The vividly colored oriole loves his orange treats

The Baltimore Oriole is one of the most stunningly colored birds in North America. A brilliant orange or gold color makes up most of its plumage with stark black areas on its head and wings. The adults have a few white bars on their wings as well. Males are more vividly colored than the female Orioles. It is a small bird that migrates each year, according to climate. Bird enthusiasts welcome their return with brightly colored ripe fruit at the feeders. The Orioles seek out only the most brightly colored of fruits such as oranges, cherries and red grapes. They will ignore green grapes, even if they are ripe. The Oriole has a unique feeding technique which we can actually see in this video. It is called "gaping". The Oriole will stab its closed beak into the fruit and then open the beak to create a gap into which the juice of the fruit will flow. The bird then uses its tongue to drink the juice. Orioles love halved oranges and thoroughly enjoy grape jelly placed in the oranges. The Oriole is a prey bird for grackles, hawks, owls, falcons, and even for cats. They can live as long as 12 years if they do not fall prey to a larger bird or other animal. The Oriole feeds on insects for most of the year, with a favorite being the tent caterpillar moth. They will also eat the tent caterpillars. Interestingly, they will bang the caterpillar against a branch to remove the bristly, protective hairs that make then difficult to eat. This taste for such a destructive garden pest makes them an especially welcome bird for many people. These little birds are frequent visitors at hummingbird feeders, enjoying the same nectar as the hummingbirds. Once an oriole decides that a feeder is a good source of their desired food, they will lead their young to the same location to feed.