Scott’s Oriole
Icterus parisorum
In summer, we find Scott’s Orioles in the American Southwest. These birds prefer to live in arid regions (deserts and mountain slopes facing deserts). Life for these birds centers on the yucca plant. They weave nests from its fibers and hang them on their live leaves. They eat nectar from its flowers and the insects that live on these desert plants.
San Diego County (California) is blessed with a wide array of habitats, ranging from the arid Colorado Desert in the east, to the Pacific Ocean, and the mountains and valleys that lie between. Each summer, the Anza-Borrego desert hosts Scott’s Orioles. For those willing to brave the heat, the reward can be a meeting with some of these desert-loving birds.
Modern science does not recognise any subspecies of Scott’s Oriole (i.e. they are monotypic).
Some of my favorite meetings with Scott’s Orioles have been in the Anza-Borrego Desert of eastern San Diego County. While working with the San Diego Natural History Museum at Joshua Tree National Park in June 2017, I enjoyed meeting these lovely birds as well.
While I didn’t capture any images, I also met these birds in the Davis Mountains of West Texas in June-2021. I returned to the Davis Mountains in 2023 and managed to capture a few images during that visit.
15 Photos

Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Little Blair Valley Road. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:04:09 10:33 |
Location:
Blair Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/750 |
File Name: jcd5062.ScottsOriole |
© 2009 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Little Blair Valley Road. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:04:09 10:53 |
Location:
Blair Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: jcd5107.ScottsOriole |
© 2009 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Little Blair Valley Road. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:04:10 9:01 |
Location:
Blair Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: JCD5222.ScottsOriole |
© 2009 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Little Blair Valley Road. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:04:10 9:02 |
Location:
Blair Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: JCD5250.ScottsOriole |
© 2009 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Palm Canyon. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2010:05:06 7:49 |
Location:
Palm Canyon |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 |
File Name: JCD7128.ScottsOriole |
© 2010 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Anza-Borrego State Park. North-east San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2003:04:26 9:06 |
Location:
Plum Canyon |
Camera Information: Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 4000 ED, |
File Name: A3D26a12-ScottsOriole |
© 2003 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Anza-Borrego State Park. North-east San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2003:04:26 9:06 |
Location:
Plum Canyon |
Camera Information: |
File Name: A3D26A23-ScottsOriole |
© 2003 - Jack Daynes - shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Little Blair Valley Road. Anza Borrego, Northeast San Diego County, California. |
Date Taken: 2009:04:10 9:01 |
Location:
Blair Valley |
Camera Information: NIKON D2X, 800 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 |
File Name: Cut_JCD5222.ScottsOriole |
© 2009 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Seen near Cottonwood Springs in Joshua Tree National Park. Riverside County California. |
Date Taken: 2017:06:17 10:40 |
Location:
Cottonwood Spring |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_D5X5465 |
© 2017 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: Patton’s, in Patagonia is legendary as a ‘must see’ birding destination in southeastern Arizona. Yet, this was my first visit. I spent almost two hours there, and those few hours were delightful. |
Date Taken: 2023:03:21 11:26 |
Location:
Patton's |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_ZX93470_Patagonia-AZ |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: On my 2023 tour of North America, I paid my third visit to Kickapoo Caverns State Park outside of Brackettville Texas. Unlike my first two visits, this time, there were plenty of birds to meet. |
Date Taken: 2023:06:30 9:13 |
Location:
Kickapoo Caverns State Park |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_Z9X4657_KickapooCaverns-TX |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: I spent much of my stay at Davis Mountains State Park working on images and stories from earlier episodes from my expedition. But on my third day in the park, I drove up-slope to Skyline Drive and looked for Montezuma Quail. Up on the ridge, sparrows, towhees, flycatchers, and orioles were easy to find. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:06 8:48 |
Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_Z9X9322_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: I spent much of my stay at Davis Mountains State Park working on images and stories from earlier episodes from my expedition. But on my third day in the park, I drove up-slope to Skyline Drive and looked for Montezuma Quail. Up on the ridge, sparrows, towhees, flycatchers, and orioles were easy to find. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:06 8:52 |
Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_Z9X9369_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: I spent much of my stay at Davis Mountains State Park working on images and stories from earlier episodes from my expedition. But on my third day in the park, I drove up-slope to Skyline Drive and looked for Montezuma Quail. Up on the ridge, sparrows, towhees, flycatchers, and orioles were easy to find. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:06 8:54 |
Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_Z9X9414_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Scott's Oriole(Icterus parisorum) |
Description: I spent much of my stay at Davis Mountains State Park working on images and stories from earlier episodes from my expedition. But on my third day in the park, I drove up-slope to Skyline Drive and looked for Montezuma Quail. Up on the ridge, sparrows, towhees, flycatchers, and orioles were easy to find. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:06 8:54 |
Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: ScottsOriole_Z9X9434_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
© 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

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