Family: Icteridae, Blackbirds and Orioles view all from this family

Description 7" (18 cm). Bluebird-sized. Adult male has chestnut body and black head, back, wings, and tail. Female yellow-green; immature male similar to female, but has black throat.

Habitat Orchards, shade trees in parks and gardens, and scattered trees along lakes and streams.

Nesting 4-6 whitish eggs, with purple scrawls, in a woven, pouch-shaped nest of vegetable fibers and grass, suspended from the forked branch of a tree or bush.

Range Breeds from Manitoba, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, New York, and central New England south to southern United States and west to Dakotas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas. Winters in tropics.

Voice   A rapid musical warble, somewhat like that of Purple Finch, but not as rich in quality.

Discussion Southeastern Louisiana seems to be the heart of this oriole's nesting range since the highest densities have been recorded there. At one locality there were nearly 20 nests in a single live oak, and at another locality 114 nests were found on a seven-acre tract, with 80 in oaks.