I received a call from Eric Miller this afternoon who indicated that our friend Mary Normandia had seen a strange looking Oriole at
Gerry Pond Park in Roslyn NY. Eric went to check out the bird and realized it was not one of our common Orioles, but was unable to nail down the ID. When I spoke to Eric and understood that the bird was yet to be identified, I decided we had to get photos of the bird to review. I arrived at the location with light fading, but managed to see the bird and get some documentation photos. Later, I received a call from Eric who had figured out the ID. It was a
Troupial (Icterus icterus), a bird from
Venezuela; it is also found in
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, Water Island and St. John), Antigua, Dominica and Grenada as a result of introduction. I am sure how this bird got here will be discussed, with many to chalk it up as an escapee. In any case it is a very good looking bird.
If you do try to go and see this bird, please refrain from chasing it around to get "spectacular" photos or to get that "good look"; stay at a respectable distance thus, allowing others to have a chance at seeing this bird.
Tags:
Gerry Pond Park Roslyn NY,
Troupial
12 comments:
Great pics Andrew!! Nice looking bird, my book (Ridgely and Tudor, 2009) shows the Troupial birds have been split and the one in Roslyn is now Venezualan Troupial (Icterus Icterus)
I used to have Sun Conures, and occasionally they'd escape. I'd have birders all over Corrales looking at them as I was chasing them with a fishing net trying to re-capture them. Birds that have been in cages don't really fly all that well. They're quite out of condition.
You are a bird magnet! Wow!
What a beautiful bird!
That is one Beautiful Bird~escapee or not! I sure hope it survives.
Thanks all. I will add that despite the obvious choice of "escapee". It should be noted that Eric Miller and I in observing this bird did not see any wear of tail or fight feathers normally seen with caged birds.
Like the Staten Island "Hooded Crow" this one will be discussed with some entertaining the long shot possibility as a legit bird while others will chalk this up as a definite escapee.
In any event, it is very cool looking bird to see. BTW, it also vocalized and that is how I re-found it late in the afternoon after I got to the location.
What a stunning bird!
Troupials are kept in the aviary at the Central Park Zoo and possibly the Bronx Zoo as well. I do not know if the CP Zoo birds should all be banded however (this one appears not to be banded).
In regards to feather wear, the CP Zoo birds at least have the run of a quite large aviary, so should have no more or less feather wear than a wild bird, and perhaps less feather wear than a bird that potentially just traveled from the tropics!
Great looking bird. While I would love to think that it is a wild bird even a quick google search showed that you can find these birds for sale as close as Astoria.
That said, if it is still around this weekend I will likely go check it out...
Oh my goodness, a most magnificent looking bird! I hope this stunning creature will survive. A little over a year ago I spotted (and photographed) a gorgeous Orange Bishop Weaver along the lakefront in Chicago. Upon further research, I read this bird had been seen many times over several years in the area. A strange and beautiful sight!
These are beautiful birds and as a watcher and bird keeper this bird has escape from someones cage.
they are known to be escape artist
they are very smart and you can youtube them
Today I manage to get my hands on the bird from astoria thru a trade
I dont think that bird would survive the winter due to the need very much warmth to survive and lots of fruits and insects
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