Bullock's Oriole

Overview

Bullock's Oriole: Medium oriole, mostly bright orange with black crown, eye-line, throat stripe, back, and central tail. Wings are black with large white patches. Forages in trees and bushes. Feeds on insects, caterpillars, fruits and berries. Sips nectar. Strong direct flight with rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Bullock's Oriole: Breeds from British Columbia and southern Alberta south to southern California and Mexico, and east to the Dakotas and Texas. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include deciduous woodlands, shade trees, riparian woodlands, parks, and towns.

INTERESTING FACTS

From 1983-1995, they were combined with the Baltimore Oriole into a single species, the Northern Oriole. This was due to hybridization between the two species in the Great Plains. In 1995 the American Ornithologist's Union resplit the Northern Oriole back into two species.
The Bullock's Oriole was named after William Bullock, an English amateur naturalist.
They are one of the few bird species that will puncture and eject Brown-headed Cowbirds' eggs.
They sometimes damage their own eggs in the process, but the benefit of this behavior far outweighs the cost.
A group of orioles are collectively known as a "pitch" and a "split" of orioles.

The Bullock's Oriole is native to Mexico, the United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Canada and Costa Rica. The range of Bullock's Oriole is fairly large, reaching up to nearly 4 million square kilometers in its native area. The population of this bird is thought to amount to several million individual birds as well. Previously, this bird was rated as Lower Risk. In 2004, the rating was change to Least Concern because of the span of its range and its population.