The Philippine oriole (''Oriolus steerii'') or grey-throated oriole is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Oriolidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Philippines. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. The species is fairly common throughout its range, but the Cebu race (''O. s. assimilis'') was last sighted in 1906 and is now classified as

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

Taxonomy and systematics

First described by

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several mono ...

in 1877, the Philippine oriole is a member of the genus ''

Oriolus Orioles are colourful Old World passerine birds in the genus ''Oriolus'', the type genus of the corvoidean family Oriolidae. They are not closely related to the New World orioles, which are icterids (family Icteridae) that belong to the superfa ...

''. Some authorities have considered it to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with, or as a subspecies of, the

dark-throated oriole The dark-throated oriole (''Oriolus xanthonotus'') is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Southeast Asia through Borneo and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests where it is ...

. These two species may form a superspecies with the

Isabela oriole The Isabela oriole (''Oriolus isabellae'') is a species of the oriole family endemic to Luzon in the Philippines. The bird was presumed to be extinct for many years until its rediscovery in December 1993 near Diffun, Quirino, and in Mansarong in ...

Subspecies

Five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized: * ''O. s. samarensis'' - Steere, 1890: Found on

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

and eastern

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

* †Cebu dark-throated oriole (''O. s. assimilis'') -

Tweeddale Tweeddale (Scottish Gaelic: ''Srath Thuaidh/Tuaidhdail'') is a committee area and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders council area in south-eastern Scotland. It had also been a province in the Middle Ages. From 1975 to 1996 it was a local gov ...

, 1878: Originally described as a separate species. Formerly found on

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

* ''O. s. steerii'' - Sharpe, 1877: Found on

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

and

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

* ''O. s. basilanicus'' - Ogilvie-Grant, 1896: Found on

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Re ...

and western Mindanao * ''O. s. cinereogenys'' - Bourns &

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, 1894: Found in the Sulu Archipelago.

Description

The Philippine oriole is a yellowish-brown bird with mainly thin feathers on the upper side of its body, a red beak and red eyes as well.

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to the Philippines, the Philippine oriole is found in forest, forest edge and second growth in the lowlands of Masbate, Samar, Leyte, Semirara Island, Negros, Bohol, Mindanao, Basilan and the Sulu Archipelago.

Behaviour and ecology

This species, as much like with other

orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

, tend to have a diet of mainly grass, flowers and similar food.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1585720

Philippine oriole The Philippine oriole (''Oriolus steerii'') or grey-throated oriole is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The species is fairly comm ...

Endemic birds of the Philippines

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot