Silver Oriole
Oriolus mellianus Stresemann, 1922
≈28 cmLength93 gWeight
The male has a black head and wings and a silvery-white body.
Busiest months: May · Most records: China, Thailand, Vietnam
Looks like Maroon Oriole
How to identify
Field marks
- Male head and wings black
- Male body silvery-white
- Tail and undertail-coverts pinkish-gray
- Iris white; bill dark gray
Male, female and young
Female plumage duller, with gray upperparts and white underparts densely marked in blackish-gray.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: May · Most records: China, Thailand, Vietnam
Silver Oriole has been recorded at 23 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The silver oriole (Oriolus mellianus) is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It breeds in southern China and winters in mainland southeast Asia in southeastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia. It is 28 cm long; males have a black head and wings, and a silvery-white body; females are duller, with the body mid-grey above, and heavily streaked blackish-grey on white below.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Silver Oriole?
The Silver Oriole is about ≈28 cm long and weighs around 93 g.
Where does the Silver Oriole live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: south-central China. It is most often recorded in China, Thailand and Vietnam.
When is the best time to see the Silver Oriole?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Silver Oriole endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Silver Oriole as Endangered.
What does the Silver Oriole eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Silver Oriole in?
It belongs to the family Figbirds, Old World Orioles, Piopios (Oriolidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈28 cm
- Weight
- 93 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Endangered
More measurements
- Wing
- 145 mm
- Tail
- 106 mm
- Bill
- 29 mm
- Tarsus
- 25 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: south-central China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Figbirds, Old World Orioles, Piopios Oriolidae
- Genus
- Oriolus
Other birds in the genus Oriolus
Isabela OrioleOriolus isabellae
Grey-collared OrioleOriolus forsteni
Black-eared OrioleOriolus bouroensis
Dusky-brown OrioleOriolus phaeochromus
Olive-backed OrioleOriolus sagittatus
Timor OrioleOriolus melanotis
Wetar OrioleOriolus finschi
Tanimbar OrioleOriolus decipiens
Brown OrioleOriolus szalayi
Green OrioleOriolus flavocinctus
Javan OrioleOriolus cruentus
Black-and-crimson OrioleOriolus consanguineus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Mike Kilburn. ↗
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