A Baltimore Oriole Family and their Nest

Here’s a coloring page focused specifically on Baltimore Orioles and their amazing hanging nests, which they weave (even without hands!) from the fibers of plants such as milkweed. These spectacularly beautiful birds are melodious songsters. They’re also the caterpillar-eating allies of oak, apple, and pear trees, among many others.

One of spring’s brightest joys is to see or hear a dazzling orange and black male Baltimore Oriole singing and / or feeding in blossoming fruit trees.  These fellows are welcome visitors to the 150 year-old pear tree that graces my family’s back yard.  In the treetops, the orioles flit from flowering branch to branch searching for nectar, pollen, and /or insect troublemakers. Typically, these fellows escape harsh New England winters by migrating to warmer regions such as Central America, the Caribbean islands, or Northern Columbia and Northwestern Venezuela.  They return to Massachusetts in April and May and  begin raising the next generation of Baltimore Orioles.  Their eggs are incubated by the parents within  protective, sack-like, silvery nests which they craft and suspend among the outer branches of a tree such as an oak or elm..  The nests look remarkably similar to the hanging nests of white-faced hornets –  a resemblance which may help confuse or discourage raccoons and other potential nest predators from venturing out along the swaying branches in search of a possible lunch.

We encourage you to learn more about Baltimore Orioles’ complex lives and ingenious skills and behaviors!

Parental Care Baltimore Orioles