Audubon Oriole in California?

Question

I was watching my hummingbirds this a.m. and the most beautiful bird flew into my yard. I identified it online as an Audubon Oriole. I live in Southern California, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Any one know anything about this bird?

Answer 1

The Audubon oriole or  Icterus graduacauda is 9" (23 cm). Robin-sized. Male greenish yellow with black head, wings, and tail. Females slightly duller and smaller. Immatures lack black on head. Wet thickets in woodlands, forest openings, and tangles near water.Nesting 4 whitish eggs, with black scrawls, in a woven and partly hanging nest made of fresh green grass. Nests are often found in mesquite; less often in hackberry, ebony, persimmon, and other trees.Resident from southern Texas to northern Guatemala. 3-syllable warble, one of the sweetest, most melodious songs of any oriole. This oriole appears to be the least known of the family in the United States, probably due to its retiring habits. It keeps well within foliage or under the forest canopy. It feeds extensively on wild fruits, especially hackberries. In Texas and Mexico these birds travel in pairs, even outside the nesting season.