The Hooded Oriole is 7.1-7.9 inches (18-20 cm) in length with a wingspan of 9.1-11.0 inches (23-28 cm).
The male is yellow to orange, with a black tail and black wings, each with two white bars. He has a black throat and face and a long, thin, curved black bill.
The female is greenish-gray above and yellow on her undersides. She also has two white bars on her wings.
Most of the hooded oriole’s diet consists of insects, but it also eats fruit and nectar. It gets nectar by slicing into the bases of tubular (tube-shaped) flowers with its sharp bill.
Breeding season for the Hooded Oriole begins in April and early May. To attract a mate, the male flies around the female, tilts his head back, and sings.
The female lays 3–5 eggs in a hanging nest shaped like a woven basket. She builds the nest from plant fibers and hangs it from palm leaves or tree branches. The nest has an opening at the top. The female incubates the eggs (keeps the eggs warm) until they hatch.
The chicks hatch after about 12–14 days. About 14 days later, the young birds are ready to leave the nest. Both parents help feed and care for the chicks. The female may raise 2–3 groups of chicks during one summer.
A Hooded Oriole usually lives about 3–5 years in the wild.
The Hooded Oriole is a very social bird and often joins flocks of other birds, such as Bullock’s Oriole.
Hooded Orioles can look very different depending on where they live. Birds in Texas and eastern Mexico are a bright orange, while Hooded Orioles in the southwestern United States and western Mexico are usually bright yellow.
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The Hooded Oriole breeds from northern coastal and central California, southern Nevada, central Arizona, and western Texas south into northern Mexico.
It winters in southern California, Texas, and Mexico.
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