The Orchard Oriole is the smaller, subtler cousin of the familiar Baltimore Oriole, and the adult male trades the Baltimore's flaming orange for a deep, rich brick-red or chestnut, set against a black hood, back, wings, and tail. Females and young males are a soft greenish-yellow and can be mistaken for other yellow birds. Its song is a lively, rich, warbled jumble delivered rapidly from the treetops, faster and more disjointed than the Baltimore's clear whistles.
Orchard Orioles favor open, scattered-tree habitats — orchards, shade trees, parks, riverside groves, and the edges of open woodland — where they weave a neat hanging nest and forage for insects, nectar, and fruit. They reach the northern edge of their range in Michigan, breeding mainly in the south of the state, and they have an unusually short stay: among the earliest songbirds to depart, many leave by late summer, so their nesting season here is brief. Finding a chestnut-and-black male singing from an orchard is a warm-weather treat in southern Michigan.
Feeds on insects gleaned from foliage, along with nectar taken from flowers and fruit and berries in season, foraging actively in the canopy of open-grown trees. Insects dominate the breeding-season diet, while nectar and fruit become more important at other times, including on the wintering grounds.
The male Orchard Oriole is deep chestnut (brick-red) and black rather than the Baltimore's bright orange and black, and it is smaller. Females and young are greenish-yellow, duller than the more orange-yellow female Baltimore.
Orchard Orioles are among the earliest songbirds to depart, with many leaving by late summer. Combined with a late spring arrival, this gives them one of the briefest breeding seasons of the state's songbirds.
In open, scattered-tree settings — orchards, shade trees, parks, riverside groves, and open woodland edges, mainly in southern Michigan at the northern edge of its range.
First-year males are greenish-yellow like the female but add a neat black bib on the throat. They sing and often breed in that plumage, so a singing 'yellow oriole with a black chin' is a one-year-old male, not a different species.
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