The Baltimore Oriole

BirdNote^® 
The Baltimore Oriole - The Blackbird with the Aristocratic Name 
Written by Ellen Blackstone

This is BirdNote.

When I say the word, "blackbird," what sort of bird do you picture? Maybe the familiar Red-winged Blackbird that sings in the marsh?

         [Song of Red-winged Blackbird]

Well, not all blackbirds are mostly black. One is orange and even has an aristocratic name: the Baltimore Oriole. 

         [Song of the Baltimore Oriole]

This gorgeous golden-orange and black bird took its name from Sir George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore.

         [Heraldic music]

His coat-of-arms carried a gold and black design. Baltimore Orioles eat insects and fruit, but they're fussy. They go mostly for vividly colored fruit. 

For nesting material, on the other hand, bland is better. The female – who does all the …architectural work – bypasses colorful threads and fibers and instead chooses dull colors. She's a much drabber orange and blends in with the background while incubating her eggs.

         [Call of the Baltimore Oriole] 

In spring and summer, you may see these orioles in the Midwest and eastern US, lighting up the leafy trees where they nest. 

You can cater to the particular taste of these beautiful birds. If you're lucky enough to live near Baltimore Orioles, entice them to your feeder with half an orange!

         [Song of the Baltimore Oriole]

For BirdNote, I'm Michael Stein. 

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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Song of the Baltimore Oriole [12483] recorded by A.A. Allen; song of Red-winged Blackbird [57196] recorded by W.W. H.Gunn; call of Baltimore Oriole [12493] recorded by R.C. Stein.  
Royal Entry, from the album “Imperial Fanfares,” published by Naxos 2004
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2014 BirdNote  June 2014/2016/2021 & July 2026  
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# BAOR-01b-2014-06-23    BAOR-01b