Here's a bird that I've never seen in my gardens before. I live in Southern
California, not the east coast, so we don't see orioles very often in my
neck of the woods. In fact I personally don't recall ever seeing one.
Nonetheless there are two oriole species listed as being visitors to So Cal:
the Hooded
and the Bullock's.

This bird doesn't look like either one of them except it resembles the male
Bullock's coloration but it's darker than the illustrations in my books
(they show the Bullock's is more yellowish instead of orange) and the head
markings are all wrong. It's not even close to the Hooded Oriole which
appears to be bright yellow with a black chin.

These birds were fairly large. I'd guestimate approx 8" to 9" length.

What is this thing?


--
Paddy's Pig
------------
To reply its bell not bull

In article ,
"Padraig" wrote:

Here's a bird that I've never seen in my gardens before. I live in Southern
California, not the east coast, so we don't see orioles very often in my
neck of the woods. In fact I personally don't recall ever seeing one.
Nonetheless there are two oriole species listed as being visitors to So Cal:
the Hooded
and the Bullock's.

This bird doesn't look like either one of them except it resembles the male
Bullock's coloration but it's darker than the illustrations in my books
(they show the Bullock's is more yellowish instead of orange) and the head
markings are all wrong. It's not even close to the Hooded Oriole which
appears to be bright yellow with a black chin.

These birds were fairly large. I'd guestimate approx 8" to 9" length.

What is this thing?

Baltimore Oriole:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5070id.html

They used to drink nectar from our Hummingbird feeders in California. We
were on their migration path.

With the weather shifts we've been experiencing, I'd not be surprised if
their paths have changed a bit.

Nice pics. ;-)
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

Not an oriole at all. It has been identified as a black-headed grosbeak.

"Omelet" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"Padraig" wrote:

Here's a bird that I've never seen in my gardens before. I live in
Southern
California, not the east coast, so we don't see orioles very often in my
neck of the woods. In fact I personally don't recall ever seeing one.
Nonetheless there are two oriole species listed as being visitors to So
Cal:
the Hooded
and the Bullock's.

This bird doesn't look like either one of them except it resembles the
male
Bullock's coloration but it's darker than the illustrations in my books
(they show the Bullock's is more yellowish instead of orange) and the
head
markings are all wrong. It's not even close to the Hooded Oriole which
appears to be bright yellow with a black chin.

These birds were fairly large. I'd guestimate approx 8" to 9" length.

What is this thing?

Baltimore Oriole:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5070id.html

They used to drink nectar from our Hummingbird feeders in California. We
were on their migration path.

With the weather shifts we've been experiencing, I'd not be surprised if
their paths have changed a bit.

Nice pics. ;-)
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack
Nicholson

In article ,
"Basketweaver" wrote:

Not an oriole at all. It has been identified as a black-headed grosbeak.

Ah. My bad, sorry!

I forgot to look at the beak in the link I posted...

I was not very awake. ;-)
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson