Brightly colored orioles, commonly called Baltimore orioles, are common birds to spot in the eastern United States! These orange and black birds are some of the most beautiful and noticeable songbirds. While they are often spotted in neighborhoods or parks, their natural habitat is open woodlands where they prefer to nest in elm trees. Their nests, woven by the female birds, are unique hanging baskets woven of various natural materials such as grass, bark or hair. Orioles eat a variety of foods, including insects, fruits, and of course seeds from backyard bird feeders!
The oriole's vocalizations consist of both songs and calls. The song of the oriole is made up of whistling notes in short phrases. This song sounds like a beautiful flute melody! The male oriole commonly sings to defend its breeding territory. The female also sings shorter songs to communicate with her mate. Occasionally mated pairs of orioles can even be heard singing together in harmony! Aside from their melodic songs, oriole calls are commonly used to communicate with one another and defend the nesting area. These calls include a chatter call, a 'chuck' alarm call, and even a unique scream call made by females when their nest is threatened. These social birds commonly respond to each other's calls and fly over quickly to help when needed!
Oriole is one of the few birds in North America that has orange colored feathers, it's sounds are here. As well as many other interesting varieties of Orioles found around the world.
The Baltimore oriole is a small blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore.
