A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity The Bird Lovers Forum Backlogged Baltimore Oriole bird pics, buddies

The oranges and orange yarn and the oriole feeder couldn't entice him to stay, but I did get a few pics.

From May 19, 2008

Here's one more.

Yummy!

He didn't stay because that's NOT an Oriole! That's a male Scarlet Tanager in breeding plumage. We have no orioles with a solid red head like that. In the Fall, the red on that Tanager will be replaced by yellow feathers. They are rather pretty in the transitional phase from Summer to Winter plumage. They are red and yellow speckled, with black wings.

Beautiful bird, no matter what he is!

But I didn't think he was an oriole either actually. I think the few orioles I've seen here have been a bit bigger and rounder maybe?

I wouldn't mind seeing that gorgeous flash of color here though!
It's actually getting foggy here, on this dismal, rainy, and very icy Christmas eve.

wOW WHAT A GORGOUS PHOTO..
WHAT EVER THEY COME TO BE.

You have those in New York, Lynne, but only in Summer. This time of year, they are in the tropics, probably around Cancun, sipping Margaritas on the beach.

That's bizarre. Thorny, is there that much variation in color? I mean, it wasn't a trick of the camera, the bird was definitely orange. That's why I thought it was an oriole. I had taken plenty of pics earlier of "true scarlet" Scarlet Tanagers, and I have to admit that the black areas on the wing and tail and the "scalloped" tail are exactly the same.

Here's one in almost the same position as the second pic above. It shows the scalloped tail.


Here's another from the side:


The scarlet one looks shorter, but maybe just because it's "fatter". It may have had it's feathers fluffed up to keep warm as it was 20 degrees colder than a week later when I got the pics of the orange Scarlet Tanager.

One more:

There can be variation between individuals. Some can be redder than others. I have seen bright orange male House Finches. Sometimes the pattern ofthe feathers, shape of the bird or its body parts, or behavior patterns and songs, are a better indication of what the bird is than, the actual colors of the bird. Tanagers have a thick, convexly rounded upper and lower bills, much like a Crow's. Orioles' bills are more slender, and less massive than a Tanager's. The upper bill on an Oriole is convex, while the lower bill is concavely rounded. Orioles in our part of the country tend to have black heads.