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  Profile

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  In flight

Tropical Birds

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

Bright orange against new spring leaves. Builds a hanging sock-nest and runs the only express service that takes grape jelly.

Population

~6 million mature individuals globally; stable trend (BirdLife/IUCN, 2018 assessment, based on a 2009 Partners in Flight estimate)

Habitat

Open deciduous woodland, forest edges, riparian growth, orchards, and shade trees in parks and suburban neighborhoods; favors high branches and upper foliage

Fun fact

The Baltimore Oriole gets its name from the coat of arms of the 17th-century Lord Baltimore (Calvert family), whose heraldic colors of black and orange match the male bird's plumage.

Range

Breeds across eastern and central North America (from the Canadian Prairies east to the Atlantic and south through the eastern US, with hybridization zone with Bullock's Oriole in the Great Plains); winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America

Diet

Insects (especially caterpillars, including forest tent caterpillars), berries and other ripe/dark-colored fruit (mulberries, grapes, cherries), and nectar; readily visits feeders offering orange halves, jelly, or sugar water

Size

0.2 m

Wingspan

0.28 m

Lifespan

12 years