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Oriolus oriolus

warning Vulnerable
VU (D1)

Contributed: Avner Rinot, Lior Kislev, Asaf Mayrose, Yifat Artzi
Update Time: Jan. 1, 2011, 7:39 a.m.

The Golden Oriole is classified as Vulnerable (VU) because of the small number of breeding birds in Israel (less than 50), combined with a regional adjustment for the fact that the breeding population in Israel is a marginal population at the edge of the global range of the species. In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Near Threatened (NT). The change in its status does not reflect an actual change in the species range, but differences between assessment methods in the two editions.
VU Current Regional Assessment | NT Previous Regional Assessment | LC Global Assessment

Habitats Parks & Woodlands, Planted Forest
Presence In Israel Summer, Migrant
Breeding In Israel Breeder
Migration Types Long Range
Zoographical Zones Mediterranean
Landscape Types Plains & Valleys, Rural Area
Vegetation Types Forest, Parks
Vegetation Densities Medium, High
Nest Locations Tree
Diet Types Invertebrate, Herbivore
Foraging Grounds Trees and Shrubs
Body Sizes Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors Unknown

The Eurasian Golden Oriole male has a prominent yolk-yellow plumage that contrasts with its black wings and tail, a relatively long reddish bill and black eye-stripe. The female has greenish upperparts and white, lightly streaked, underparts. At the end of spring, its fluting song can be heard from a distance as it sings loudly from tall treetops.

The Golden Oriole is a relatively common passage migrant throughout Israel, particularly in spring, and a rare breeder in the Northern Valleys, mainly in the Hula Valley. The first nests in Israel were found in the Hula Nature Reserve in the 1980s, and since then the species has expanded its range gradually to other sites in the Hula Valley and along the Jordan Valley, but the population is still relatively small.

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

  • פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.
Contributed: Avner Rinot, Lior Kislev, Asaf Mayrose, Yifat Artzi

Current Occupancy Map

Current occupancy map by density
Data Missing Sporadic Limited Sites Low Density High Density
0 0 0 0 0

Distribution maps

The maps presented here provide visual information on the distribution of species in Israel from the past and present, and the changes in occupancy and breeding density during the comparison period. For further reading


Relative Abundance 2010-2020

Breeding density values in the current decade as determined from experts' opinion and observations from databases.

Relative Abundance 2010-2020 by density
Data Missing Sporadic Limited Sites Low Density High Density
8 12 12 21 19

Relative Abundance 1980-1990

Density values based primarily on the book The Birds of Israel (Shirihai 1996).

Relative Abundance 1980-1990 by density
Data Missing Sporadic Limited Sites Low Density High Density
5 14 14 17 22

Occupancy 1990-2020

The map shows differences in the species breeding distribution between the 1980's breeding map and the current weighted breeding evaluation. Negative value - species previously bred in the grid and is not presently breeding; positive value - species has not previously bred in the grid and is currently breeding.

Occupancy 1990-2020
Data Missing No Change Occupancy Increase Occupancy Decrease
6 35 1 9

Change in Relative Abundance 1990-2020

The map shows the changes in the relative abundance of a species in each of the distribution grids between the breeding map of the 1980s and the weighted current breeding evaluation. Negative values - decline in abundance; positive values - increase in abundance; zero - no change in abundance.

Change in Relative Abundance 1990-2020
80 to 100 50 20 to 30 No Change 30- to 20- 50- 100- to 80- Data Missing
0 4 2 22 12 14 11 16

Rarity
Vulnerability
Attractiveness
Endemism
Red number
Peripherality
IUCN category
Threat Definition according to the red book
() districts
Disjunctiveness:
% of protected sites

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