Yellow Oriole / Icterus nigrogularis, Nariva Swamp afternoon, Trinidad

What a bad day with ipernity - even worse than the last few days! Very hard to stay motivated when the website keeps shutting down. Lots of people must be leaving, when things are this bad, which is too bad. I just hope this all get sorted out eventually/before too long.

This beautiful, eye-catching Yellow Oriole was hanging out by the large Lotus and Water Hyacinth flowers. There is no sign of a narrow, black bib, though, so I wonder if this is an immature bird. Taken during our afternoon visit to the Nariva Swamp on the east coast of Trinidad. That morning, our day outing was from the Asa Wright Nature Centre to the Manzanilla area, where we thoroughly enjoyed a picnic lunch at Manzanilla Beach. Afterwards, we continued our drive to the Nariva Swamp area, which is mainly agricultural habitats with some wetlands. Yesterday, I posted a few of the bird species that we saw on our drive at Nariva Swamp and I will be posting several more. I might just post some birds taken at Asa Wright first, though.

"The yellow oriole (Icterus nigrogularis) is a passerine bird in the family Icteridae. It is also called the 'plantain' and 'small corn bird'. It breeds in northern South America in Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas and parts of northern Brazil.

The yellow oriole is a bird of open woodland, scrub and gardens. Its nest is a 40 cm-long hanging basket, suspended from the end of a branch. The normal clutch is three pale green or grey eggs.

This species eats mainly large insects, but will also take nectar and some fruit.

The song of the yellow oriole is a pleasant melodious fluting, with some buzzing. The calls include a cat-like whine, and chattering noises." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_oriole

"The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from the Manzanilla Bay through Biche and covers over 60 square kilometres (23 mi). The Nariva Swamp is extremely biodiverse. It is home to 45 mammal species, 39 reptile species, 33 fish species, 204 bird species, 19 frog species, 213 insect species and 15 mollusc species. All this contained in just 60 square kilometers.

The area provides important habitat for waterfowl and is key habitat for the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), caimans, anacondas, boa constrictors, red howler monkeys, white-fronted capuchin monkeys, numerous species of parrots, including both the blue-and-gold macaw and red-bellied macaws, as well as many wetland and savanna birds.

Four major wetland vegetation types occur in the Nariva Swamp - mangrove swamp forest, palm forest, swamp wood, and freshwater marsh." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nariva_Swamp

www.ima.gov.tt/home/images/publications/brochures/NARIVA_...

www.destinationtnt.com/nariva-swamp/

This is a video that I found on YouTube, taken by Rigdon Currie and Trish Johnson, at many of the same places we visited on Trinidad and Tobago. Not my video, but it made me feel like I was right there still. Posting the link here again, so that I won't lose it.

youtu.be/BBifhf99f_M

Yesterday afternoon, I also came across the following 27-minute YouTube video of the flora and fauna of Trinidad, filmed by John Patrick Smith in February 2015.

youtu.be/6HHBm9MIxnk