This is Bird Note.

This bird song sounds like a nasally imitation of a robin,

and the bird singing it is a rusty brown riff on a Baltimore orio.

Called the orchard orio, males have chestnut-colored breasts and black backs and wings,

while females and immature birds are mostly yellow.

Orchard orioles are very social birds, often with a few nesting pairs sharing the same large tree

among stream banks, wetlands, and other shrubby areas.

As early as late July, male orchard Orioles head south for the winter. Their young are still just juveniles learning to find food,

so they stick with the adult females, searching together for mulberries and other late summer

fruits.

Although common, these birds have been in a slow decline for over 50 years.

When habitats along streams are damaged by grazing cattle, orchard orioles often can't use the area for nesting anymore.

Protecting streamside vegetation helps these colorful birds, along with a whole suite of other

species that depend on clean water and lots of leafy trees and shrubs.

For bird note, I'm Michael Stein.

Support for Bird Note is provided by Sarah Mearner and Craig McKibbon from Seattle, Washington,

and generous listeners around the world.