Orioles

We had a discussion the other morning: do birds have to be drab to have a beautiful song? There seem to be a number of LBBs and LGBs (little brown birds and little grey birds) here that have nice songs, but are not much to look at. The orioles are the exception: they are gorgeous and have a beautiful call (can't really call it a song).

Orioles are harbingers of Spring, and generally arrive around April 1. They are nectar feeders, like the hummingbirds, and also love grape jelly. There is a feeding frenzy for a couple of weeks and then they are gone until next year. I have not seen them in the fall when they are heading south for the winter, as we see certain species of hummingbirds again when they stop by to load up on food before their great trek south. Like the hummers, orioles spend the cold months in Mexico or South America.


There are three kinds of orioles that we see here. Most prevalent is the Scott's oriole (above), and we see a lot of hooded orioles (below) too. The most beautiful is the Bullock's oriole, but I have only seen them a couple of times. It is easy to spot them in the landscape because of their color, and their song, but they are shy and do not like to have their picture taken.