Oriole bird description for children. All about oriole birds

Oriole (lat. Oriolus Oriolu)- one of the best forest songbirds and useful birds. Today, the oriole’s habitat is quite wide: from South-Western Siberia to southern Europe, this bird is also found in Asia Minor and Africa. These are migratory birds; as habitats they choose thickets near streams and rivers, light forests, old parks and gardens; the oriole avoids dense coniferous forests. It is not easy to see the oriole; it is very cautious and tries to stay in the shade of trees.

The plumage of representatives of this species is very beautiful: bright yellow undertail, golden yellow body with a dark stripe, black wings and tail. Young birds have a faded, dull color. In terms of size, the oriole is similar to the thrush: the weight of the individual is 70-90 grams, the wing length is 15-16 cm. Males from warm regions arrive earlier than females, this happens in late April - early May.

Varieties of oriole

The most common inhabitants of forests are common orioles; they winter in Africa, Ceylon, Madagascar, and India.

The African black-headed oriole is somewhat smaller, it has an olive-yellow color, a black head and neck, and a golden-yellow belly. Lives in Africa.

The Chinese black-headed oriole lives in India, Siberia, and the Philippines, inhabiting mangrove and deciduous forests.

The Indian black-headed oriole has a characteristic high-pitched whistle, similar to the sounds of a flute. Lives in India and East Pakistan.

Oriole nutrition and reproduction

The main food of the oriole is tree insects, butterflies, caterpillars, dragonflies, mosquitoes, beetles, even spiders. Many birds love to feast on ripe fruits - currants, cherries, cherries, grapes and others.

Orioles reproduce once a year. The nest of representatives of this species is very similar to a basket of grass and leaves. Birds also use bast, birch bark, plant fibers, and pieces of moss to build a “house.” The clutch is often 3-5 eggs of a cream or pinkish hue; they are incubated for 13-15 days. The female incubates the clutch, occasionally she is replaced by the “father of the family”, and the hatched chicks are fed by both parents. At the beginning of August, birds begin to move “to warmer climes.”

In terms of keeping in captivity and feeding, the oriole differs little from the oriole, however, it is a purely arboreal bird that rarely descends to the ground, so it will be more convenient for it if the feeder hangs on the net in such a way that it can eat from it while sitting on a perch or branch.

• The name Oriolus is a modification of the Latin word "aureolus", which means "golden";
• The name “oriole” itself has Slavic roots. Its cognate word is “moisture,” and it was believed that the oriole is a harbinger of rain;
• The oriole can make many sounds: from a melodic whistle to a loud chirping. A worried bird makes creaking and unpleasant sounds, for which it received the nickname “forest cat”;
• Orioles love water very much and often swim, which is why they try to choose a place of residence closer to bodies of water.

Top of summer. The brightest, warmest and most fragrant time. On the forest edges, black maple bushes glow with clusters of red fruits. The midday breeze, flying into the linden tracts, brings with it the honey spirit of blooming lindens. And the most fragrant wild berry, strawberry, ripens when warmed up. A thick mixture of herbal odors hangs in the heated air above the hayfields. At night, the orchid of the northern forests - Lyubka - smells fragrant. But there are fewer and fewer bird songs in the forests day by day. Shortly before the equinox, one after another, the nightingales stop singing. After them, busy feeding the second broods, the thrushes fall silent, and the number of singing finches and pipits diminishes. In the morning, while the pleasant freshness lingers under the green canopy, the cuckoo will crow and lose count every now and then, the willow will sing, the robin will repeat the spring song several times, the tit and bunting will ring. And at noon, when the overheated forest smells of pine resin, only the cooing of a turtle dove, softened by the heat, and the iridescent whistle of an oriole are heard from the tops of the trees.

Many forest feathered singers, even the most famous ones, are little known by sight. Especially those that do not sing in plain sight and do not fall from the trees to the ground. During the two and a half to three months of the oriole’s stay in its homeland, you can hear the voice of the flute bird every day, but never see it.

Once I asked myself a question: is there at least one copse, at least one grove on both sides of the Don, where at the beginning of summer the voice of an oriole would not be heard? No, it wasn't found. In some forests there were no birds that cannot live without water, in others there were no suitable trees for the inhabitants of the hollows, in others, where no bushes grew, there were no those who build nests in the bushes. And the orioles were whistling everywhere. And not only in forests - in parks and squares of cities and towns, from May to August, black and yellow birds sing and meow. In forest belts, in old gardens, where there are trees at least twice the height of a person, they can live, rarely catching the eye, but constantly announcing their presence with an iridescent “fiu-liu-liul.” They are not attracted only to young pine forests without any admixture of other species. There is nothing here or anything to build a nest on. A pine tree becomes a suitable tree for nesting orioles when it is over fifty years old, when it stops growing upward, but on the side branches a lot of convenient forks appear on which, according to all the rules, a nest-basket can be attached.

The range of the oriole in Europe and Western Siberia is within the range of the linden tree and extends beyond it only in Kazakhstan. Only the northern borders do not coincide: the oriole does not reach the high-latitude areas where this tree grows. The range of another oriole, the black-headed oriole, which lives in the Far East, also covers the range of linden species growing in those parts. Linden, unattractive to leaf-eating insects, cannot feed the oriole, and its fruits are inedible for the oriole. However, this is a bast breed, and the basket bird definitely needs to tear off some bast to make the matting base of the basket nest. One withered twig is enough to build a light cane, which is then covered with herbal grass, roots, feathers, birch bark and other rags. In the city, instead of bast, scraps of twine and tow are often used, and instead of birch bark and feathers, bus tickets are used. Where there is no linden tree, elm and even apple sponge are suitable.

The oriole is a bird of starling height, but looks slightly larger than the starling, whose tail and wings are shorter than its own. And she is especially beautiful. The male, as is often the case with birds, is more elegant than the female: all bright yellow, and the wings are black, with a narrow yellow “mirror” (in old birds it fades), the tail is black and yellow, only two feathers are black. Red eyes with black dots, reddish beak. Only three colors in the bird's outfit. And three types of signals.

Most often, a loud and strong whistle is heard, distinct, soft and musical. It is so pleasant and soft that it seems to be flying out of the lips, and not from the sharp beak (almost every starling repeats it in the spring, long before the arrival of the very first oriole). The beautiful, light and gentle sounding name of the bird - “oriole”, one of the most musical folk names of birds, was given to it precisely for this whistle. To some extent, it also characterizes the appearance of the oriole, bright and graceful.

By whistling, the oriole announces its arrival, the timing of which is characterized by amazing consistency: no matter what spring it is on the Russian Plain, in the second week of May a loud flute call will certainly sound in its oak groves. Often the arrival coincides with the flowering of gardens. The leaves on the trees at this time are still light, small and sparse; the late oaks have not yet blossomed. These days you can see several orioles at once: black and yellow males, as if playing or competing, chase each other in the translucent crowns. They are not shy, but they come to the ground so rarely that it seems that they do not need it at all.

In June, the sharp and not very pleasant to hear cries of the oriole, similar to a cat’s cry, are more often heard, for which it is called the forest cat. Such intonations in the bird and animal world express irritation, displeasure, and threat. This is her battle cry. She warns them, with him she attacks those who encroach on the site, the nest, who happen to be nearby. The brave bird decisively rushes at the magpie, at the crow, and is not shy even in front of the goshawk. She does not trust the rather peaceful rook and drives him away with the same fury as the most notorious robbers of other people's nests. Having an advantage in speed and maneuver, the oriole deftly strikes from above, while the rook runs away, unable to defend itself in flight.

The oriole also has purely family sounds. Before the chicks appear in the nest, when the female is incubating, the male sings a quiet song in a calm atmosphere, which does not at all fit in with either the beautiful whistle or the luxurious appearance of the singer. Some kind of quiet, awkward and unintelligible chirping without beginning or end. It sounds a little like the winter song of a jay or house sparrow. If the rustling of leaves, songs and cries of other birds do not interfere, then by listening carefully, you can catch other people’s voices in this chirping. It turns out that the oriole has some of the abilities of a mediocre mockingbird. And as if ashamed of his inability, the male hums a quiet song just for himself, hiding in the thick of the foliage, as if hiding from curious listeners.

The oriole hides its nest very skillfully. A neat basket is woven in the fork of a thin branch, but no matter how the wind shakes the tree, no matter how it bends or ruffles the branch, the eggs do not roll out of such a basket, because the bird makes a roll along its inner edge. The design of the nest has neither the heaviness of a thrush's structure, nor the bulkiness and sloppiness of a shrike's nest. Among the birds of her size, there are no more skilled builders than she.

The oriole is careful near the nest, and encounters enemies away from it: the bright whiteness of the large eggs with rare black specks is very noticeable from above. And the chicks sit quietly in the nest. But when they leave it, taking advantage of the perfection of their disguise, they become, on the contrary, very noisy, almost every minute emitting a loud three-time “giggle”.

This is not a begging, but a downright demanding “giggle” - the sound is already July. This is how the fledglings let their parents know where everyone is sitting. The loud voices of the chicks can be heard far away, like lighthouse signals. It is more profitable and safer for them to sit still and remind themselves than to follow their parents when they are looking for food. And a stationary oriole cub is less likely to be detected by a feathered predator.

The plumage of a young oriole does not have the brightness of an adult bird, and it is almost impossible to notice it also because in the tree crowns there are already leaves faded and yellowed from the July heat, next to which the hidden short-tailed fledgling is like a leaf hanging on a branch. It’s as if everything is in plain sight and at the same time indistinguishable from two steps. He sits as if he is dozing, but the more he wants to eat, the more often he shouts out his “hee-hee-hee”. When danger is imminent, the mother's alarming order makes the chick fall silent, no matter how hungry it is.

By the end of July, when young orioles begin to hunt on their own, they do not become more silent. Every day, under the supervision of their parents, they practice adult “conversation”: they chirp, meow, whistle and almost never “giggle”. Only their whistling and meowing are not real yet: they lack both voice and skill. Therefore, instead of the beautiful “fiu-liu-liul”, it turns out something like a hasty “fin-ti-tir-liu”.

Being an invisible bird, the oriole searches in the crowns of oaks, birches, poplars for green and greenish invisible caterpillars, smooth hawk moth caterpillars, moths, corydalis, leaf rollers, cutworms, sawfly larvae, stuffed with chewed tree leaves. Hairy silkworm caterpillars are also eaten as food, but this is secondary. On such juicy food, neither the adults nor the chicks in the nest experience thirst. And in the driest summer, from arrival to departure, a family of orioles can live in a waterless forest, where there are no springs or puddles even after heavy rains. A few drops of morning dew, a few rain coughs from the leaves are enough to keep you from drinking all day. And from mid-summer wild berries begin: elderberry, bird cherry, strawberry, raspberry, honeysuckle, lily of the valley, which orioles like no less than thrushes.

Orioles fly away to their African wintering grounds as families in August, having stayed in their homeland for only three months. Calling each other in the morning, they get together. At this time there are few bird voices, and there are no songs at all, and it seems that in the whole forest there are only orioles and the chiffchaffs and willow warblers accompanying them. A month and a half before the arrival of golden autumn, they fly away, but even if they had stayed for the forest carnival, they still would not have found a single leaf in the maple grove that could compete in brightness with the plumage of the flute bird.

The oriole bird is the most beautiful representative among the numerous forest birds. It is slightly larger in size than a starling. Males are distinguished by beautiful bright yellow plumage on most of the body, black wings and tail. The color of the female is less bright and unremarkable.

The relatively small oriole bird (photo presented in the article), whose size is slightly smaller than a starling, has a total of only 44 flight feathers. Thanks to this, the bird is able to fly very quickly. Other representatives of birds have few flight feathers, but they have much more integumentary feathers lining the body.

origin of name

There are two versions about the origin of the scientific name Oriolus. According to one of them, it arose from the word aureolus (translated from Latin as “golden”), which was then transformed into the word oriol in Old French. Presumably, in this way the bright yellow color, not quite typical for Europe, began to be emphasized. According to the second version, the name of the bird imitates the melodic singing of the oriole.

According to linguists, the name “oriole” has Slavic roots and is cognate with the words “moisture” and “vologa”. There are suggestions that in ancient times this bird was represented as a harbinger of rain.

Spreading

The oriole bird is widespread in the forests of Southern and Central Europe, North-West Africa and western Asia. For the winter, these birds fly to South Africa, India and the island of Madagascar. In Europe, the oriole nests mostly in Finland, Sweden and the European part of Russia. On the islands of Britain it is found only in the eastern part. Some individual pairs breed on the island of Madeira and the Azores. The nesting area in Asia is represented by the western part of its territory to the valley of the Yenisei River, Central Asia and the mountainous regions of Southern Siberia. The lower reaches of the Ganges River in India and Bangladesh are also favored by these birds.

The oriole prefers mixed and broad-leaved forests and groves. Birds can also settle in parks near people, but always in the dense crown of trees. Despite the rather bright plumage, the bird is almost impossible to see, as it hides high in the crown of a tree among the foliage. The oriole loves tall, light forests: willow, birch, and poplar. In drier regions, it can settle in river valleys and tugai thickets.

The oriole avoids taiga and shaded forests, but quite willingly settles in park areas and gardens, as well as in forest plantations near roads. In areas of the foothills it can nest in places where the altitude reaches 2000 meters, and on flights it can be found even higher - up to 2700 meters.

Description

The oriole bird is slightly larger in size than the starling. Its body length is 25 centimeters, its wingspan is 45 cm, its body weight is up to 90 g. The oriole's physique is slender, with a slightly elongated body and wings. Quite strong short legs. The long beak is strong and slightly curved.

An adult male is especially recognizable by its external distinctive features due to its bright contrasting coloring. As noted above, it has a bright yellow body with black wings, bridle and tail. The edges of the tail are decorated with yellow spots. The beak and iris are red, and the legs are grayish.

The female and the young first-year male have yellowish-green plumage on top of the body, whitish-yellow on the bottom with longitudinal dark streaks. And their wings are not black, but dark. Sometimes there are females, painted in bright colors, like the males.

In flight, the oriole's characteristic pointed wings and the contrasting bright pattern of the tail are clearly visible. Females also have a yellow rump.

Lifestyle and habits

What kind of bird is the oriole in terms of behavior and lifestyle? The bird is more active during the day. By nature it is secretive and usually hides in the crowns of trees. Sometimes he gives himself away with his voice. Birds flying from branch to branch are more often visible than birds sitting in the foliage.

At the end of spring or early summer, orioles fly to their nesting sites, notifying the surrounding area with their singing, reminiscent of the sounds of a flute. They build nests in the form of baskets and place them in the very top part of the crown of an oak or birch tree. Sometimes they nest in the pine crown.

Usually the female lays up to 5 eggs, colored white with rare black dots. She incubates them for about 14 days. Both parents feed the chicks, flying up to the nest very often (about 200 times a day). The diet of newborns includes insects and spiders. And after the chicks leave the parental nest (after approximately 17 days), the parents continue to carefully and carefully look after them, feeding them and protecting them from various predators.

By the end of summer, grown-up young individuals, together with older ones, include plant food - ripened fruits and berries - in their diet.

Feed

The diet of the oriole bird consists of animal and plant foods. During the breeding season, it mainly feeds on tree insects, especially caterpillars (even hairy ones). Orioles also eat:

• butterflies;
• earwigs;
• dragonflies;
• long-legged mosquitoes;
• tree beetles;
• bedbugs;
• soft-bodied;
• click beetles;
• leaf beetles;
• longhorn beetles;
• weevils and other insects.

They also catch some spiders.

They are even capable of destroying the nests of small birds, such as the gray flycatcher and redstart. They willingly eat ripe fruits and berries:

• grape;
• cherries;
• bird cherry;
• currants;
• pear;
• figs, etc.

Usually eating occurs early in the morning, a little less often - after 15 hours.

Voice

The singing of the oriole bird is a beautiful flute phrase in the form of a whistle - “fiu-liu”, “fiu-liu-li”. You can also sometimes hear unintelligible and quiet chirping and squeaking sounds.

A contact signal or alarm signal is a short nasal sound or a meowing squeal. The latter is comparable to the sharp cry of a cat pinching its tail.

Finally

It is known that these birds are hunted by many birds of prey: sparrowhawk, Eleanor's falcon, ash and Mediterranean falcons, dwarf eagle, common kestrel, red and black kites and others.

It is believed that orioles are useful birds for forestry. They eat many insect pests, including hairy caterpillars, which are shunned by other bird species.

The small common oriole has a bright and showy appearance. It is by this that we distinguish it from any other bird. In the world of birds, she is the only representative of the “orioles” family. In the article we will talk in detail about the habitat, lifestyle, varieties, nesting period, food preferences and other features of the existence of this beautiful songbird.

The common oriole (oriolus) belongs to the order “Passeriformes” and the genus “Orioles”. The size of the bird is relatively small. The average body length of an adult does not exceed 25 cm, and the maximum weight reaches 90 grams.

Males and females differ significantly from each other in external characteristics. Therefore, it is not difficult to distinguish between representatives of both sexes. The feathers of males are bright golden, and the wings and tail are black. There are yellow blotches on the edges of the tail and wings. In the area of ​​the beak towards the eyes there is a peculiar black ornament resembling a bridle.

As for the females, their upper body is decorated with yellow-emerald plumage, lighter in the abdominal area. The wings are grayish-green and the beak is brownish-red.

Young common orioles resemble females in the color of their feathers. Chicks are distinguished only by the presence of duller shades of plumage in the lower part of the body.

The lifespan of an oriole in its natural environment ranges from 8 to 15 years.

Places and habitat

The common oriole is found throughout almost the entire territory of the Old World, western Asia, as well as in the European part of our country. It is noteworthy that on the islands of Britain it nests with reluctance. The reason for this is uncomfortable climatic conditions.

As a habitat, orioles choose a wooded strip where light, tall deciduous trees grow. But these birds fly around the dense and dark thicket. Sometimes birds settle near humans. They are found in roadside forest plantations, squares, park areas and gardens.

The priority for the oriole, as for other creatures, is to ensure uninterrupted power supply. If there is little food in the habitat, birds are forced to regularly look for it in other areas. Therefore, they are rarely found in grassy forests with coniferous trees.

Varieties and their features

In nature there are 24 species. Some of them differ from each other insignificantly, others have striking differences.

Common varieties of orioles:

• common is found throughout Europe, in the European part of Russia;
• green-headed lives in Tanzania and Kenya;
• striped settles in Australia and New Guinea;
• Chinese blackhead, whose range is in Asian countries in the Southeast;
• nun found in Eritrea and Ethiopia;
• The mask lives in the Sahara and on the African continent;
• large-billed is common in Africa.

Individuals living in hot countries and regions with mild climates lead a sedentary lifestyle. Here, orioles do not experience a shortage of food and fresh water, so they do not need to make intercontinental flights.

Lifestyle Features

The common oriole is a migratory bird. In the autumn, when her favorite delicacy - insects - disappears, the birds go to warmer climes for the winter. These are the southern zones of the Sahara Desert, the African continent and warm Asia. Individuals, whose homeland is the countries of Europe with a temperate climate and Russia, return to their homes in early May.

The first messengers of warmth are males. After they find the optimal nesting site (3-4 days), the females also return to their homeland. Outside the mating season, orioles lead a solitary existence. Pairs can form and exist after nesting, but such cases are rare. They are mostly polygamous and look for a new partner every year.

Mating season

The male oriole, seeking attention from the opposite sex, behaves very assertively and persistently. It attracts the favor of the female not only due to its spectacular plumage. The main weapon during the mating season is a melodic and iridescent voice. We recognize him by his characteristic singing manner of “fiuu-fiuu-fit” and “gii-gii-gii.”

The formed pair builds a nest for the offspring, which looks like a small grass bag hanging from a branch. The male searches for material, while the female takes over construction.

One clutch does not exceed 3-5 eggs. Their color is beige-pink; there are brownish spots on the surface of the shell. While the female is hatching her offspring, the parterre becomes the breadwinner and guardian of the family.

The appearance of chicks

The incubation time for eggs is 15 days. Newborn oriole chicks are born blind, and their plumage looks like light soft fluff. Parents feed their offspring with caterpillars. As the young animals grow older, berries are gradually introduced into the diet.

Kids are very gluttonous and demanding. Therefore, the male and female fly away in search of food about a hundred times a day. Parents feed the chicks 15 times per hour.

This continues for 17 days. During this period, the oriole chicks will grow up, get stronger, make their first flight attempts and learn to search for food independently. After this, the young generation is completely ready for adulthood and the final departure from the nest.

Diet

Orioles are insectivorous birds. However, their menu also contains products of plant origin.

Oriole feeds:

• caterpillars;
• tree beetles;
• bedbugs;
• mosquitoes;
• dragonflies;
• butterflies;
• some types of spiders;
• cherries, grapes, currants;
• bird cherry, pear, fig.

Carnivorous food is of great importance during the mating season, when the oriole spends a huge amount of physical energy.

Regular intake of sufficient fluids is extremely important for the oriole. Therefore, birds often choose places of residence near fresh water sources. In the forest zone these are reservoirs and lakes. There are fountains and puddles in the city.

Sometimes orioles practice marauding and destroy the nests of other birds that are larger than them in body size. Their victims are the gray flycatcher and redstart.

Wild or domesticated

Due to its spectacular variegated plumage and pleasant voice, people are showing increased interest in the oriole. Therefore, they tried many times to accustom the bird to life at home. But such attempts are practically unsuccessful, since the birds are shy and cautious in communicating with humans.

In addition, the oriole is demanding of food, since it obtains it independently. Bird mixtures from pet stores do not fully meet the needs of birds. If the pet is suspicious of the food given by the owner, then in captivity it will prefer to starve.

As a result, an eating disorder appears, often leading to the death of the pet. An obvious conclusion follows from this: the oriole is a bird that lives in nature, so it is not recommended to tame it.

The oriole's voice is charming and melodic. It is compared to the sound of a flute. Listening to the trills of this bird is recommended for patients of psychologists and psychotherapists. Practice sound therapy if you suffer from neuroses, depression or sadness.

Orioles love to swim and do so several times a day. Water places in their habitat are mandatory for them.

Finding an oriole in the wild is not so easy. The fact is that it settles high in the trees. And this small bird can only be seen with the use of special equipment.

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The common oriole has an interesting coloration and a beautiful voice.

This bird can make both beautiful and not so beautiful sounds. The oriole is the only representative of the oriole family.

Habitat

The oriole lives mainly in a temperate climate on the northern side of the equator, in deciduous forests with tall trees with a spreading crown. Avoids completely dark places.

The oriole is not afraid to live next to humans in gardens, parks or forest plantations near the road. They prefer to nest at an altitude of 2 thousand to 4 thousand meters above sea level. In the winter months it descends to a height of up to 900 meters.

Appearance

By the appearance of an adult oriole, one can easily determine the sex of an individual, since the female and male have different colors. The bright yellow male with black wings and a stripe running from the eye to the beak has such a provocative color to attract a female.

common oriole photo

She doesn’t have bright feathers, but she is beautiful in her own way. The female is a marsh color with dark spots on the chest and belly, gray-green wings and a brown beak.

Parameters of an adult:

• length from 23 to 27 cm;
• weight 55–65 grams;
• wingspan reaches 50 cm;
• flight speed is about 45 km/h.

Lifestyle

The oriole is a very active bird; it often hides in the crown of trees. Unsociable and modest, she silently jumps from branch to branch and builds nests high in the treetops.

male and female at the nest photo

If there is a lake or river nearby, the bird will not refuse to swim, because this is one of its favorite activities. The common oriole has practically no enemies. Cases of attacks by a variety of falcons and some other birds of prey have been recorded.

Nutrition

The main diet is animal feed. There are insects that only the cuckoo and the oriole eat. The winged one feeds on tree beetles, caterpillars, butterflies, spiders and other insects. The bird catches its lunch in flight or takes it out from under the bark of trees.

father feeding chick photo

When the time comes for berries and fruits, the oriole begins to feed on them, but does not forget about the main food - beetles. Eats the fruits of cherries, grapes, figs, pears and other berries and fruits. Feeds during the day, until three o'clock in the afternoon (when there are no chicks).

Reproduction

The oriole's breeding season occurs once a year. At this time, the male behaves demonstratively - he flies around the female, making unusual sounds, jumps on branches and spreads his tail, flapping his wings. If the female wants such courtship, she chirps and twirls her tail.

nest with oriole chicks photo

Both parents build the nest, the male looks for material, and the female forms the egg basket itself. To create it, birds use various materials, these can be dry grass stems, flexible sticks and more. Everything inside is insulated with down, leaves, cobwebs and even soft debris.