How to Identify Baby Orioles and Juvenile Orioles
Spring is here, and it's almost time to look for bird nests and baby birds. Learn what a baby oriole and juvenile oriole looks like.
What Does a Baby Oriole Look Like?
You may be familiar with orioles’ unique woven nests, but most people have never seen a baby oriole because orioles are secretive during nesting season. Wow, they are cute!
Birds & Blooms reader Marybeth Zilnicki says, “I have been attracting and feeding Baltimore orioles in my backyard. I watched them build the nest in a tree over my porch. Once the baby orioles were born, I watched both parents feed and take care of them. I was lucky to see them leave the nest and this little guy (above) settle on my fence. I loved how the feathers looked and how my tree reflected in his eye.”
Young male Baltimore orioles have a yellowish-orange breast, gray on the head and back, and white wing bars.
Learn how to identify oriole eggs.
What Do Baby Orioles Eat?
If orioles are nesting in your yard, the reward comes when they bring their young to your feeders. During the breeding season, orioles focus on more protein-rich food, foraging mostly for insects to feed their young. But once the young orioles have fledged, the parents frequently bring them to visit feeders. To see baby orioles, we suggest that you keep tabs on when the parents disappear, give it three to four weeks, and begin offering food again, including oranges, sugar water and grape jelly. You may be rewarded with visits from the parents and the youngsters!
Check out more super cute photos of baby birds.
Juvenile Baltimore Oriole
Females and first-year males don’t have bright orange plumage like adult male Baltimore orioles. Juveniles tend to be more dull, with yellow-brown feathers.
“I took this photo of a male juvenile Baltimore oriole in my backyard in the summertime. They are so beautiful and are one of my favorite birds to watch,” says reader Heather Kruse.
Discover 8 surprising Baltimore oriole facts.
Juvenile Orchard Oriole
Randy Walnik of Midland, Michigan, shared this photo (above) of a juvenile male orchard oriole. In their first year, male orchard orioles look like females, sporting yellow-green feathers. Sometime that fall, they develop a black mask.
Courtesy Kelly Schmitz
Juvenile orchard orioles look like the bird (above) for the next 12 months. In the fall of their second year, they molt their feathers again, finally donning their rich chestnut and black mature feathers.
Check out the 8 types of orioles to look for in North America.