Some birds are notable for their orange chests, which is an important feature for identifying them in the wild. Not only does orange chests attract attention, but they also help reduce the number of species that can be confused with each other, making them easier to identify.
Knowing about orange chested birds will help you easily identify the birds you encounter in the wild. This article will introduce some orange chested birds that you may commonly see in North America. Let’s explore with birdsofjoy.com!
10 birds with orange chests
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
The Eastern Bluebird is a small, adorable bird that lives in grasslands and other semi-open areas. The male is a blue bird with an orange breast and white underparts.
Females resemble the male but are paler and have grayer upperparts. They also have a bit of white behind their eyes.
Thanks to the nest boxes built for this species, it has become a common bird in many parts of its range. Eastern Bluebirds occur east of the Rocky Mountains in southern Canada and throughout the eastern United States. They are also seen in the mountains of southeastern Arizona south into Central America.
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
The Western Bluebird is a common bird in western North America. The male has a dark blue head and wings, a deep orange breast, and a gray belly. The female is mostly gray, with a blue head and tail, and an orange breast. They are often found in open woodlands and wooded fields.
Black-headed Sparrow (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
The male Black-headed Sparrow has a thick bill, two distinct pale colors on a black head, a rusty orange body, black wings, and white wing patches. The female is paler with a thick eyebrow, brown upperparts, and orange and striped breast and flanks. They are found in forests, mountain forests, yards, orchards, and desert scrubland next to streams.
In terms of food, their large bills indicate that they eat a lot of seeds, as well as snails, spiders, and insects. In winter, they also eat fruit. You can attract them to your yard by using a sunflower seed feeder.
They are generally migratory, but some species are resident in Mexico. They breed in most of the western United States and migrate to Mexico for the winter.
Cooper’s Kite (Accipiter cooperii)
The Cooper’s Kite is a bird of prey with grayish-blue upperparts, a faintly barred orange breast, and a white belly. It lives in forests, parks, and yards. Cooper’s Kite primarily hunts birds and occasionally eats small animals.
Wedge-legged Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
The Wedge-legged Hawk is the smallest hawk in North America with an orange breast and white belly. It breeds in Canada and the northern United States, then migrates south in the winter. It hunts small birds and insects.
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
The Rufous Hummingbird is a small bird with a small white spot behind each eye. Males are mostly orange with some green on the wings, white upperparts, and a coppery, reddish-orange throat.
They also have an orange tail with a dark tail tip, and some males have green upperparts. Female Rufous hummingbirds are green above and white and buff below. They also have an orange and green tail with a black and white tail tip, and a green and reddish-orange throat.
Breeding in coniferous forests from southern Alaska to Oregon and Idaho, rufous hummingbirds. They migrate across the western United States to wintering grounds in central Mexico.
Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)
The Allen’s Hummingbird is a small bird with an orange body, iridescent red throat patch, and white belly. The female has orange sides and a green back. It breeds in California and southern Oregon, mostly migrating in winter.
Red Plover (Calidris canutus)
The Red Knot is a large, lark-sized plover with a short to medium-sized, straight bill. In late spring and summer, this beautiful shorebird has a deep orange head and underparts.
Both males and females look similar and have fairly short, bluish-gray legs, a pale gray rump and tail, and mottled gray upperparts. This species spends its winters in coastal areas from California and Massachusetts south to Central America. It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Canada and Alaska.
Red-breasted Woodpecker (Sitta canadensis)
The red-breasted woodpecker has an orange chest and gray-green upperparts. It lives in deciduous and coniferous forests in the United States and Canada. It feeds on insects, seeds, and nuts.
Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis)
The Altamira Oriole has orange-yellow underparts, rump, and head, while its mask and throat are black. It is found primarily in Mexico and Central America, but is also found in Texas. Its main food sources are insects and fruit.
FAQ
1. Which blue bird has an orange chest?
The Oriental Bluebird. However, only the male has these colors, as the female has a more grayish tone.
2. Which brown bird has an orange chest?
The American Bluebird has a grayish-brown back and an orange belly.
3. Which black bird has an orange chest?
The Flame Bluebird has an orange chest that contrasts beautifully with its black head and wings.
Conclusion
As you can see, North America is home to a wide variety of hardy birds with orange breasts. Fortunately, most of these species are of low conservation concern because they are widely distributed across the continent and occasionally elsewhere in the world.
Many of the orange-breasted birds you may see in North America are migratory – arriving in the summer to breed and leaving when it gets too cold in the winter.
A bird’s orange breast is a useful identification feature, as a small percentage of North American birds have it. Now that you know more about the orange-breasted birds you may see in North America, be sure to grab your binoculars and identify the beautiful birds in your backyard or in the wilds near you.
