I bet that there are a number of birds of which you have been familiar for many years.

Even novices or those folks who dabble with bird feeding, are probably familiar with the following birds: cardinal, blue jay, mourning dove, crow, mallard duck, bald eagle, robin, starling, wild turkey, Canada goose and Baltimore oriole.

But did you know, novice or not, that the Times News region hosts a second oriole species, oriole number two. That species is the orchard oriole.

The Baltimore oriole, with its bright, can’t miss orange and black plumage, is the more common one. In fact, they’ve just returned to this area in the past two weeks or so. Some people who really enjoy the Baltimore oriole’s beautiful song and, of course, its plumage, try different things to entice them to visit, and hopefully nest, in their yards.

Oriole feeders can be purchased, and they do indeed visit them. Or, sometimes, they will feed on citrus halves if you place them where the orioles can find them. Unfortunately, they can also eat ripening fruit and obviously damage that, too.

A Baltimore oriole is about 7½ inches in size, compared to a robin that is about 10½ inches in size. The best time to see them is early to mid-May when little foliage is on the trees. They generally feed higher in trees than many birds, and when the trees are all leafed out they are harder to find. If you learn its song, they can be located at least by sound.

Female Baltimore orioles build a relatively long, cup-shaped nest that is usually supported from a thin fork in a deciduous tree. (If you have only conifers on your property, they will not find the branches suitable for a nest.) She is an expert weaver, taking between one and two weeks to build that suspended nest. They are so well constructed that they survive thunderstorms and fall and winter winds.

The nest is hard to find in summer, but when the trees lose their leaves, they are more obvious. The nest could be 20 to 80 feet off the ground. She’ll usually lay three to five eggs, and from egg laying to fledging it takes about four weeks.

Orchard orioles are less common than the Baltimore orioles and thus less likely to be seen. I have found three or four locations where they return each year. Orchard orioles appear to be less bulky than their cousins and are about 6½ inches in size. Males are a bright chestnut color, while the female is a duller greenish yellow in color, as are many female birds.

Both oriole species eat insects and some fruits, but orchard orioles feed more on insects. They also build a suspension-type nest but only about 4 inches deep. The female takes six or seven days to complete nest building.

Both oriole species spend very little time here in their breeding territory. They arrive about mid-May and depart in mid- to late July. In fact, the orchard oriole is probably only here from mid-May to mid-July, usually heading to its winter range even before the Baltimore oriole.

Don’t look for either oriole species in the deep forests. They tend to like pastures with scattered trees and woodlot edges, and Baltimore orioles will even nest in city parks or yards/properties with a number of deciduous trees.

Orchard orioles nest from 10 to about 50 feet from the ground and also utilize a thin forked branch. (The thin branches help keep marauding raccoons and squirrels from getting the eggs or young.)

Test Your Outdoor knowledge: Baltimore orioles have ____ nests each summer. A. 1; B. 2; C. 3.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Surprisingly, there are about 10 times more moth species than butterfly species in North America.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com