Slender-billed Oriole Oriolus tenuirostris tenuirostris resident in Yunnan, with altitudinal movements according to season. HABITAT & BEHAVIOR Habits like Black-naped Oriole O. chinensis, but ranges to higher altitudes in Yunnan; also accepts coniferous habitat. ID & COMPARISON Distinguished from Black-naped Oriole by narrow eyestripe that does not grow broader on the nape, more yellowish-green mantle, secondary coverts, and outer webs of secondaries, and longer and thinner bill. Female similar but slightly greener. BARE PARTS Bill flesh pink; feet blackish; iris mostly red in adults, dark in immature birds. VOICE Song fluty whistles, delivered more quickly than Black-naped Oriole; also harsh, grating calls typical of genus. — Craig Brelsford
THE ORIOLES OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers all seven members of Oriolidae in China. Click any link:
Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii
Silver Oriole O. mellianus
Black-hooded Oriole O. xanthornus
Indian Golden Oriole O. kundoo
Eurasian Golden Oriole O. oriolus
Black-naped Oriole O. chinensis
Slender-billed Oriole O. tenuirostris
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
