Image credit: Kookaburra81 / CC BY-SA 4.0
The beautiful and colorful golden oriole is unfortunately today one of Sweden's most endangered bird species. It belongs to the genus that the name suggests orioles and is the only one of its genus that breeds in Europe.
The males are recognizable by their vibrant yellow plumage with black wings. The females are olive green on the back and become more yellow towards the tail feathers. Their underside is off-white with brown longitudinal stripes. A fully grown individual is about 24 centimeters long. Although the golden oriole is very colorful, it can be difficult to see, as it is very shy.
The golden oriole arrives in Sweden at the end of May to breed. The females build nests in the form of a basket of material such as grass, roots, moss and wool, which is usually attached to a branch. Sometimes the males help collect materials for the nest. Both the female and the male help protect the nest from predators.
The species' global breeding range extends from Western Europe, Scandinavia, and east to China. They spend the winters in central and southern Africa.
In Sweden, it prefers to stay in dense deciduous forests with tall trunks. The nesting sites are often near clearings in areas with abundant undergrowth. Among the treetops, they mainly hunt insect larvae, but also beetles, berries and fruit are part of their diet.
Globally, the golden oriole population is not in the danger zone, but in Sweden it is considered highly threatened. It is estimated that the population of territory-claiming males is only 240 individuals. Habitat destruction is one of the species' biggest threats. Studies have observed that pairs have stopped breeding in areas where lush undergrowth has been removed. Since the species is very shy, they are sensitive to disturbances during breeding.
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