{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | image = Western Black-headed Oriole - Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E3089 (16016463070).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Oriolus brachyrynchus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22706410A130377125 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22706410A130377125.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Oriolus | species = brachyrynchus | authority = Swainson, 1837 | synonyms = * ''Oriolus brachyrhynchus'' }}
The '''western oriole''' ('''''Oriolus brachyrynchus'''''), or '''western black-headed oriole''', is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae that is native to Africa. The adult upperparts are yellow-olive, and the underparts are yellow in colour. It is rated as a species of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species.
==Taxonomy and systematics== The western oriole was first described in 1837 by the English ornithologist William Swainson.<ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021" /> Alternate names for the western oriole include the black-headed oriole (not to be confused with another species of the same name, ''Oriolus larvatus'') and greenish-backed oriole. Two subspecies are recognized:<ref>{{Cite journal |title=IOC World Bird List 7.1 |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/crossref |journal=IOC World Bird List Datasets |doi=10.14344/ioc.ml.7.1 |doi-access=free}}</ref> * West African black-headed oriole (''O. b. brachyrynchus'') – <small>Swainson, 1837</small>: Found from Guinea-Bissau to Togo and Benin * Cameroon black-headed oriole (''O. b. laetior'') – <small>Sharpe, 1897</small>: Found from Nigeria to western Kenya, south-central Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola According to the genetic data, the western oriole and the green-headed oriole (''Oriolus chlorocephalus'') are sister species.<ref name="hbw2" />
== Description == The western oriole measures {{Convert|21|cm|in}} in length, and weighs {{Convert|42|to|57|g|abbr=on}}.<ref name="hbw2">{{cite journal |url=http://www.hbw.com/species/western-black-headed-oriole-oriolus-brachyrynchus |title=Western Black-headed Oriole (''Oriolus brachyrynchus'') |last1=Walther |first1=B. |last2=Jones |first2=P. |year=2017 |editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=Josep |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=Andrew |journal=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |publisher=Lynx Edicions |doi=10.2173/bow.wbhori1.01 |s2cid=216380835 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915152739/http://www.hbw.com/species/western-black-headed-oriole-oriolus-brachyrynchus |archive-date=2017-09-15 |access-date=2017-09-15 |url-access=subscription |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor3-first=Jordi |editor4-last=Christie |editor4-first=David A |editor5-last=de Juana |editor5-first=Eduardo}}</ref> The adult upperparts are yellow-olive in colour; the head to upper breast is black, and the periphery of the wings has a small white patch. It has a brownish pink beak. The underparts are yellow. The tail feathers are black and have broad yellow tips.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcwXBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA280 |title=Field Guide to the Birds of Ghana |last1=Borrow |first1=Nik |last2=Demey |first2=Ron |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4081-8902-3 |pages=280 |language=en}}</ref>
The juvenile has olive upperparts. The head is olive, and the throat is streaked with yellow. It has a dusky beak, and black streaked breast.<ref name=":0" />
It has a variety of fluty vocalizations such as ''{{Not a typo|uoo-uoo}}'', ''{{Not a typo|uoo-dleeo}}'', ''{{Not a typo|tioolioo}}'', ''{{Not a typo|whee-whooliu}}'', ''{{Not a typo|whoolioo}}'', and ''{{Not a typo|too-too-tuloo}}'' which normally have detached notes, and are lower pitched than those of the black-winged oriole (''Oriolus nigripennis''). It also emits a harsh ''{{Not a typo|whit-cheeew-cheeew}}''.<ref name=":0" />
==Distribution and habitat== The western oriole is native to the rainforests of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Ghana.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoN2lsGutpkC&pg=PA30 |title=The Golden Oriole |last1=Mason |first1=Paul |last2=Allsop |first2=Jake |date=2009 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-7136-7683-9 |pages=30 |language=en}}</ref>
It is native to the African tropical rainforest. It lives either individually or in pairs in canopies of lowland primary forests, secondary forests, forest clearings with shrubs, and forest edges.<ref name="hbw2" /><ref name=":0" />
== Status and conservation == Since 1988, the western oriole has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This is because it has a very large range and because its population is thought not to have declined by 30% over ten years or three generations. Although the population size has not been measured, it is thought to be more than the threshold required to warrant it a vulnerable rating. Habitat loss is one reason for its population decline.<ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021" />
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{Commonscat-inline|Oriolus brachyrynchus|''Oriolus brachyrynchus''}} *{{Wikispecies-inline|Oriolus brachyrhynchus|''Oriolus brachyrhynchus''}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1585741}}
western oriole Category:Birds of the African tropical rainforest western oriole Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Category:Taxa named by William Swainson