Suomi
Svenska
Polski
Čeština
Slovenčina
Norsk
Dansk
Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Identify the Baltimore Oriole by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Baltimore Oriole is a small, migratory icterid of eastern North America, best known for the male's vivid orange-and-black plumage. It breeds in open, leafy habitats and is famous for the hanging pouch nest woven by the female. Once lumped with Bullock's Oriole as the “Northern Oriole”, it is now a separate species. It winters mainly in Central America and northern South America.
Did you know?
- Its orange-and-black colours matched the heraldic colours of Lord Baltimore, giving the bird its name.
- It is the state bird of Maryland and the mascot of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.
Voice
About the species
Identification
The adult male is bright orange below and on the rump, with a black hood and back and black wings with a white wing bar. Females and young are duller, olive-brown above and yellowish-orange below, with two white wing bars. The bill is sharply pointed and grey.
Family
Icteridae
Size
Small (sparrow)
Colours
orange, black, white
About the habitat
Tall deciduous trees in open woods, forest edges, riverside groves, orchards, parks and suburbs; in winter flowering canopy trees and shade coffee plantations in the tropics.
Diet
Mainly insects, including caterpillars, gleaned from foliage and flowers; also fruit and nectar, and it readily visits feeders.
Behaviour
Sings a clear, whistled song from treetops; both sexes sing. Courtship includes bowing and wing-quivering. The female weaves a hanging, pouch-shaped nest at the tip of a branch, and both parents feed the young. Outside the breeding season it is mostly solitary.
Sources
Photo: TonyCastro, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baltimore Oriole- dorsum.jpg
Sound: Jonathon Jongsma, XC178046, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/178046
Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_oriole
