Bird guide · Icterus bullockii
Bullock's Oriole
What the Bullock's oriole eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Migrant; many leave by the end of July.
- Size
- 7.1 in (18 cm)
- Eats
- sugar water, fruit, grape jelly
- Feeds
- nectar feeder, fruit feeder
- Most common
- Colorado, Utah, Idaho
Food
What do Bullock's orioles eat?
At feeders, Bullock's orioles take sugar water, fruit, grape jelly.
Comes to sugar-water feeders and to pieces of fruit put out for it.
Feeder that suits it
A hummingbird nectar feeder with one part sugar to four parts water.
Range
Where do Bullock's orioles live?
The West, in forest edge, farmyards, suburbs and cottonwoods. By share of all bird sightings, Bullock's orioles are most common in Colorado (0.5%).
States where Bullock's orioles are most common
- Colorado0.5%
- Utah0.5%
- Idaho0.5%
- Wyoming0.4%
- Nevada0.4%
- New Mexico0.3%
- Montana0.3%
- Arizona0.2%
- Oregon0.2%
- California0.2%
Share of all bird sightings in each state that are Bullock's orioles, 2019–2024.
Season
When can you see the Bullock's oriole?
Migrant; many leave by the end of July.. Across the US, sightings start in April, peak in June and fade out in August.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are Bullock's orioles, by month.
Identification
How to identify the Bullock's oriole
Male: Orange with an orange face and more white in the wing than a Baltimore Oriole.
Female: Greyer back, whiter belly and darker eyeline than female Baltimore.
Size: 7.1 in (18 cm)
Easily confused with
- Baltimore Oriole – male has a black head; the two interbreed on the Great Plains
On camera
Getting the Bullock's oriole on a feeder camera
You need a hummingbird feeder camera – hummingbirds never visit seed feeders. See feeder cameras compared for the nectar models.
Questions
Bullock's Oriole: questions
What do Bullock's orioles eat?
At feeders, sugar water, fruit, grape jelly.
Do Bullock's orioles migrate?
Migrant; many leave by the end of July.. Across the US, sightings start in April, peak in June and fade out in August.
Where do Bullock's orioles live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada. They are rare or absent in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia.
What does a female Bullock's oriole look like?
Greyer back, whiter belly and darker eyeline than female Baltimore.