|
Winter
presence of them here is unusual but not new.
As for
the call: A quick look in the index of one ref book I have lists two presumably
quite separate families of Orioles, each with many species. One is mostly
American distribution. You have probably heard of the Baltimore Oriole, that is
orange & black. The other family is mostly Asian and Australian-Pacific
distribution. Whether any of them are named in respect of a call saying “Oriole”, that I don't know. But for the olive-backed oriole it is usually a fair
description. Whether some or all members of either or both families make similar
noises or are presumably similar in other ways (such as colour or shape) I
don't know. It may be all or none of these factors that lead to our bird being
called an Oriole (in the same way that our Magpie is very different from "true"
magpies, and so many other similar stories).
Philip
| 