Northern Oriole "Baltimore ,Bullock's"
Description
7-8 1/2". Eastern male, formerly "Baltimore Oriole, " has black head, back, wings, and tail; orange breast, rump, and shoulders patch. Eastern female olive-brown with dull yellow-orange underparts; 2 dull-white wing bars. Western male, formerly "Bullock's Oriole," similar to eastern male, but has orange cheeks and eyebrow and large white wing patch. Western female has whitish underparts.
Voice
Clear and flute-like whistled single or double notes in short, distinct phrases with much individual variations.
Habitat
Deciduous woodlands and shade trees. Before the tree's decline, the American elm was a favorite nesting site for the eastern bird.
Nesting
4-6 grayish eggs, spotted and scrawled with dark brown and black .Nest a well woven pendant bag of plant fibers, bark, and string suspended from tip of branch.
Other
For many decades the western populations of this bird ("Bullock's Oriole") were thought to be a separate species from the eastern populations, which were called the "Baltimore Oriole". When trees where planted on the Great Plains, the two forms of extended their appearance, it was found that they interbreed, and most birds in the central plains are hybrids, so the birds were combined into a single species. Now it seems that in some places the birds are choosing mates of their own type; soon these birds may be considered separate species again.
Picture
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