The black-hooded oriole was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Coracias xanthornus.

The black head of this species is an obvious distinction from the Indian golden oriole, which is a summer visitor to northern India.

The black-hooded oriole's flight is somewhat like a thrush, strong and direct with some shallow dips over longer distances.

A folk tale from Bengal has it that an unfortunate girl of a merchant family was abused and tortured by her mother-in-law.

Troubled by various incidents she smeared herself with turmeric paste and covered herself with a sooty earthen pot and killed herself.