Listen to the Baltimore oriole
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Baltimore oriole
The Baltimore oriole is a bird in the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the Baltimore oriole sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) is a small icterid blackbird common in eastern North America as a migratory breeding bird. It received its common name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of 17th-century Lord Baltimore. Observations of interbreeding between the Baltimore oriole and the western Bullock's oriole Icterus bullockii, led to both being classified as a single species, called the northern oriole, from 1973 to 1995. Research by James Rising, a professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, and others showed that the two birds actually did not interbreed significantly.
The Baltimore oriole is the state bird of Maryland, and the namesake and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team.
Related birds in the genus Icterus
More from the family Icteridae
Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Brown-headed cowbird
Molothrus ater
Common grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Great-tailed grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Shiny cowbird
Molothrus bonariensis
Yellow-headed blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Yellow-rumped cacique
Cacicus cela
Eastern meadowlark
Sturnella magna
Frequently asked questions
What does a Baltimore oriole sound like?
You can hear 4 recordings of the Baltimore oriole on this page, including its song. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the Baltimore oriole endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Baltimore oriole as “least concern”.
What family does the Baltimore oriole belong to?
The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · Grey Cloud Dunes SNA, Washington, Minnesota, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Wild River State Park, Chisago County, Minnesota, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Icterus galbula - Baltimore Oriole by Bird Boy – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q805774 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Baltimore oriole – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Mdf – CC BY-SA 3.0