Golden oriole

There was a time, some ten odd years ago, when my golf course was next to a wooded area and not surrounded by concrete jungle as it is now. Golden oriole was frequently seen and heard in those days.The sightings have become rare and I saw one some two weeks back perched high on a tree.

I was walking below  a canopy of medium sized trees yesterday and I heard the distinct song of the bird.Looking up I saw him. Startled [ rest of bird and animal life avoids humans justifiably so], he took off in yellow blur.

Male oriole is an orange yellow and black bird with a thin black eye patch. It is very beautiful bird. Though locally migrant, they seem to travel quite widely and given the migrant character of the species, golden oriole spends winter in the extreme north of the country.

The song is a fluty short whistle, just like that of the bulbul but a bit more prolonged.Once heard one cannot forget to recall as I did yesterday, could identify the bird even before I saw it.