Friday, July 31, 2009

Bullock's Oriole

Another bird that we got to photograph on our Yellowstone trip and that we can add to our life list is the Bullock's oriole. The Bullock's oriole is the western cousin of the Baltimore oriole which we see here in Minnesota during the warm months.
At one time these two types of orioles where both considered the same, northern orioles, but testing has shown that there is enough of a difference between the two to separate them into different species. Orioles, it would appear, did not get the memo because they often mate across the species where their ranges cross, creating Bullock's Baltimore hybrids.
Bullock's orioles are primarily insect eaters. They find their prey by scouring the trees and bushes for spiders, caterpillars and other insects. Their preferred habitat is open woodland especially when it is next to a river or stream. This makes sense, since we spotted quite a few of these birds, and took these photos, in Celebration Park, which is located adjacent to the Snake River near Boise, ID.

20 comments:

Vanessa Bates said...

beautiful colors!

FAB said...

Thanks for sharing another 'lifer' for me. FAB

Megha said...

Nice closeup pics..

??? said...

His colours are striking. I throroughly enjoyed looking at your Yellowstone pictures, it's such an amazing place.

mimi said...

what a gorgeous yellow bird. great post. have a lovely week.

Helen said...

A beautiful bird. Great shots. Helen

Jane Hards Photography said...

One of the first birds I wanted to photograph, but sadly another not my way. Gorgeous.

Jane Hards Photography said...

One of the first birds I wanted to photograph, but sadly another not my way. Gorgeous.

Mara said...

What a beautiful bird and well captured!

Janie said...

Beautiful birds, and you got some great photos. I've seen one or two of these, but never managed a photo.

DeniseinVA said...

Interesting post and great shots.

Snap said...

Just beautiful and thanks for the info.

Kilauea Poetry said...

Hi there..these are beautiful. I thought I saw one of these perched on a sunflower (someone's header) Great info too-

Shey said...

WOWOWOW! Manificent ,vivid yellow color. Love it!

Happy weekend! :)

Cezar and Léia said...

congratulations, fabulous shots!
Luna

i beati said...

new to me sandy

Dan Huber said...

great pictures and information on the oriole - just found your site- great information here. Cheers

Dan (docforestal)

Brooke said...

Oh my gosh, his colors are so striking!

sweetbay said...

Great shots of a beautiful bird.

Martha said...

What a stunning bird. Beautifully photographed!

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