It is primarily found in the Southwestern United States and south to Baja California Sur and central Mexico.

The bird is an infrequent wanderer to eastern North America, with records from NY, PA, VA, KY, TN, NC, SC, GA, and ONT.

Bonaparte named the bird parisorum after the Paris brothers, powerful French financiers of the early 1700s.

[2] The English name was given by American soldier and naturalist Darius N. Couch in honor of General Winfield Scott, without knowing that the bird had previously been described by Bonaparte.

There have been proposals to rename this species the yucca oriole to reflect its preferred habitat and to address the negative historical connotations associated with its current namesake’s involvement in the Trail of Tears and other episodes of ethnic cleansing in the Southeastern United States.