The Nesting Hooded Orioles Were Successful

And a juvenile Hooded Oriole came to visit

I’ve shared about the Hooded Orioles that are nesting under a fan palm tree in a friend’s yard one block from me. Through the summer, the male Hooded Oriole and the female would come to my feeder often but never spent much time hanging around before or after feeding. They would show up, feed, and then quickly fly back through the desert and over the house behind me to get back to their home. Over the past two weeks however, their behavior has changed. The Orioles spend more time nearby before and after feeding. And I’m seeing more than just the two adults! The young have fledged and left the nest. I can’t tell whether there is one or two young, but the young have arrived.

Juvenile Hooded Orioles look very much like female Orioles. But this youngster is still growing in its yellow feathers. There is no way to be certain whether this is a male or female. All we can tell is that this is a juvenile Hooded Oriole.

Not only is it not fully yellow, but at times it looked very disheveled!

The beak of the male Hooded Oriole is black with a bluish tint to the lower part of the bill. This juvenile has a lightly colored bill and it is slightly curved. It will grow longer as it ages. The juvenile has two white wing bars that the females have. In the shot below, the bird is perched and looking towards the feeder.

The Oriole crouched down, ready to head towards the feeder.

And then it hopped forward. It landed on the feeder and began to drink.

Meanwhile Dad was hanging around. He moved through a neighboring mesquite tree. At the top, he paused and looked around.

I really enjoy these birds. I have more photos of the female Hooded Oriole and some early looks at a juvenile bird that I will be sharing soon. To learn more about Hooded Orioles, go to AllAboutBirds.