Olive-backed Oriole

Olive-backed Oriole

Oriolus sagittatus

Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Melbourne

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

432 Verified sightings at Melbourne
2,305 In all 13 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Olive-backed Oriole

The olive-backed oriole (Oriolus sagittatus), or white-bellied oriole, is a very common medium-sized passerine bird native to northern and eastern Australia and south-central New Guinea. The most wide-ranging of the Australasian orioles, it is noisy and conspicuous.

The olive-backed oriole was originally described in the genus Coracias by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. Found in north-western and north-central Australia Not bright in colour, it is olive-backed with small dark streaks, with a light chest having black streaks. Females have cinnamon-edged wings and both sexes have reddish bills and eyes. Where the green oriole specialises in damp, thickly vegetated habitats in the tropical far north, the olive... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:23

Australia · 2025

© Peter Boesman · XC1066782 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:20

Australia · 2021

© Phil Gregory · XC690880 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:33

Australia · 2020

© James Lambert · XC604354 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
2 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
3 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
4 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
5 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
8 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
9 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
10 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
11 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
12 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
2 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
3 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Taronga Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
2 Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Olive-backed Oriole in Melbourne?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olive-backed Oriole sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 432 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 123rd most-seen of the 236 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an Olive-backed Oriole in Melbourne?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olive-backed Oriole in Melbourne on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an Olive-backed Oriole?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Olive-backed Oriole sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Melbourne the best place to see an Olive-backed Oriole?

3rd of 3

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Olive-backed Oriole sightings, Melbourne ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 30%) and Sydney (Australia, about 10%).

Where does the Olive-backed Oriole sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Olive-backed Oriole is recorded against all the birds logged in Melbourne (432 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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