How to Identify a Baltimore Oriole Bird

Learn how to attract orioles to your backyard.

Baltimore Oriole Name

Named after Cecil Calvert, the second Baron of Baltimore, this oriole’s plumage echoes the hues in the Maryland founder’s coat of arms. It became the state bird in 1947.

Learn how to identify an orchard oriole.

Baltimore Oriole vs Bullock’s Oriole

For 22 years, from 1973 to 1995, Baltimore and Bullock’s orioles were called northern orioles. The species was re-split by the American Ornithologist’s Union after studies proved the birds were distinct, bringing back the Baltimore and Bullock’s oriole designations.

Baltimore Oriole

Joel Trick/Shutterstock

• Summer range Great Plains eastward and some parts of southern Canada, from Alberta eastward.
• Appearance Vibrant orange with solid black back and head. White wing bars on black wings.
• Sounds Song is flutelike whistles and some rapid chatter.
• Habitat Open woodlands, orchards and edges of forests. Can be common in towns and parks with trees. Has a preference for elm trees.

Bullock’s Oriole

Courtesy Lynn Ann Vukonich

• Summer range Great Plains westward and south into parts of Mexico.
• Appearance Orange with black back. Face is orange with black throat and eye stripe. Large white patches on wings.
• Sounds Song is flutelike whistles, and some rapid chatter.
• Habitat Open woodlands, orchards and edges of forests. Adapts to suburban areas with trees. Prefers cottonwood trees.

Watch for Hybrids

Where their range overlaps with Bullock’s orioles in central North America, the two species sometimes interbreed, creating hybrid offspring that show highly variable but intermediate patterns on the face, wings, throat and tail.

Are Baltimore Orioles Related to Blackbirds?

Courtesy William Mcmullen

This oriole is a member of the Icteridae family to which 106 species of blackbirds belong.

Baltimore Oriole Nest and Eggs

Courtesy Mary Roseberry

After pairing, the female weaves a pouch-shaped nest that hangs from the end of a deciduous tree branch, usually on the edge of an airy woodland. Elms, cottonwoods, maples, willows and apple trees are among their favored nesting sites.

It takes a female about seven days to weave the hanging nest for which Baltimore orioles are famous. The structures are made of artfully woven plant fibers, hair and other materials.

Courtesy Lucinda Moriarty

The female lays three to six pale gray-blue eggs, which take two weeks to hatch. Both parents care for the chicks, which fledge two weeks later.

See what baby orioles look like.

Baltimore Oriole Lifespan

The oldest recorded Baltimore orioles lived 14 years in captivity and 12 years in the wild.

Baltimore Oriole Favorite Foods

Courtesy William Degraw

They may hang around your yard if they like the sugar water in your oriole feeders or hummingbird feeders. Halved oranges, grape jelly, red cherries and red grapes also attract them, but not yellow cherries or green grapes.

They’ll also hang upside down or perform other athletic moves to catch bugs or caterpillars. These flashy fliers dine on furry caterpillars that other birds won’t touch. They whack them on a branch to remove the hair, then gulp them down.

In addition to insects and sugar water, you can lure Baltimore oriole birds to your yard with nectar-producing tubular flowers and native trees and shrubs that bear dark-colored fruit.

Baltimore orioles use a technique called gaping to get juice out of fruit. They stab a ripe berry with a closed bill, then open wide and lap up the droplets with their tongues.

Get more tips for feeding orioles.

Baltimore Oriole Habitat

Courtesy Rodger Boehm

You’ll see these birds in deciduous woodlands, parks and suburbs. Their preferred habitat is the edges of forests, and open areas with tall trees. Baltimore orioles are very common in backyards. Their population hovers around 12 million.

When will Baltimore orioles arrive in spring?

Baltimore Oriole Song

Listen for a short series of clear whistles in varied pattern.

Bird songs provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Discover more types of orioles to look for in North America.

Baltimore Oriole Range Map

Baltimore orioles are found widely east of the Rockies during the breeding season. These flamboyant birds spend winters from the southeastern states through Central America and northern South America. They migrate north to breed from Georgia to southern Canada.

Learn more about Baltimore oriole migration.

Range maps provided by Kaufman Field Guides, the official field guide of Birds & Blooms.

Sources

• American Bird Conservancy – Baltimore oriole
• All About Birds – Baltimore oriole overview
• iNaturalist – New World Blackbirds and Orioles
• Birds of the World – Icteridae
• National Audubon Society – 10 Fun Facts About the Baltimore Oriole
• National Audubon Society – How Orioles Build Those Incredible Hanging Nests