The Greenbelt

Language Liberalism Freethought Birds

Verbing Weirds Language only if you're expecting it to work in a simple way. This is a special case of the more general truth that Language Weirds.

Only when a republic's life is in danger should a man uphold his government when it is in the wrong. There is no other time.

The church says Earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence in a shadow than the church.

If we can't find Heaven, there are always bluejays.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Mystery oriole

I'm not at all sure what this bird is. It's absolutely not a Baltimore oriole. It's not the right color for an orchard oriole. And it has too much brown and is waaaay out of its normal range if it's an Audobon oriole. Perhaps it's a young male orchard oriole molting into its adult plumage? It's looked this way for several days - these pictures were taken on May 19 and May 25, in College Park, Maryland. Anybody have a good ID?

added: He is a young male orchard oriole. Thanks, Sarah!

1 comment:

Sarah2:39 PM, May 27, 2011
Looks like an Orchard Oriole in first-spring plumage. He keeps this partial breeding plumage until next fall, when he molts into full breeding plumage or basic plumage. I don't know if orioles molt twice a year or not.
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