July 01, 1962 - Baltimore OrioleBaltimore Oriole
Exclusive Sunday Sketch
by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue
I wonder how many of you,
when you were youngsters and
While nest building and incuba-
had to go somewhere with your
folks in the car, ever played the
tion are going on, the lordly
game of counting cows, chick-
male oriole is not usually far
ens, gas stations, etc, for some-
off whistling his heart out to the
thing to do. My sister and I had
world, Truly such an elegantly
a variation of this game we
looking bird with his regal orange
played during the winter months
in which we would count the
and black coloring
g should never
number of, nests we could see
be required to participate in such
along the road hanging from the
homey chores. His job is to pro -
bare branches. Nine times out
tect the nesting area and keep
of ten, the nest we saw would
everyone away from this sacred
be the oriole's.
spot. Many is the time, I am
The way I could always gain
sure, we have all seen him dart -
an edge on her was by having
ing in hot pursuit of some tres-
a little better knowledge of what
passer who perhaps strayed
elm trees looked like, for it was
across the picket line.
in these trees, arching the road-
Later, when the young a r e
way, that most of the nests were
hatched, he does help with the
found. The oriole's nest is never
feeding and it is during this per -
found on a rigid limb such as
iod and the remainder of the
the robin might use, on the con-
summer that silence takes over
trary the bird delights in hang-
his loud and repeated whistle. No
ing it on the outer most part of
longue do we hear his, "Eat it -
a swaying limb - here to be
Potter - eat it ", as Thoreau so
rocked by the wind. Thinking
aptly!- described it, until perhaps
back to my years in the service
in early September, when the
when I was lulled to sleep in a
young are gone and he sings his
swaying hammock, I can well ap-
farewell to us. Meanwhile in its
preciate why the oriole places its
place from dawn till dark the
"nest here.
young keep up their incessant
Withstand Storms
call -for ,food and it is no problem
at #11. to locate these downy
These, nests we saw were not
youfig 1ched in a low -lying
always the last year's nests but....
branch aiting a meal. Surely
rather some were from Y
7tere ngst be times when the
gone by for once an oriole'
du" ave satisfied these de-
a good location `-he usually .
nds but listening to their plea
turns year after year to the s "
hard to believe.
tree. These uendant shaped nes
South of the Border
25 to 65 feet up, are truly a wore ,
that are usually Mound between
It is hard to realize that the
of art and come as close to per-
oriole is a member of the black -
fection as any we have. Their
bird family, but this he is. A
ability to withstand ice and snow
bird of the new .world, he like
and wind and rain from one year
others, migrates each fall to his
to the next is an indication of
winter resort south of the border
how well they are built. Plant
in Mexico and Central America.
fibers, bits of string, fine hair,
Unlike other birds such as the
yarn and even such things as
scarlet tanager or the goldfinch,
cloth and paper are,, cleverly
the Baltimore oriole does not
woven into these nests.
change its dress for this occa-
But let's not give credit to the
sion. After the summer molt he
wrong partner, for it is only the
retains the _same gaudy orange
female who is the expert weaver
and black suit that he had before
—'she along designs and builds
and of course the smaller female
the deepiwketed nest that pro-
keeps her modestly- colered out -
vides such comfort and protection
fit too.
for" the young. This nest and its
New York is fortunate indeed
location at the end of a swaying
to have this bird as one of its
limb affords maximum protec-
summer residents and I am sure'
tiotl from predators, _ -
we all feel we have itlst a :bit of
the tropics in our yards when-
ever this bird happens by.
Outside of perhaps the scarlet
tanager, no other bird in my neck
of the woods can rival his color.
We are told that the great natur-
alist, Linnaeas dubbed him Balti-
more oriole after Lord Baltimore,
the first governor of Maryland,
whose family colors were orange
and black. Today the State of
Maryland has gone one step fur-
ther and named the Baltimore
oriole its state bird.
The food of the oriole is mostly
of insect nature, although there
are occasions when a ripe grape
or cherry may find its way into
his diet. But then who can blame
the oriole for this? Caterpillars
are high on the list of his favor-
ites and for those of us who
have been plagued by the inch-
worms, this is just one more rea-
son why the Baltimore oriole is
a good friend and welcome visit-
or.