English and Scientific names:	Bullock’s Oriole Icterus bullockii
Number of individuals:	1 adult male.
Locality: LOUISIANA:	Jefferson Parish: Metairie
Specific Locality:	Casa Colibrí, 3016 45^th Street, 70001.
Date(s) when observed:	09-15-2010.
Time(s) of day when observed:	09:55 – 10:10.
Reporting observer and address:	Nancy L Newfield, Casa Colibrí, Metairie, LA 70001.
Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s):	none.
Other observers who independently identified the bird(s)	none.
Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):	For the initial observation, the bird was in full sun on a sunny day. Then, he moved from full sun to light shade as he moved around the yard. He was on the west side of the yard with the light coming from the east during most of the observation.
Optical equipment:	Swarovski 10 x 42 EL in excellent condition.
Distance to bird(s):	10-15 feet.
Duration of observation:	15 minutes.
Habitat:	Small suburban garden, mostly overgrown by noxious vines.
Behavior of bird:	At the initial sighting, this bird was drinking from a small fountain that is on the rail of the deck. At that point, I had a clear, unobstructed view from 10 feet away without binoculars. The bird was outdoors while I remained indoors. He was in company of a female Baltimore Oriole [Icterus galbula] that had bright orange underparts from chin to undertail coverts. Both birds then moved to a flowering Abutilon pictum that was about 4 feet from the fountain. There, they drank nectar from the orange, bell-shaped flowers. After approximately 3 minutes, the Bullock’s Oriole flew to a seen-better-days Magnolia grandiflora that hosts a mature Trumpet Creeper Campsis radicans. In the tree, he pecked holes in Trumpet Creeper flowers. After a couple of minutes, a different female oriole flew into the same tree. Her plumage was a paler orange, with a pale grayish belly. I never got an unobscured view of her, so I cannot speculate upon her species. The Bullock’s Oriole moved back to the Abutilon pictum after about 5 minutes with the paler female. For the next 5 or so minutes, both of those birds moved around in the shrub, but they stayed mostly deep within foliage and a clear view was not possible at that point. I did not see any of the orioles leave, but at some point, I lost all from view.
Description:	The salient field marks are that the head, neck, and upper breast are very bright orange.  A extensive blackish 'goatee' extended from under the chin to the edge of the breast.  His crown, nape, and back are black. An orange supercilium extends from the bill to the nape, bordering a distinct black eye line that extends to the nape. Below the eye line the face is bright orange. Except for the ‘goatee’, all underparts are bright orange. The wings are blackish with a large white patch. The inner rectrices are black while the outer ones are bright orange. This bird is roughly 8 1/4 inches long, with a slender Icterid shape. The eye is dark and the sharply pointed Icterid bill grayish.
Voice:	not heard.
Similar species:	This bird exhibited all of the field mark of an adult male Bullock’s Oriole. While they can appear similar to Baltimore Orioles in other plumages, the adult male shows the black ‘goatee’ and eye line, large white patches on the wings while the adult male Baltimore Oriole has a complete black hood
Photographs or tape recordings obtained?	none.
Previous experience with this species:	I have seen a few dozen adult Bullock’s Orioles while birding out west over the years. I’ve also seen 8-10 adult male Bullock’s Orioles in Louisiana, plus a number of females or probable Bullock’s females. In the early 1980s, I hosted an adult male Bullock’s for the better part of a winter.
Identification aids:	National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America and The Sibley Guide to Birds.
This description is written from:
Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain:	Yes.
Date and time:	Date: 09-15-2010 Time: 10:45