365 Urban Species. #148: Baltimore oriole

[urbpan]

Photo by cottonmanifesto. Location: Olmsted Park, Boston

Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula

The Baltimore orioles return to Boston in April, when cherry and apple trees are in flower, and the caterpillars that feed on them begin to become abundant. Orioles feed mainly on insects, but are well-known for taking nectar and fruit from trees and specially-designed bird feeders as well. They prefer to stay high in treetops in partially-forested open areas, particularly along rivers or streets. There may be more orioles today than ever, due to the increase in habitat caused by suburban development of forested areas. The Audubon Society, studying oriole population trends with data collected from the public; habitat loss in their wintering grounds in Central and South America may threaten the future numbers of orioles.

Though it is tempting to note that this bird shares a name with an American city, both the city and the bird are actually named for the British lordship that governed colonial Maryland, and happened to have orange and black for emblematic colors. Though the oriole is Maryland's state bird, it is probably more common in New England.


Photo by urbpan. Location: Riverway, between Brookline and Boston (The Muddy River, over which the oriole dangles, is the border).

Comments

[sebastian-tombs.livejournal.com]

They are beautiful birds with cheerful song, and I have seen them a few times already this year. Oddly, when visiting my parents, they had orioles that were pretty much yellow and black, while the ones I saw out in MA were the ('normal') orange. Shading to yellow is apparently a normal variation, esp. with younger ones.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly's name comes from the same origin :)

I just discovered a Purple Finch!

[paxpan-nyc.livejournal.com]

For three days in a row there was the cutest little bird hanging about my neighbor's terrace across the courtyard (Manhattan, NYC). It kept twittering away (some would call it a 'warble') for hours on end, morning, noon and early evening. Every now and then its mate would show up (kind of drab-looking, like a common sparrow) and entice him to fly away with her. I went nuts searching for its name (& picture) on the Internet and finally got lucky. It seems that it is more migratory than local and may not be around for long. Well, sure enough, the sweet little twitterer hasn't been back since last Saturday, and I miss his presence so much! I adored hearing his happy little monologues and the way that he preferred one particular spot on the terrace railing that was directly across from my kitchen windows' flower boxes. He realled should be called a 'raspberry' finch, because his coloring is similar to raspberry juice. Anybody familiar with this charming little bird?

Re: I just discovered a Purple Finch!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I have a devil of a time telling house finches from purple finches, myself!

cottonmanifesto sorted out the puzzle here.

Either way, they are cheerful little birds; nice to see them in the city.

Re: I just discovered a Purple Finch!

[paxpan-nyc.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot for the finch education! Cottonmanifesto's pictures were actually what convinced me about my Mr. Birdy being a house finch. From a distance I wasn't able to see the little stripes on his belly, but the colored areas were almost exactly the same. I'm really missing that little guy, his twittering was so delightful!

[deathling.livejournal.com]

I've only seen 4 or 5 of them here in my whole life(I'm from Maryland).