Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Audubon Illustration

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

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About the Baltimore Oriole

The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) is a small icterid blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its common name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of 17th-century Lord Baltimore. Observations of interbreeding between the Baltimore oriole and the western Bullock's oriole Icterus bullockii, led to both being classified as a single species, called the northern oriole, from 1973 to 1995. Research by James Rising, a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, and others showed that the two birds actually did not interbreed significantly. The Baltimore oriole is the state bird of Maryland, and the namesake and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name: Icterus galbula
Family: Troupials and Allies
Order: Passeriformes

Similar species

Other members of the troupials and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

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