Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Oriole has fallen sharply: down 58% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Baltimore Oriole
A flame-orange songbird of open woodlands and shade trees, the Baltimore Oriole weaves a hanging pouch nest and is drawn to orange halves and nectar feeders.
- Size
- 6.5–8.5 in long, about 1.2 oz (17–22 cm, 34 g)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects, fruit and nectar.
- Range
- Recorded on 1,972 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 40 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Icteridae · Forest birds
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Baltimore Oriole Trends
Baltimore Oriole has fallen sharply in surveyed states: down 58% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
Baltimore Oriole Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Baltimore Oriole is projected to fall about 22% by 2029 — from 1.2 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.91 (95% range 0.34–1.5). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±16.7%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.1 | 0.49 | 1.6 |
| 2026 | 1.0 | 0.46 | 1.6 |
| 2027 | 0.98 | 0.42 | 1.5 |
| 2028 | 0.94 | 0.38 | 1.5 |
| 2029 | 0.91 | 0.34 | 1.5 |
Where the Baltimore Oriole Is Detected
BBS routes recording Baltimore Oriole, sized by most recent count.
Baltimore Oriole Population Trend by State
| Alabama | -65% | 1968 | 22 |
| Arkansas | -68% | 1969 | 46 |
| California | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Colorado | -74% | 1979 | 7 |
| Connecticut | -79% | 1968 | 20 |
| Delaware | -76% | 1968 | 14 |
| Georgia | insufficient data | n/a | 10 |
| Illinois | -5% | 1968 | 105 |
| Indiana | +166% | 1968 | 68 |
| Iowa | -25% | 1969 | 39 |
| Kansas | -27% | 1969 | 67 |
| Kentucky | +101% | 1968 | 57 |
| Louisiana | -66% | 1969 | 47 |
| Maine | -46% | 1968 | 55 |
| Maryland | +0% | 1968 | 73 |
| Massachusetts | -60% | 1968 | 32 |
| Michigan | +20% | 1968 | 99 |
| Minnesota | -35% | 1969 | 87 |
| Mississippi | -80% | 1968 | 38 |
| Missouri | -40% | 1969 | 83 |
| Montana | +2% | 1980 | 24 |
| Nebraska | +57% | 1969 | 65 |
| New Hampshire | -67% | 1968 | 24 |
| New Jersey | -15% | 1968 | 41 |
| New York | -52% | 1968 | 128 |
| North Carolina | -2% | 1975 | 24 |
| North Dakota | +5% | 1969 | 49 |
| Ohio | -4% | 1968 | 88 |
| Oklahoma | -86% | 1969 | 63 |
| Pennsylvania | -43% | 1968 | 134 |
| Rhode Island | +11% | 1968 | 6 |
| South Carolina | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| South Dakota | +25% | 1969 | 37 |
| Tennessee | -58% | 1968 | 35 |
| Texas | -83% | 1969 | 44 |
| Vermont | -82% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | -31% | 1968 | 54 |
| West Virginia | -38% | 1968 | 60 |
| Wisconsin | -23% | 1968 | 97 |
| Wyoming | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
Baltimore Oriole Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | +12% | 1969 | 111 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -62% | 1968 | 112 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | -55% | 1968 | 86 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -76% | 1968 | 130 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -29% | 1969 | 45 |
| Shortgrass Prairie | -84% | 1969 | 26 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -28% | 1969 | 104 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -75% | 1969 | 36 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | -6% | 1968 | 273 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | -2% | 1968 | 161 |
| Central Hardwoods | +159% | 1968 | 139 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -91% | 1969 | 66 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -65% | 1968 | 59 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | -92% | 1968 | 59 |
| Appalachian Mountains | -44% | 1968 | 320 |
| Piedmont | -56% | 1968 | 83 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | -55% | 1968 | 149 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -39% | 1970 | 5 |
Baltimore Oriole Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it down about 58% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.