[Birdtalk] Kanab oriole - possible streak-backed oriole, *not* a Bullock's oriole

[Lu Giddings]

I just arrived home from my southern swing a few hours ago. Based on
encouraging notes from Kris Purdy and Chuck Larue, I finally did something I
should have done yesterday morning: break out my field guides. Upon review
of my field notes I'm quite certain that the bird was definitely *not* a
Bullock's oriole. I believe there is a very good possibility that the bird
may have been a streak-backed oriole.

My first impulse when I saw the bird was that it was a hooded oriole, as the
head was very clearly and completely a brilliant orange in the overhead
sunlight. There was no black cap and no black eye line. The belly was
completely orange. The underwings appeared dark, but I didn't see them
clearly. It had a slight black bib, more like the bib of a Bullock's oriole
than the larger (in relative terms) bib of a hooded oriole. I was never in a
position to see its back and I was not able to focus on its upper wings or
bill. I did not hear the bird call.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I based my ID on the size of the bib without
thinking about the other prominent field marks of a Bullock's oriole.
Unfortunately I don't always remember things as well as I sometimes hope or
think I do. And I was so utterly shocked to see an oriole in Kanab in
January and so pressed for time that I simply dismissed it as a Bullock's,
which seemed the most likely summer oriole to be found in Kanab.

I apologize for my sloppy identification. I've never before seen a
streak-baked oriole, but that's a poor excuse. I hope someone is able to
track this bird down, as it would be a first record for the state if it is
indeed a streak-backed oriole.

Lu Giddings
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