Baltimore Oriole
Icterus galbula
Icteridae
The vivid orange-and-black songbird that weaves an intricate pouch nest hanging from a high branch. Baltimore Orioles are one of the great NJ backyard spectacles from May through August — brilliant plumage, ringing song, and a habit of visiting orange halves and jelly if you offer them.
Arrives from Colombia and Central America in late April; departs September/October.
How to spot one.
7–8.5 inches, sleek build
Male: brilliant flame-orange body, jet-black head and back, black wings with white bar
Female: soft yellow-orange with olive-brown back
Pointed bluish bill
Long tail
What it sounds like.
Rich, clear, whistled phrases in a somewhat lazy cadence — every bird has slightly different phrasing, distinctive enough that you can recognize individual males in your yard.
How it lives.
Nests in the drooping tips of large tree branches — cottonwood, elm, willow, sycamore, and oak — weaving a hanging pendant sock from grass and long plant fibers. Female does the weaving; it can take a week. Both parents feed young.
The spec sheet.
- Status
- Summer breeder
- Size
- 7–8.5 inches
- Present in NJ
- April – September
- Native to NJ
- Yes
- Conservation status
- stable
- Family
- Icteridae
What it eats.
Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.
Summer / breeding season
Caterpillars (especially tent caterpillars — they are one of the few birds to eat them)
Beetles, wasps, grasshoppers
Nectar from tubular native flowers
Ripe fruit as it becomes available
Fall / winter
Migrates to Central and northern South America
In fall before migration: mulberries, elderberries, serviceberries, native cherries
What it needs.
Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Fruit / berry source
Fruit / berry source
Mulberry, wild cherry
Fruit / berry source
Trumpet Creeper (Campsis)
Nectar source
Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Nectar source
Native milkweeds (fibers for nest)
Nesting material
Cottonwood, elm, sycamore (nest sites)
Cover / habitat
All About Birds (Cornell) · Audubon · Garden in a City
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