Baltimore Oriole

The Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, is a small blackbird.

Adults have a pointed bill and white bars on the wings. The adult male is orange on the underparts, shoulder patch and rump with black everywhere else. The adult female is yellow-brown on the upper parts with darker wings, dull orange on the breast and belly.

Their breeding habitat is the edges of deciduous and mixed woods across eastern North America. The range of this bird overlaps with that of the similar Bullock's Oriole in the west, and the two forms were once considered to be conspecific as the Northern Oriole. The nest is a tightly woven pouch located on the end of a branch.

These birds migrate in flocks to southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America. Some birds may remain near feeders in winter.

Baltimore Oriole is a rare vagrant to western Europe, and there are a couple of British records of birds wintering near garden feeders, including one in Oxford in December 2003.

These birds forage in trees and shrubs, also making short flights to catch insects. They mainly eat insects, berries and nectar.

This bird got its name because the male's colours resemble those on the coat of arms of Lord Baltimore. The baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, were named after this bird. This is the state bird of Maryland.

The male sings a loud fluty whistle.