Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus) [XC809686]
by Marc Anderson from Bardiya National Park, Bardiya, Lumbini Province, Nepal (song)
Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus) [XC426339]
by Sreekumar Chirukandoth from Manipal, Udupi, Karnataka, India (call)
Subspecies
A member of the "Asian black-headed group", which also includes Black Oriole (Oriolus hosii), Black-and-crimson Oriole (Oriolus cruentus), Maroon Oriole (Oriolus traillii) and Silver Oriole (Oriolus mellianus). Nomenclature of subspecies in Indian Subcontinent uncertain because of uncertainty over precise location of type locality. Subspecies reubeni formerly referred to by name andamanensis, but latter name invalid, as preoccupied. Perhaps better merged with ceylonensis.
Proposed subspecies thaiacous (described from Koh-Lak, in south-western Thailand) synonymized with nominate.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
xanthornus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Northern India (Himalayan foothills) and southern Nepal east to Myanmar and southern China (southern Yunnan), south to northern and southern Thailand, northern Peninsular Malaysia (Langkawi I only) and Indochina (except northern Vietnam).
maderaspatanus Franklin, 1831 - Ganges plain and peninsular India.
ceylonensis Bonaparte, 1850 - Sri Lanka.
reubeni Abdulali, 1977 - Andaman Is.
tanakae Kuroda, Nagamichi, 1925 - North-eastern Borneo (south-eastern Sabah and adjoining Kalimantan) and adjacent islands.