Adult. Photo: Bettina Arrigoni/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Icterus graduacauda
| Conservation status | Numbers in southern Texas apparently have declined during recent decades. Parasitism of nests by cowbirds may have played a part in this decrease. |
|---|---|
| Family | Blackbirds and Orioles |
| Habitat | Woodlands, thickets. In our area, found in southern Texas in native woods near Rio Grande, also locally farther north in mesquite brushland and groves of live oak. In Mexico, often in foothills, in humid oak forest or in pine-oak woodland. |
Forages rather quietly and deliberately in trees and shrubs, often staying within dense cover as it searches among the foliage for insects. Sometimes forages on the ground. Will visit flowers for nectar.
3-5. Pale grayish to bluish white, with brown and purple markings usually concentrated at larger end. Details of incubation are not well known. Young: Probably both parents feed the young, but details are poorly known.
Probably both parents feed the young, but details are poorly known.
Mostly insects and berries. Diet is not known in detail, but includes a variety of insects; also eats various berries, including those of hackberry. Sometimes takes nectar.
Nesting behavior is not well known. Pairs may remain together on territory throughout the year. In Texas, most nesting activity is from late April through June. Nests are often parasitized by Bronzed Cowbirds. Nest site is in outer branches of a low tree, often a mesquite, 5-15' above the ground and firmly attached to upright twigs. Sometimes placed in a clump of Spanish moss. Nest is a hanging pouch or basket, not as deep as some oriole nests, with the rim firmly woven to the supporting twigs and the entrance somewhat constricted. Nest is made of long grass stems, woven while they are still green, lined with finer grass.
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In response to growing calls, the American Ornithological Society recently renamed the bird the Thick-billed Longspur. That's not enough for critics.
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