Puerto Rican Oriole vs Scarlet-headed Blackbird

Puerto Rican Oriole

Icterus portoricensis

Small36 gForest

Males and females are similar in size and color. Males weigh about 41.0 grams and females weigh about 36.6 g. The average wingspan of males and females is 96.9 and 92.1 mm, respectively. In 2008, Hofmann, Cronin, and Omland, conducted a study that showed there is little color difference in the feathers between the males and females of many tropical orioles, including the Puerto Rican oriole. This means that males and females both have elaborate colors, in contrast many temperate-zoned birds have brightly colored males and dull colored females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Karen Wilson · CC0

Scarlet-headed Blackbird

Amblyramphus holosericeus

Small57 gWetland

Male scarlet-headed blackbirds average 25 cm (9.8 in) long and weigh an average of 86 g (3.0 oz). Females average 22.5 cm (8.9 in) long and weigh an average of 75 g (2.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a thin black stripe behind the lores and black eyelids. The rest of their head and their neck, upper breast, and thighs are scarlet-red. The rest of their plumage is a slightly glossy black. They have a black iris, a sharp, chisel-shaped black bill, and black legs and feet. Voice: The scarlet-headed blackbird's display song is variable but usually includes rattles or a nasal buzz. One rendering is "short phrases like viti-tju vid-dertjuuh" whose vi is extremely high and sharp and its tju slightly nasal. Both sexes make a contact call, "a long, descending and hesitant whistle, fee-ee-ee, with some up-and-down pitch variations".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Nicolas Olejnik · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Puerto Rican Oriole and Scarlet-headed Blackbird.