Help with Bird ID

[Fishersjohn48]

My wife saw a large yellow bird on our feeder this past weekend that we have not been able to identify. She said it was about the size of a blue jay but was bright yellow with a black head. It sounds like a mutant Goldfinch but she says it was much larger. Just for the record, she has not been lied to about how big things really are.....She knows size when she sees it.....

Any help identifying this bird would be appreciated..

For Reference:
North side of Indianapolis
Short stout beak
was actually sitting on hummingbird feeder attempting to drink.
Bright yellow with black on head
Aprox the size of a Blue Jay.

 

[eldirector]

Oriole?
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/id

They will go after fruits, especially citrus, so the hummingbird feeder makes sense. Jaybird size sounds a tad large, though.

 

[bacon#1]

Sounds like an Oriole.

 

[OWGEM]

Try looking at orioles, many of the females are yellow with black on the head.

 

[poppy]

What owgem suggested-look at a scott's oriole.

 

[CindyE]

maybe this? Audubon's Oriole - Whatbird.com

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

definitely an oriole of some type. The first one I ever saw at our house was trying to use the hummingbird feeder, too.

 

[RMC]

That would be an oriole. They love sliced oranges.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

maybe this? Audubon's Oriole - Whatbird.com

That bird matches her description exactly. However if I'm reading it right it's only found in Texas and Mexico Is it possible that one of those birds found its way this far north?

 

[Alamo]

That bird matches her description exactly. However if I'm reading it right it's only found in Texas and Mexico Is it possible that one of those birds found its way this far north?

It's just visiting relatives in the Hoosierland. I do that every year or so myself.

 

[Birds Away]

Actually, it's Birds.

 

[eldirector]

That bird matches her description exactly. However if I'm reading it right it's only found in Texas and Mexico Is it possible that one of those birds found its way this far north?

Global Warming!

 

[CindyE]

That bird matches her description exactly. However if I'm reading it right it's only found in Texas and Mexico Is it possible that one of those birds found its way this far north?

I didn't even notice that- I was doing a quick search for Birds Native to Indiana, when it came up. I suppose it is possible, though. There was a parakeet perched on a wire in our backyard with sparrows once. I assume it was someone's pet that got away, posted it on FB, never heard anything.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Size of a blue jay?

Lots of yellow and black?

Eastern medowlark or Lillian's medowlark.

 

[possumpacker]

look around in the trees in your yard for a nest that looks like a sack hanging from outer limbs. used to have an oriel nest in my yard every year but i think the starlings finally ran in off.

 

[tradertator]

The fact that it was on your hummer feeder definitely makes me think it was an Oriole. Beautiful little birds, but they can be tricky to keep around. I've had good luck with putting out grape jelly for them in the past.

 

[Frosty]

Grape jelly and orange slices will attract them, and they will come back yearly if they find a place with food. If you don't get anymore oriels you'll attract catbirds. They are neat, have cool sounds and are usually heard but not seen.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

A Northern Oriole

Some Northern Orioles (formerly called Baltimore Oriole) are more yellowish than others, but most are orange. From the description your wife gave, and the fact that it was trying to feed from a hummingbird feeder, most likely one of those and not one of the western orioles.

On a side note, I got home from work one day some years ago, and I heard a screech sound from across the street and there was a green parrot-type bird with a black head in the neighbor's cottonwood tree, eating the un-opened buds. Turned out it was a Black-Hooded Conure, escaped or released from somewhere.