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Bird name:

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Code 4

BAOR

Code 6

ICTGAL

ITIS

179083

Breeding Location:

Forest

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White or blue with dark marks on large end

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with grass and hair.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Baltimore Oriole: Small oriole, mostly bright orange with black hood and back. Wings are black with orange shoulder patches and strongly white-edged feathers that appear as bars. Black base and center form a T-shaped mark on orange tail. Female is similar but much duller, lacks black hood and back, orange shoulder patch, darker orange-brown head and back, pale chin, and gray wash on sides. Juvenile is paler overall and has gray belly; first year male has black throat patch.

Range and Habitat

Baltimore Oriole: Breeds from Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia south through eastern Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia. Spends winters in Florida and southern Atlantic coast. Preferred habitats include open woods and shade trees.

Breeding and Nesting

Baltimore Oriole: Four brown- and black-blotched, pale gray white or blue eggs are laid in a nest woven from long plant fibers, vine bark, hair, and sometimes yarn; lined with hair, wool, and fine grass. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Baltimore Oriole: Feeds primarily on caterpillars, moths, beetles, ants, bugs, scale insects, aphids, and woodborers; also eats fruits, garden peas, and flower nectar. Forages by gleaning prey insects from leaves and twigs.

Readily Eats

Suet, Jelly, Orange Halves, Raisins

Vocalization

Baltimore Oriole: Song is flutelike, a low "hew-li."

Similar Species

Baltimore Oriole: Bullock's Oriole lacks black head. Female Baltimore Oriole has less gray on upperparts and more orange on breast than female Bullock’s.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Chin

The area of the face just below the bill.

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America