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Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)Baltimore Oriole

Family Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

In Spanish: Bolsero Norteño (Cacique Veranero, Cacicón, Naranjero)

  • Migrant

Orange and black winter visitor of gardens, edges and plantations

The Baltimore Oriole (Bolsero Norteño) is a winter visitor to Costa Rica, present from about September to early May. The adult male is bright orange and black, and in this country he is the only orange oriole with a fully black head.

It ranges from common to abundant here and turns up on both slopes, in gardens, forest edges and plantations, so a beginning birder has many chances to look up and find one.

How to find it

Look along forest edges, in gardens, and in flowering and fruiting trees, where wintering birds feed on insects, nectar and fruit. Orioles sing from high in the trees, so look up into the canopy for the male's orange plumage. It can be inconspicuous among the foliage, so follow the song to find it.

How to recognise it

The adult male has an orange belly, shoulders and rump, with all the rest black, plus a pointed bill and white wing bars. Females and young birds are much duller, yellow-orange and grayish. The adult female has two white wing bars, the front one tinged orange, and an olive back washed with orange. Her head and throat are often blotchy black, her bill is black above and silvery below, and her legs are blue-gray. Immature birds look like the female but have no black on the head, throat or back, and are dull olive above with a gray frosted look and a yellowish chin and throat. Young males gain much orange and black by late winter and spring.

What it sounds like

0:24

Recording: Noah Frade, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

In Costa Rica it usually travels in small groups of 2 to 5 birds, rarely up to 15, and sometimes gathers in large communal roosts. It perches and flies at all levels, from the forest canopy to scrubby thickets. Orioles of this group mainly eat insects, but also take nectar and fruit. It is a visitor only, with no nesting data for the country.

Where it lives

It uses forest edges, coffee and cacao plantations, semi-open areas, savannas, open woodland, gardens, and urban and suburban areas. It is found from sea level to about 1500 m on both slopes, with fewer birds up to 2000 m. It is most numerous on the Pacific slope, especially the northwest lowlands and the Central Valley.

When to see it

It arrives from early September and leaves by early May, so it is present about eight months of the year.

Similar birds

The male Orchard Oriole also has a black head, but it is smaller and deep chestnut, not bright orange. Female and young Baltimores have streaked backs and can be confused with Streak-backed Oriole, whose adults have a black mask and throat and a mostly blackish bill with a pale gray base on the lower half.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican names include cacique veranero for males, cacique naranjero for females, and cacicón. The name 'veranero' means 'summer one', though the bird is a winter visitor here.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a migrant (M), and in Costa Rica it is a winter resident and migrant, common to abundant; the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Look up into the canopy, since males sing from high in the trees. Gardens with fruit or nectar feeders and flowering trees are good places to watch for it.

How we know this 17 sources, each read on the date shown
  1. Beauty of Birds read 2026-11-04https://beautyofbirds.com/baltimore-orioles/
  2. Finca Luna Nueva read 2026-11-04https://fincalunanuevalodge.com/the-choreography-of-life/the-baltimore-oriole-a-hemispheric-superstar/
  3. Birdfinding.info read 2026-11-04https://birdfinding.info/baltimore-oriole/
  4. iStock photo captions read 2026-11-04https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/baltimore-oriole-bird-in-the-wild-costa-rica
  5. Mistico Park read 2026-11-04https://misticopark.com/blog/costa-rica-travel-tips/migratory-birds-costa-rica/
  6. Wikipedia (Spanish) read 2026-11-04https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icterus_galbula
  7. Flickr tag page (Cornell-style species summary) read 2026-11-04https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/baltimoretrupial/
  8. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_oriole
  9. Wikipedia read 2026-11-04https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_oriole
  10. Aves de Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://avesdecostarica.com/Icterus-galbula.html
  11. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency read 2026-11-04https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/birds/baltimore-oriole.html
  12. Missouri Department of Conservation read 2026-11-04https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/baltimore-oriole
  13. Aves Ibéricas, Aves Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://www.avesibericas.es/costaricaaves10.htm
  14. EcoRegistros read 2026-11-04https://www.ecoregistros.org/ficha/Icterus-galbula
  15. Aves y Ventanas Costa Rica read 2026-11-04https://avesyventanascostarica.wordpress.com/algunas-aves-que-han-golpeado-contra-ventanas-en-costa-rica/
  16. Sparrowbirds read 2026-11-04https://sparrowbirds.com/what-do-baltimore-orioles-eat/
  17. Cornell Lab, All About Birds read 2026-11-04https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/overview