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The Montserrat oriole (''Icterus oberi'') is a medium-sized black-and-yellow icterid (the same family as many blackbirds, 
The oriole once was found in three main areas: the bamboo forest east of Galways Soufrière, the leeward slopes of the Chances Peak mountain and the Centre Hills (especially the Runaway Ghaut area).
The diet of the bird consists mainly of insects and fruits. The birds usually lay two spotted eggs. All models indicate that they begin breeding at the age of one year. Most of them were almost wiped out during the volcano eruptions and only about 200 of them are still surviving.
The binomial name of this bird commemorates the American naturalist
BirdLife Species Factsheet.
Montserrat Oriole Montserrat Oriole Birds of Montserrat Endemic fauna of Montserrat Birds described in 1880 {{Icteridae-stub
meadowlark
Meadowlarks are New World grassland birds belonging to genera ''Sturnella'' and ''Leistes''.
This group includes seven species of largely insectivorous grassland birds. In all species the male at least has a black or brown back and extensively ...
s, cowbird
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus ''Molothrus'' in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
The genus was introduced by English naturalist Will ...
s, grackle
Grackles is the common name of any of 11 passerine birds (10 extant and one extinct) native to North and South America. They belong to various genera in the icterid family. In all the species with this name, adult males have black or mostly blac ...
s, and others, including the New World oriole
New World orioles are a group of birds in the genus ''Icterus'' of the blackbird family. Unrelated to Old World orioles of the family Oriolidae, they are strikingly similar in size, diet, behavior, and strongly contrasting plumage. As a resu ...
s).
It inhabits the Centre Hills
Centre Hills is a forest reserve on the island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean Sea. It forms one of the territory's Important Bird Areas (IBAs), which encompasses t ...
and South Soufriere Hills Important Bird Areas on the island of Montserrat in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
, and is the national bird of this British territory. It is threatened by habitat loss, and until 2016 was classified by BirdLife International as Critically Endangered, with a current estimated population of between 200 and 800. Much of its habitat was destroyed by deforestation, Hurricane Hugo and the volcanic activity between 1995 and 1997.
The oriole once was found in three main areas: the bamboo forest east of Galways Soufrière, the leeward slopes of the Chances Peak mountain and the Centre Hills (especially the Runaway Ghaut area).
The diet of the bird consists mainly of insects and fruits. The birds usually lay two spotted eggs. All models indicate that they begin breeding at the age of one year. Most of them were almost wiped out during the volcano eruptions and only about 200 of them are still surviving.
The binomial name of this bird commemorates the American naturalist Frederick Albion Ober
Frederick Albion Ober (February 13, 1849 - May 31, 1913) was an American naturalist and writer.
Biography
Ober was born February 13, 1849, in Beverly, Massachusetts. He received a common school education. While yet a boy, he evinced a fondness ...
.
Taxonomy
The Montserrat oriole was formally described in 1880 by the American amateur ornithologistGeorge Newbold Lawrence
George Newbold Lawrence (October 20, 1806 – January 17, 1895) was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist.
Early life
Lawrence was born in the city of New York on October 20, 1806.
From his youth, Lawrence was a lover of birds and s ...
from a speciment collected on the island Montserrat during an expedition to the West Indies led by the US naturalist Frederick Albion Ober
Frederick Albion Ober (February 13, 1849 - May 31, 1913) was an American naturalist and writer.
Biography
Ober was born February 13, 1849, in Beverly, Massachusetts. He received a common school education. While yet a boy, he evinced a fondness ...
. Lawrence introduced the current binomial name ''Icterus oberi'', with the specific epithet chosen to honour Ober. The genus '' Icterus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher.
Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...
in 1760. The species is monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
: no subspecies are recognised.
References
External links
BirdLife Species Factsheet.
Montserrat Oriole Montserrat Oriole Birds of Montserrat Endemic fauna of Montserrat Birds described in 1880 {{Icteridae-stub