Each morning, I am serenaded by the songs of cardinals, mockingbirds and a gray catbird that has staked out territory in the thicket by the side of my apartment house.

I had become accustomed to hearing them, so I was surprised when one day I heard a song that was slightly different. The voice was fuller and richer, and of shorter duration, with no hint of mimicry or repetition. It seemed to be more rambling and unstructured in quality.

The song issued from the row of crabapple trees below my hallway window. This location is a big attraction to birds, as the trees provide abundant food and cover. Robins make their nest in the sheltered crook of branches, chickadees forage among the leaves and twigs for insects, and downy woodpeckers search the bark for the burrowing insects they like. Song sparrows sing from the many convenient perches available.

Now that the trees are in bloom, they’ve attracted yet another bird, which had come to sip nectar from the delicate pink blossoms. A Baltimore oriole hopped from branch to branch, briefly sampling each bloom. It interspersed its feeding with short bursts of flute-like song that was a delight to hear.

The oriole lacked the full, bright orange and coal-black plumage of an adult male, so I thought it must have been a juvenile male or an adult female, as female orioles also sing, and males do not acquire their full breeding plumage until reaching the spring of their second year.

Orioles take advantage of nectar-producing plants (as well as hummingbird feeders), primarily during the winter (in Central and South America), and in the spring upon first arriving on their breeding territories. They may also depend heavily on nectar during prolonged bouts of inclement weather. One long, cold, wet spring a few years ago, an oriole raided my hummingbird feeder daily, to my great delight.

Because orioles have adapted well to human-altered environments, they are often in close proximity to us and easy to coax to backyard feeders. Orange halves, small dishes of grape jelly, and bananas will be appreciated, as well as hummingbird feeders. There are also feeders especially made for orioles, with bigger ports and a sturdier structure. When providing a nectar solution, use the same concentration of four parts water to one part sugar as you would for hummingbirds. There is no need to add any type of dye to the solution.

Orioles also eat fruit, so planting fruit-bearing trees and shrubs on your property is a sure way to bring them in. Mulberries, raspberries, and cherries are among their favorites.

However, during the breeding season, insects are the most important food source. Orioles eat many species of hairy caterpillars-including tent caterpillars-which other birds often avoid. They will also prey upon the larvae of the dreaded gypsy moth.

Orioles, as do other members of their family Icteridae (which includes blackbirds, starlings, and meadowlarks), have an interesting foraging method called “gaping.” The bird inserts its beak into a substrate – soft earth, loose bark, flower stems or plant stalks – and, exerting great force, opens its beak, creating hole through which it can pick insects or sip nectar.

Alvaro Jaramillo describes this technique in “The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior,” and adds an intriguing additional adaptation: when they engage this technique, their “eyes rotate slightly forward and the birds can see directly between their jaws into the hole they have created.”

Besides their eating habits, Baltimore orioles are perhaps best known for the nests they construct. Long, sometimes up to two feet long-and pendulous, the nests are suspended from the outer branches and twigs of a tall tree. While they may sway quite a bit in the wind, they are extremely strong and sturdy and often remain attached throughout the winter.

As I thought of the oriole that had graced my morning with its presence, I was reminded of a conversation I had with my friend Marguerite. She had remarked on a reddish-orange bird she had noticed in her Orono neighborhood, and I responded it was most likely a Baltimore oriole she was seeing.

“Yes!” she exclaimed.

These beautiful winged gems are a delight.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net