Birds with Orange Chest
Birds are among nature's most elegant creatures, and those with orange chests are particularly striking. Their plumage makes them easy to spot and serves various ecological and behavioral purposes. Let's explore some of these beautiful birds with orange chests, where they live, and what makes them unique.
American Robin
The American Robin is common across North America. With its bright orange-red chest, it's often seen hopping around lawns and gardens in search of worms and insects. Interestingly, American Robins are among the first birds to start singing at dawn, and their cheerful song is a harbinger of spring.
These birds are highly adaptable, thriving in both cities and the wild. During the breeding season, the males' orange chests become even more vivid, which helps them attract mates and defend their territory. Their diet mainly consists of insects and fruits on the ground. American Robin often comes to bird feeders. Preparing bird seeds, mealworms, and sunflower hearts would effectively attract them to come by your house.
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird is the most widespread of the three bluebirds. It is a small, lively bird found across eastern North America, Canada and Mexico. Males are particularly striking with their bright blue upperparts and rusty orange chests, while females are duller. These birds live in open country such as fields, farms and golf courts.
Eastern Bluebirds primarily feed on insects, wild fruit and berries. During winter, when insects are scarce, their diet shifts to fruits and berries like dogwood, sumac, and wild grapes. Eastern Bluebird does not visit backyards very often but preparing mealworms at the feeders could potentially attract them.
In general, Eastern Bluebirds play a significant role in controlling insect populations and aiding in seed dispersal, contributing to the health of their ecosystems. Their bright colors and cheerful songs make them a delightful presence in nature.
Cooper’s Hawk
The Cooper's Hawk is renowned for its incredible flying skills, often seen darting through cluttered tree canopies at high speed in pursuit of other birds. These common woodland hawks are most frequently observed near forest edges or fields. They use a distinctive flight pattern of several stiff wingbeats followed by a glide. Identifying them can be tricky due to their resemblance to the smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk. Both species are known to visit bird feeders, not for seeds but for the smaller birds that gather there.
Spotting a Cooper's Hawk requires a keen eye, as they are stealthy and smaller than more prominent hawks like the Red-tailed Hawk. Their unique flap-flap-glide flight style and long tail are key identifying features. During migration, these hawks are often seen in large numbers in both eastern and western regions.
Attracting birds to your backyard feeders might also draw the attention of a Cooper's Hawk. While it’s natural for them to hunt smaller birds, those who prefer not to witness this can take down their feeders for a few days. This species’ high-speed hunting lifestyle is perilous. Studies of Cooper's Hawk skeletons have shown that many have old, healed fractures in their chest bones, showing the risks they face in their daily life.
Allen’s Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbirds are small, compact, and stocky hummingbirds. When perched, their tail extends past their wings, with the outermost tail feather being narrower than the rest. Both sexes measure about 9 cm in length, weigh 2-4 g, and have a wingspan of approximately 11 cm.
These hummingbirds are coppery orange and green overall. Adult males feature a coppery tail, eye patch, and belly. Females and immature birds have a bronze-green back with paler coppery sides. They both exhibit orange spotting on their throats, with females having more spots and a small patch of reddish-orange in the center of their throats.
Allen's Hummingbirds move rapidly from flower to flower, hovering to drink nectar and ticking as they go. They also catch insects mid-air or pluck them from vegetation. Males display by flying side to side or in wide arcs, creating a bumblebee-like buzz with their wings. They breed in coastal forests, scrub, and chaparral along a narrow coastal strip from California to southern Oregon.
Altamira Oriole
The Altamira Oriole is a large songbird with a long tail, stocky body, and fairly large head. Its bill is very thick at the base but fairly long and sharply pointed. Both sexes measure 21-25 cm in length, weigh 47-64 g, and have a wingspan of approximately 36 cm.
Adults are brilliantly colored in orange and black, with the brightest orange on their faces. They have a black back, tail, and wings, with a white wingbar and orange shoulder. Immature Altamira Orioles are yellowish-orange, with an olive-brown back and lack the orange shoulder mark. Juveniles have a yellow head and body, olive back, and do not have the wing markings or dark face and chin markings.
Altamira Orioles forage by taking small fruits, insects and larvae from leaves and branches. They hop between branches and fly quickly between trees. Females build suspended pear-shaped nests, sometimes up to 2 feet long, from high branches, often over water. They forage and nest in lightly wooded areas, parks, wildlife refuges, farms, orchards, thorn forests, and riparian areas.
Birdfy Smart Bird Feeders
Birdfy has various choices of smart bird feeders that allow people to watch and record birds in their backyard. Every day, there are lots of videos uploaded to the Birdfy community showing rare and cute birds visiting backyards and enjoying food. Discover birds' behaviors with bird feeder cameras and the latest AI technology.
