A Beautiful Whistler
The Baltimore Oriole is a cheerful bird. It can be spotted in wooded lots and whistling along city streets. The mainstay of their diet is beetles, bugs, and caterpillars, but they can be drawn to your yard with offerings of fruit (especially orange slices), and nectar feeders designed with their unique beak shape in mind.
Description
The male Baltimore Oriole a medium size bird measuring 7 to 8 ½ inches in length. This blackbird has a black head, back, wings, and tail with a bright orange breast and rump. Its shoulder patches are bright orange as well.
The female Baltimore Orioles are olive-brown in color with a dull yellow-orange breast and belly, and two dull white wing bars. Both the male and the female have a pointed, silvery bill. The male's not-breeding plumage is similar to that of the female.
Dinner Date
Range and Habitat
The Baltimore Oriole prefers open woods. They can be found in orchards as 
well as gardens and parks with shade trees. They can be found across the Eastern United States and Canada. This migratory bird winters in Florida, the Gulf Coast and Central and South America.
The male Baltimore Oriole has a temper to match his plumage and will fight for the mate of his choice.
Mating and Nesting Habits
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Buy at AllPosters.com
The Baltimore Oriole prefer to breed and build their nests in thickets along the edges of deciduous and mixed woodlands throughout the eastern coast. The range overlaps the Bullock's Orioles of the Midwest. The two species have intermingled in some areas forming a fertile hybrid. The hybrid species is usually referred to as the Northern Orioles.
The nest is built predominantly by the female. It a tightly woven pouch made of twigs, bark fibers, string, grass and other materials. The deep, gourd shaped pouch is usually attached to the end of a branch and hanging beneath it. The nest can be a low-lying shrub or in the upper branches of a tree.
The brood consists of 3 to 5 smooth, glossy eggs. The color can range from gray to bluish-white. The young are fed by both parents and usually leave the nest within two weeks of hatching.
Nature's Beauty
Baltimore Orioles Bird Feeders
Perky Pet 449-2 Oriole Feeder
Amazon Price: $14.39 (as of 11/27/2009) 
Plastic Oriole Feeder
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 11/27/2009)
Oriole Feeder
Amazon Price: (as of 11/27/2009)
Woodstream #251 36OZ Oriole Feeder
Amazon Price: $9.55 (as of 11/27/2009)
The Baltimore Orioles love orange slices and will choose them over a nectar feeder any day of the week.
Diet
Baltimore Orioles eat caterpillars and other insects, blossoms, fruit and berries. They can 
be drawn to yards and gardens with nectar feeder similar to that of a hummingbird, but with a larger perch and painted orange rather than red. Fruit, jellies, peanut butter, and suet will attract them as well.
Voice
The Baltimore Oriole is a cheerful songbird. The male song consists of a loud fluty whistle. The hew-li, hew-li, hew-li usually gives his position away making it easier to spot.
Listen to the song of the Baltimore Oriole: Sound Byte: Baltimore Oriole, National Park Service
Common Birds and Their Songs
by Lang Elliott
Common Birds and Their Songs (Book and Audio CD)
This book-audio package provides a unique introduction to fifty of the most familiar birds of North America and the songs they sing. Common Birds and Their Songs will be valuable to anyone interested in birds, from beginner to expert. It's the perfect gift for any birder - or anyone with a bird feeder.
Like many of our backyard visitors, the Baltimore Oriole loves the water. A good supply of food and a birdbath filled with fresh, clean water will keep them coming back.
Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
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Selecting a Birdbath
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Bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoor activities in the world. It provides a relaxing and educational diversion from the stresses of life and work. While some people enjoy birding excursions and trekking through the wilds in search of a...
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Attracting Birds to Your Yard
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Next to gardening, bird watching is one of the fastest growing hobbies around. It doesn't require a trip around the world or thousands of dollars worth of specialized equipment. All you need to do is step out your back door and wait. It's c...
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Create a Backyard Bird Sanctuary
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Bird watching is one of the fastest growing outdoor activities in the world. It provides a relaxing and educational diversion from the stresses of life and work. It can be a meditative, solitary experience or a social activity. There are bird watchin...
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
America's 100 Most Wanted Birds
Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 11/27/2009)
If you want to see a gyrfalcon or a fork-tailed flycatcher, this resource might be your best help in spotting them. Mostly for serious birders intent on adding species to their life lists, America's 100 Most Wanted Birds provides detailed strategies for locating 100 of the most uncommon-to-rare bird species in the United States.
Some of my Favorite Backyard Birds
The Bold and BeautifulThe American Goldfinch
The Blue Jay
The Northern Cardinal
Cheerful Singers
The European Starling
The Northern Mockingbird
The American Robin
The Shy Ones The Eastern Bluebird
The Carolina Wren
Peterson's Field Guide to Birds
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
Peterson's Field Guide to Birds is an absolute must have for anyone with a birdfeeder and an interest in watching the birds.
What interesting backyard birds have you seen?
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Reply
- OhMe OhMe Sep 1, 2009 @ 6:58 am
- Welcome to the South Carolina Group
- Reply
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Reply
- AndyPo AndyPo May 27, 2009 @ 8:34 am
- Beautiful.
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Reply
- spirituality spirituality May 15, 2009 @ 9:04 am
- Great lens - you've been blessed by a squidoo angel :)
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Reply
- TheGreenerMe TheGreenerMe May 3, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
- Orioles are not quite as plentiful as they once were around here, but I love seeing them. I wish I saw them more often!
- Load More
About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 3,952 lenses, favorited 444, and has created 197 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "The Mallard Duck". See all my lenses
Why Birds Do That
Why Birds Do That: 40 Distinctive Bird Behaviors Explained & Photographed
Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 11/27/2009)
Birds are fascinating. Their behavior is complex, often comical. Some sing while others do not. Why Birds Do That explains forty distinctive bird behaviors and is enhanced with numerous photographs. It is a must have book for both the backyard bird watcher as well as the avid birder.
Resources used to build this page
Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.
Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology
Seattle Audubon Society
Northern Oriole Icterus galbula
The Baltimore Oriole, Chipper Woods Observatory
by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
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