Baltimore Oriole Looks Down on Me

Perhaps knowing I'm a Boston Red Sox fan, this Baltimore Oriole was literally looking down at me [1]. Although I seem to recall multiple oriole activity, it's entirely possible this is the same bird I saw here and here. Unfortunately, this year I missed out on seeing the somewhat less-attention-getting female Baltimore Orioles, though there's a good chance those males were singing for someone's benefit. And orioles have nested near here before.

As is also true of our local robins, sparrows, etc, Baltimore Orioles aren't really orioles, or at least not the original Old World orioles (though they do resemble them). Our local orioles are actually different types of New World blackbirds (which shouldn't be confused with Old World blackbirds like the Common Blackbird, which is [ARGH!] a thrush) [2].

May 6, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 282303809, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] The Baltimore Orioles finished 11 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox this past season.


[2] Rule of thumb: Don't assume birds with the same name that reside on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean are related.


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