigesand greater coverts were the brownishprimaries and secondaries con- havea poorlydemarcated edge to the hood boldlyedged with white (Figure1), which trast with the black covertsand tertials,most alongthe napeor the backof the head.The eliminatesall subspeciesbut audubonii.The of the retrices remain olive-colored, and the edgewas usuallyragged, with strayblack nominatesubspecies graduacauda resembles upperpartsare extensivelyolive-colored feathersradiating out onto the back. Females, auduboniibut is smallerand lacks white edges (Jaramillo1999; pers. obs.). The Definitive on theother hand, had a fairlywell demarcat- on theinner secondaries and white tips on the Prebasicmolt is completeand occursfrom ed edgeto the hoodwith few,if any,stray coverts.Determining the subspecies of the In- July throughSeptember of a bird'ssecond feathers.Male specimenstended to havea dianabird based on sizeis impractical.How- year(Flood et al. 2002).Because the Indiana hoodthat ended with a largebreast spot with ever,graduacauda specimens at theField Mu- bird had no olive-coloredretrices, showed no shaggyedges and black streaks radiating out- seum,Chicago, were noticeably smaller than contrastbetween primaries/secondaries and ward. Females tended to have a smaller breast auduboniispecimens and appearedcloser in coverts/tertials,and had an olive-yellowback spot,edges that were much less ragged, and size to Bullock• (I. bullockii)and Baltimore(I. andrump, we determinedthe bird's age to be little to no densestreaking emanating from galbula)Orioles. The Indiana bird was stocky aftersecond year. the breastspot. We believethat although andappeared bulkier and larger than the Bul- Althoughmany referencesindicate that thesesubtle features vary, they are useful in 1ock•Oriole that Gorneyhad observed else- adultmales and females are similarly marked sexingthe species. This opinion is sharedby wherein southernIndiana on 7 February,the (e.g.Sibley 2000, Pyle 1997), there appears to AlvaroJaramillo, who indicated that, based daybefore he observedthe Audubon's Oriole. beone key field mark and several more subtle on hisexperience with specimens,most birds Nayaritensiis similar to graduacaudaand characteristicsby which one can sex the canbe sexed by plumage(pers. comm.). The therefore can be eliminated for the same rea- species.Jaramillo (1999) was the only readily Indianabird showed a well demarcatededge sonsgiven above for that subspecies. Dickeyae accessible reference that addressed the under- to the hood at the back of the head and had a is themost distinct of thefour subspecies, be- tail patternsof maleand femaleAudubon's small,clean breast spot that lacked the ragged ingsimilar to graduacauda but larger and lack- Orioles. The text indicates that males have an appearanceof many males (Figure 2). All ingwhite edges on any wing feathers 0aramil- all-black tail, sometimeswith a small white fieldmarks again suggested a female. lo 1999, Flood et al. 2002). Jaramfllo0999) tip to the tail feathers.In contrast,the outer speculatesthat further study might show dick- tailleathers of femalestypically show an olive Discussion eyaeto constitutea separatespecies. tip or extensiveamounts of olive.Other rec- Accordingto Floodet al. (2002), Audubon's The bird was identified as an after-second- tricesalso may be olive-tipped.We found Oriole is known from Texas,Mexico, and Be- yearfemale by reviewof pertinentreferences, considerable variability in theundertail mark- lize, with a reportedvagrant from Puerto examinationof specimens,and evaluationof ingsof femalesat theField Museum. Howev- Rico.Despite previous reports and references photographicevidence. Juvenile plumage in er, everyfemale examined showed at least in theliterature, the species has not been ver- Audubon'sOriole is quitedistinct from adult somepale tips to theoutermost feathers (R6), ifiedin Belize(Bruce W. Miller, pers. comm.). plumage,the most striking differences being mostof thembeing extensively marked. Usu- Thesingle sighting in PuertoRico was report- theolive-colored tail andupperparts and the ally the other tail feathershad pale tips as ed as an adult male seenby two observers lack of a black hood, throat,and breastmark. well.The amount of markingon eachfeather nearRamey on 12June 1995. Details of the Thepartial Prebasic I molt includes the hood, decreasedtowards the central tail leathers, sightingdo notallow for subspeciesdetermi- throat,and breast;the centraland possibly which were often unmarked. The undertails nationbut do pointto an Audubon'sOriole. other retrices;and from some to all of the of malespecimens, on the otherhand, were The observers assumed the bird to be a for- wing covertsand tertials.The primariesand entirelyblack except in a few instancesof mercaptive because of thegreat distance from secondariesare not replacedand remain birdswith minimal markings, usually restrict- its normalrange and the lack of vagrancy
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recordsfor thespecies (Bunkley-Williams and gratoryBirds, pers. comm.). However, Eduar- Althoughthe Audubon'sOriole that ap- Williams 1996). do E. lfiigo-Elias,an experton the North pearedin Indianamay have been trapped in Within the United States there are no ac- Americancaged-bird trade, currentlyem- Texasor Mexicoand transportedto the Mid- ceptedrecords of Audubon'sOriole outside of ployedby the CornellLab of Ornithology,in- west,lfiigo-Elias did not think that wasthe Iexas(Brush 2000). Its rangein Iexasappears dicatedthat orioles,including Audubon's, are case.After reviewing photographs of theIndi- to be expandingnorthward. Vagrants have indeedpart of thecaged-bird trade in Mexico. ana Audubon'sOriole, he statedthat the bird beennoted well away from the species' known Whilepasserines are smuggled into the United did not appearto havebeen held captive re- permanentrange (Mark Lockwood,pers. States,psittacids command much higher prices centlybecause the plumageand overallcon- comm.).A reviewof TexBirdshstserv postings and thustend to be the speciesof choice[or dition of the bird was inconsistent with that pointto a numberof birdsseen away from the smugglers(lfiigo-Elias, pers. comm.). of a captivebird (Ifiigo-Elias,pers. comm.). corerange induding an unconfirmed report of Birds brought illegally into the United Captivebirds in the Mexicanbird markets a bird seenin September2005 in Angelina Statesmay be confiscatedby eitherU.S. Cus- tendto be in poorcondition, often missing County,Texas, approximately 224 km north- toms and Border Protection or the United feathersor injuredas a resultof havingbeen eastof Houstonand only 96 km from the States Fish and Wildlife Service. While both held under substandardconditions (lfiigo- kouisiana border (Booker 2005). At least agencieshave reportingsystems to track Elias,pers comm., Hamilton 2001). Captive some individuals in Texas move or wander seizures,data was only obtained from the lat- birdsbrought illegally into the UnitedStates seasonally(Flood et al. 2002, Brush2000, ter. The extentof bird seizuresby Customs areoften in similarlypoor condition and fre- 2005), and up to four birdswintered in the andBorder Protection is unknown,although quentlydo not survivethe smuggling process southern-centralHill Country at Utopia, information from their website due to the deplorableconditions in which Uvalde County in winter 2006-2007 (M. (
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droughtconditions for much of thelatter half listservs).Many of theorioles were observed Countyon 20 December1995. A manand his of 2006. Drought conditionsin this area, at feedingstations. Interestingly, a number of wife twice saw a yellow-and-blackbird which includes Bandera, Uvalde, Medina, these birds were first noticed at feeders dur- perchedin a treejust threemeters from their Bexar, and Zavala Counties deteriorated to ing periodsof mildweather with abovenor- window.The husbanddocumented the sight- "exceptionaldrought" status for the 12 De- mal temperatures,suggesting that inclement ing on 22 December1995. He reportedthat cember2006 report and remainedat that weatherwas not the proximatereason for the bird was approximatelythe size of an maximumdrought category through the end theirunexpected appearances at the feeders. American Robin or Common Grackle. It had a ofJanuary 2007. Much of theremaining por- When speakingspecifically about oriole totallyblack head and sharp contrast between tion of southernTexas, away from the Gulf recordsfrom the GreatBackyard Bird Count the blackhood and lemon-yellow upper back Coast,also was in drought,ranging from in mid-February2007, Paul Green of the Na- andbreast. Wings were dark with whitish wing moderateto extreme,during the latter half of tional AudubonSociety noted, "We've got bars.The bill wasdark, long, and thin. A sim- 2006 and the beginningof 2007. In the Baltimore Orioles in I4 states,Orchard Ori- ple drawingsubmitted with the documenta- droughtareas, soil moisture was low, vegeta- olesin five different [states],and Scntt'sOri- tion shows a bird w•th an oriole bill, black tive healthwas fair to poor,and streamflow ole in Pennsylvania.They shouldn't be here. hood,dark wings with wing bars, and lemon- was low (National Climatic Data Center). They should be way south" (O'Driscoll yellowback and underparts.Although the A series of weather events from late No- 2007). Anotherunusual species well repre- documentationis not comprehensive, the writ- vember2006 throughmid-January 2007 sup- sentedin the easternUnited Statesduring tendetails and the drawing are extremely sug- pliedthe greaterOhio RiverValley and large thisperiod was Western Tanager, with 21 re- gestiveof an Audubon'sOriole and seemto sections of the eastern United States with portsincluding individuals in Ohio, Penn- ruleout other possible species. The only field warm, southerlywinds largely from or in- sylvania,and Michigan (Whan 2007). In his marklacking in the descriptionis the black eludingTexas. Examination of weatherdata seasonalreport, Whan, like manyother bird- breastspot. The Ohio record was not accepted for Kentucky,located at theheart of theOhio ers and authors,described winter sightings by theOhio Bird Records Committee; the vote River Valleyand in closeproximity to the of White-eyedVireo (Vireogriseus) and Or- waseight to three(Fazio 1996). Origin appar- Audubon'sOriole sighting,revealed mild ange-crowned (Vermivora eelart) and entlywas a morecritical factor than identifica- weather in late November and the first few Nashville(V.. ruficapilla) Warblers as linger- tion in the decisionto rejectthe record(V. daysof December,with temperatures8ø F ers.However, given the weather patterns and Fazio,pers. comm.). abovenormal due to southerlywinds. After a the unusualnumber of seasonalvagrants week of below-normaltemperatures during that appearedin the easternUnited States Summary the weekof 4 December,a seriesof systems duringthe winter of 2006-2007,early or re- The appearanceof an Audubon'sOriole in In- brought a relatively consistentflow of verse migration should be consideredin dianaseems to defyconventional wisdom, as southerlywinds from Texasand the Gulf suchcases; "lingering" may be a misleading the speciesis thoughtto be relativelyseden- coastarea from mid-December 2006 through term in some cases(Sullivan 2005). tarythroughout its range. We helda skeptical mid-January2007. During this period,the Whilethere are no acceptedU.S. records of viewupon learning of andthen observing the warmsoutherly winds helped push tempera- Audubon'sOriole away from Texas, the species bird. However,the availableevidence pro- turesin the greaterOhio RiverValley to well hasbeen reportedfrom at leastthree other vides a credible explanation of how an abovenormal. Still using Kentucky as a proxy states.Arizona has at leastthree reports, New Audubon'sOriole might appearwell away for the region,average weekly temperatures Mexicotwo, and Ohio one. The latter appears fromits range in Texas.Indeed, there is no di- forthe five-week period beginning 11 Decem- themost credible, a tantalizingwinter record. rectevidence pointing to captiveprovenance, bet and ending14 January were 15 ø, 13ø, 9 ø, Arizona'sreports are from 30 April-1 May and all anecdotalinformation points away 15ø, and 13ø F abovenormal, respectively 1973at CaveCreek Canyon, Cochise County fromsuch specuhtion. While m the end we (Priddy2007, 2006). (Speich 1975), 15 July 1975 in Madera eschewedconventional birding wisdom and The Audubon's Oriole in Indiana was not Canyon, Santa Cruz County (Rosenberg believe that the Audubon's Oriole was most the onlyoriole reported in the greaterOhio 1999),and April 2001 at Nogales,Santa Cruz likelyof naturalprovenance, time and addi- River Valley from December2006 through County(Boyd 2001, pers.comm.). The 1973 tionalwanderings and sightings of thespecies February2007. Other oriolesreported in- and 1975 recordswere reviewed by the Ari- will providethe mostconvincing evidence of cluded Bullock'sOriole from Indiana, Scott's zonaBird Committeebut not accepted.The that Documentationand photographshave andBaltimore Orioles from Kentucky,Scotr's 2001report was communicated verbally to an- been submitted to the Indiana Bird Records and BaltimoreOrioles from Pennsylvania, otherbirder with no detailsprovided. New Committee. and Baltimore Orioles from Illinois, Ohio, Mexico'sreports are from Eddy Countyin and Tennessee (see Table 1). The 22 Balti- April of an unknownyear (but priorto 1978) Acknowledgments moreOrioles reported for thesestates com- andfrom Luna County on 21 May 1980.The We thank David Willard for accessto the col- pareto the eightreported during the winter formerrecord is anapparently secondhand re- lectionsat the FieldMuseum in Chicago,Dr. of 2005-2006,along with no other oriole portlacking any details, while the latter report EduardoE. lfiigo-Eliasfor hisinsight into the species,and twoBahimores reported for the came from an out-of-state visitor who also re- caged-birdtrade, the UnitedStates Fish and winter of 2004-2005, in addition to two Bul- porteda Streaked-hackOriole and a pair of WildlifeService for data and access to thespe- lock's Orioles in North American Birds. Dur- Black-vented Orioles from the same area. The cial agentswho providedenlightening com- ing the 2006-2007winter season, Baltimore 1980kurta County report was not accepted by ments,Timothy Brush, Alvaro Jaramillo, Sar- Orioleswere reported in morethan a dozen the New Mexico Bird Records Committee. tor O. Williams, Mark Lockwood, Gary additionaleastern states and provinces,and Bothreports from New Mexico are considered Rosenberg,Pain Zeller, Brainard Palmer-Ball, Bullock'sOrioles were also reportedfrom to be erroneousidentifications (S. O. Williams, Ed Boyd,Bruce W. Miller,Jan Shaw,Chris Georgiaand New York (C.B.C. data, state pers. comm.). Ohio'sreport is from Allen Sloan, and Victor Fazio for valuable com-
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mencsand references,and severalreviewers, Hamilton,R. A. 2001.Appendix D: Records especiallyWilliam Murphy, who strengthened of cagedbirds in BajaCalifornia. Birds of thispaper. theBaja California peninsula: status, distri- bution,and taxonomy(R. Ericksonand S. Literature cited Howell,eds.). American Birding Associa- Booker,J. 2005. Audubon'sOriole reported tion.Monographs in Field Ornithology no. 3. 130 milesnorth of Houston.Online post- InternationalSpecies Information System. CATS INDOORS! ing. 9 September2005.
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