Icterids or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae, of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behavior, and coloration. The name, meaning "jaundiced ones" comes from the Ancient Greek ikteros via the Latin ictericus. This group includes the New World blackbirds, New World orioles, the bobolink, meadowlarks, grackles, cowbirds, oropendolas, and caciques.
The Altamira oriole is a New World oriole. The bird is widespread in subtropical lowlands of the Mexican Gulf Coast and northern Central America, the Pacific coast and inland. They have since spread to southern Texas, but this was not until 1939.
The yellow-headed blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head.
The Baltimore oriole is a small icterid blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of 17-th century Lord Baltimore. Observations of interbreeding between the Baltimore oriole and the western Bullock's oriole Icterus bullockii, led to both being classified as a single species, called the northern oriole, from 1973 to 1995. Research by James Rising, a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, and others showed that the two birds actually did not interbreed significantly.
The orchard oriole is the smallest species of icterid. The subspecies of the Caribbean coast of Mexico, I. s. fuertesi, is sometimes considered a separate species, the ochre oriole or Fuertes's oriole.
The hooded oriole is a medium-sized New World oriole. The male of this species ranges in color from a bright orange to a paler yellow, with a black back, face, tail and bib, with the wing containing two white bars. The female is more of an olive color with some yellow accents.
Audubon's warbler is a small bird of the family Parulidae. At one time considered a distinct species, discovery of a hybrid zone between it and the myrtle warbler in 1973 has led to it being classified as a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler.
The Cape May warbler is a species of New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding range spans all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two records in Britain as of October 2013. The English name refers to Cape May, New Jersey, where George Ord collected the specimen later described by Alexander Wilson. This species was not recorded again in Cape May for another 100 years, although it is now known as an uncommon migrant there.
The mourning warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Mourning warblers are native to eastern and central North America as well as some countries in Central America. They are neotropical migrants and tend to be found in dense second growth forests. They are under the Wood-warbler category, which consists of arboreal and terrestrial colorful passerines. Wood warblers are in the order Passeriformes, which are perching birds including more than half of all bird species, and the family Parulidae which also includes the Common Yellowthroat, Black and White Warbler, Nashville Warbler, ovenbird, and American Redstart. They are very similar to the MacGillivray's Warbler in appearance, especially in females and immature birds, but their breeding range does not overlap into the west.
The Venezuelan troupial is the national bird of Venezuela. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico. Together with the orange-backed troupial and campo troupial, it was previously part of a superspecies simply named the troupial that was split.
The Scott's oriole is a medium-sized icterid.
The black-headed grosbeak is a medium-sized, seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the rose-breasted grosbeak with which it hybridizes on the American Great Plains.
Audubon's oriole, formerly known as the black-headed oriole, is a New World passerine inhabiting the forests and thickets of southeastern Texas and the Mexican coast. It is the only species to have a black hood and yellow body. It is divided into four subspecies and two allopatric breeding ranges. The westernmost range extends from Nayarit south to southern Oaxaca, whereas the eastern range stretches from the lower Rio Grande valley to northern Querétaro. The most common in the western range are the subspecies I. g. dickeyae and I. g. nayaritensis; I. g. graduacauda and I. g. audubonii can be found in the eastern range. Like most Central American birds, it is not a migratory species and does not display significant sexual dimorphism. DNA analysis of the ND2 and cyt-b genes strongly suggests that I. graduacauda is most closely related to I. chrysater, the yellow-backed oriole. It is a member of the genus Icterus and therefore should not be confused with the Old World orioles.
The Martinique oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is endemic to Martinique, French West Indies. Martinique is a part of the Lesser Antilles, and is located in the Eastern Caribbean.
The yellow-backed oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae.
The Saint Lucia oriole is a species of bird, in the family Icteridae and genus Icterus. It is endemic to Saint Lucia.
The spot-breasted oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae.
The black-cowled oriole is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is common and widespread in the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from southern Mexico to western Panama. It lives primarily in humid or semihumid forest, as well as in clearings, along forest edges, in plantations, in semi-open areas with scattered trees and bushes, and in gardens. The adult male is black, with yellow on the belly, shoulder, rump, wing lining, and crissum. The female's plumage varies depending on location. In the south of its range, it is similar to that of the male. In the north, its crown and upperparts are olive-yellow, while its face, throat, upper breast, wings, and tail are black.
The Cuban oriole is a species of songbird in the family Icteridae. It is endemic to Cuba.
The Bahama oriole is a species of songbird in the New World blackbird family Icteridae. It is endemic to the Bahamas, and listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List.
