Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus) [XC898062]
by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Victoria, Entre R\u00edos, Argentina (call, song)
Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus) [XC695916]
by Nunes D\u00b4Acosta from Taquaral de Goi\u00e1s, Taquaral de Goi\u00e1s, Goi\u00e1s, Brazil (nocturnal flight call, song)
Subspecies
Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis) and Moriche Oriole (Icterus chrysocephalus) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Icterus cayanensis following SACC (2005). Variable Oriole (Icterus pyrrhopterus) has been split from Icterus cayanensis following SACC (2010).
Often treated as conspecific with Moriche Oriole (Icterus chrysocephalus) and/or Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis). Differs from Epaulet Oriole (Icterus cayanensis) in size and bill shape, broader habitat selection and more active behaviour and the two apparently occur sympatrically in a small area in Beni (Bolivia) without interbreeding. Subspecies intergrade; valenciobuenoi a variable form, connecting tibialis and nominate subspecies, and sometimes subsumed in one or the other of these (a few individuals with characters of valenciobuenoi can be found in nominate populations, e.g. in north-eastern Argentina).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
tibialis Swainson, 1838 - Eastern Brazil from Maranhío and Ceará south to Río de Janeiro.
periporphyrus (Bonaparte, 1850) - East-central Bolivia (Beni, Cochabamba and northern Santa Cruz) and adjacent south-central Brazil (Mato Grosso).
valenciobuenoi von Ihering, H, 1902 - South-eastern Brazil (Goias, Minas Gerais, Sío Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina).
pyrrhopterus (Vieillot, 1819) - South-eastern Bolivia (southern Santa Cruz south to Tarija), Paraguay, southern Brazil (Mato Grosso do Sul and Rio Grande do Sul), northern and north-eastern Argentina (south to San Juan, San Luis, La Pampa and Buenos Aires) and Uruguay.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet