African Golden Oriole vs Maroon Oriole

African Golden Oriole

Oriolus auratus

Medium66 gWoodland

The male is striking in the typical oriole black and yellow plumage, although the plumage is predominantly yellow, with solid black only in the flight feathers and tail centre. There is a great deal of gold in the wings, which is a distinction from the Eurasian golden oriole, which winters in Africa. The female is a drabber green bird, distinguished from the European species by more contrasting wings and black around the eye. Orioles are shy, and even the male is remarkably difficult to see in the dappled yellow and green leaves of the canopy.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0

Maroon Oriole

Oriolus traillii

Medium74 gForest

The maroon oriole has maroon and black plumage with a black head, neck and wings with a blueish beak. The females have slightly darker bodies and the juveniles have lighter bodies. The adult male is glossy crimson-maroon in color, with black head, neck and wings and a chestnut-maroon tail. The females and immature males have a greyish-white underpart with black streaks. Colouration varies somewhat across the range, with those in the Indian Subcontinent having duller colours and those in Southeast Asia having brighter colours, also tending to somewhat reddish tones.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: African Golden Oriole and Maroon Oriole.