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[[image: hoodedoriole.jpg ]]

'''Common Name:''' Hooded Oriole
 
'''Scientific Name:''' Icterus cucullatus

'''Size:''' 7-8 inches (18-20cm)

'''Habitat:''' North America. Summers: Breeds in lowlands of western and southern California, eastward to Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, and southward into Mexico. Also in southern Texas and eastern Mexico and Belize. Winters: in Mexico and a few in California and Arizona each year. Breeds in areas with scattered trees, such as desert oases and along streams. Also in mesquite brush. Common in urban and suburban areas. Fond of palm trees.

'''Status:''' Not Threatened. Expanding range in some areas, perhaps as a result of using ornamental trees in urban areas. Lower Rio Grande population decreased markedly in 20th century, perhaps because of cowbird nest parasitism.

'''Diet:''' Insects, spiders, nectar, and fruit.

'''Breeding:''' Nest is a cup of woven plant fibers, suspended from leaves of trees. May be hanging or attached by sides of nest as well as rim. 3 to 7 white eggs with irregular brown spots around large end.

'''Cool Facts:''' When the nest is suspended from palm leaves, the female pokes holes in the leaf from below and pushes the fibers through, effectively sewing the nest to the leaf.

'''Found in [http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/shop/itemdetails/-/?item=5464&spmeta=ab&_m=d  More Cool and Unusual Birds]'''