About the Altamira Oriole Drawing
I first encountered Altamira Orioles (Icterus gularis) at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas during the late 1980s. Their brilliant orange-and-black plumage was unlike that of any bird I had seen in the United States, and the intensity of the color made an immediate impression on me. I have seen them several times since, but that first encounter remains especially memorable. They are objectively the most beautiful orioles in existence. 🙂
Altamira Orioles are tropical birds whose range extends northward into the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. That small corner of the country provides Americans with an opportunity to encounter a bird otherwise associated primarily with Mexico and Central America. Unlike the migratory orioles familiar across much of the United States, Altamiras remain in the same region throughout the year.
Unlike most other orioles commonly encountered in the United States, Altamira Orioles are not sexually dimorphic in adult plumage. Males and females share essentially the same brilliant orange-and-black coloration, so the two birds in the drawing cannot be distinguished by color alone.
They inhabit open woodlands, thornscrub, riparian corridors, parks, orchards, and other wooded areas, where they forage among the foliage for insects, fruit, and nectar. They sometimes obtain nectar in the usual way by inserting the bill into a flower, but they can also puncture the flower near its base and take the nectar without passing the reproductive structures—a behavior appropriately known as nectar robbing.
Their remarkable woven nests are among the most elaborate built by any North American bird. Suspended from the end of a high branch, they form a deep, hanging pouch that may extend more than two feet below its attachment point. The female weaves together grasses, strips of bark, leaves, Spanish moss, and sometimes human-made fibers, transforming loose strands into a structure capable of supporting eggs and growing young high above the ground.
In Santa Ana Flame, I portrayed two birds among arching leaves and branches, using colored pencil to recreate the almost luminous orange that first drew my attention to the species. The upper bird leans forward with a caterpillar in its bill while the second watches from below, giving the composition a sense of interaction and movement. The graphite branches provide a quieter framework that allows the orange, black, white, and green to dominate the drawing.
The title refers both to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, where I first saw the species, and to the flame-like brilliance of the birds’ plumage. Even among the colorful birds of South Texas, an Altamira Oriole seems to ignite the tree in which it appears.
Santa Ana Flame is a colored-pencil wildlife drawing of Altamira Orioles (Icterus gularis) by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art.