Orchard Oriole
(Icterus spurius)

Overview

Summary

© Ann Cook
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The breeding population of Orchard Oriole in Canada is at the northernmost limit of the species' North American range, reaching Canada only in the southernmost edge of Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Results of the Breeding Bird Survey indicate a dramatic, long-term increase in the Canadian population relative to 1970.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)
• Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas (2010-2014): Breeding Evidence

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

General nesting period in Canada

Conservation and management

Although the Orchard Oriole has shown decreases in parts of its range in the United States, it appears to be increasing in abundance and expanding its range in Canada. Threats to this species appear to be few in Canada but future expansions may be limited by the general decline of orchards and hedgerows, pesticide use and closing of forest canopies as woodlands mature (Woodliffe 2007, Scharf and Kren 2010).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Scharf, W.C. and J. Kren. 2010. Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Scharf, W.C. and J. Kren. 2010. Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Woodliffe, P.A. 2007. Orchard Oriole. pp. 604-605 in: Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005. Cadman, M.D., D.A. Sutherland, G.G. Beck, D. Lepage and A.R. Couturier, Eds. Bird Studies Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Field Ornithologists, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ontario Nature, Toronto, Ontario.