Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Orchard Oriole

Orchard Oriole
The orchard oriole is the smallest oriole in North America. They are found in the Eastern United States up to the Canadian border in the north and down into Mexico in the south. During the winter they migrate down into Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. They often do not spend a lot of time on the breeding territory, arriving late in the spring and returning to their winter habitat before the end of summer.
Orchard Oriole
Orchard orioles mostly eat insects and spiders during the breeding season. Besides insects they will also eat fruit, especially during the non-breeding season. These orioles were attracted to fruit that was left in the trees at the South Padre Convention Center. Down in tropical areas of Central America, during the winter, the orchard oriole will eat nectar and pollen from flowers. While they feed at the flowers pollen often collects on their feathers and then drops off at the next flower that they visit. Thus they join butterflies and bees as important pollinators in the area.


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9 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

love the deep rich color in the male. female is pretty, too.

EG CameraGirl said...

Now I am thoroughly jealous. All summer long I hoped to see an orchard oriole with no luck. Oh well, maybe next year. :)

Roger Owen Green said...

I was rooting for the Orioles...oh, wait, that was baseball.

cute.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Crafty Gardener said...

Nice photos, not a species of oriole we see in my part of Canada.

Pia said...

No orioles here, so I like to see them here oin your blog. So nice colored beauties!

photowannabe said...

Beautiful colors.
We don't have them in our area either. I would love to see them in real life.

Adam Jones said...

Orioles are such amazing birds. Grear shots.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful oriole!

O is for....
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

So sweet, those orchard orioles! You have the most incredible bird images and I love learning about the many different species.