Washington is home to a large variety of orange colored birds among many others. If you’ve found yourself on this article, I’ll be going over 9 unique orange birds in Washington that consider this state as their home.

• Bullock’s Oriole 
• American Kestrel 
• Spotted Towhee 
• Red Breasted Nuthatch 
• Black Headed Grosbeak 
• Varied Thrush 
• Barn Swallow 
• Roufous Hummingbird
• American Robin 

9 Orange Birds In Washington

1. Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus Bullockii)

• Size: 17 – 19cm
• Weight: 29 – 43 grams
• Wingspan: 31cm

You’ll be able to spot bullock’s orioles in the eastern and central parts of Washington when they happen to breed. This will generally be around the spring and summer months. 

Bullock’s orioles are recognised by a large white patch on their black wings, a yellow/orange covering of feathers around the breast with a few black streaks around their face and a silver/gray beak black beak.

These orioles tend to spend the most of their time within forest edges, farmyards, leafy suburbs, isolated groves, and streamside woods that are particularly based around cottonwood trees.

Bullock’s orioles are known to live upwards of 12 years in the wild whilst captive bullock’s orioles have been recorded living up till 14 years of age.

Throughout their relatively short lives, these black and yellow birds will consume mostly seeds insects, berries and nectar.

2. American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius)

• Size: 20 – 24cm
• Weight: 115 – 125 grams
• Wingspan: 50 – 60cm

American kestrels can be found in nearly all of Washington year round but seem only stay on the western coastline in the non-breeding fall and winter months. 

These kestrels are recognised by their spotted orange, gray, black and white plumage with their back orange with a black horizontal pattern, their wings a gray color, black tail feathers and orange sides with a gray and white head that has 2 black lines drawn vertically near both eyes. Females are mostly light brown.

American kestrels can be found in a variety of open or semi-open habitats from forest clearings, farmland and deserts. 

As for what they eat, it includes small mammals such as woodmice and shrews, small birds, insects, earthworms with voles being their go to food source.

Wild Ameican kestrels are known to live for around 5 years but, captive variants have been known to hit 17+ years.

3. Spotted Towhee (Pipilo Maculatus)

• Size: 17 – 21cm
• Weight: 33 – 49 grams
• Wingspan: 27 – 31cm

Spotted towhees are year round residents in the western part of the state whilst they’ll generally only be spring and summer residents in the east specifically due to breeding season. 

These towhees are recognised by their black, white and rusty orange plumage where the sides of their breast appear to be orange, the middle of the belly and breast white, the wings black with a spotted white pattern and lastly the back, head and tail feathers black in color. Females look similar to the males but are grayish brown in color.

You’ll often find a spotted towhee around open woods, undergrowth, brushy edges generally living within chaparral, mountain manzanita thickets, scrub oaks, or pinyon-juniper woods with dense understory.

A spotted towhees diet isn’t all that different from the majority of birds where they will consume mostly smaller insects, seeds, berries and other smaller cultivated fruits.

Spotted towhee are known to have a lifespan of around 11 years at the top end of their life expectancy

4. Red Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis)

• Size: 11 – 13cm
• Weight: 9 – 13 grams
• Wingspan: 18 – 22cm

Red breasted nuthatches are year round residents in the more western part of Washington whilst only remaining in the eastern part of state throughout non breeding season. 

These Nuthatches have rusty orange colored breast feathers, gray wings and back, with a vertical black and white striped pattern on their head. Females are very similar in color scheme but, their plumage does look duller and more washed out.

You can find a red breasted nuthatch around coniferous forests of spruce, fir, pine, hemlock, larch, and western red cedar.

As for what they eat, it includes insects and seeds where they mostly eat spiders in the summer whilst around winter they chow down on a variety of different seeds, especially seeds in conifers.

The lifespan of red breasted nuthatch is around 6 years on average.

5. Black Headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus Melanocephalus)

• Size: 18 – 19cm
• Weight: 34 – 48 grams
• Wingspan: 30 – 34cm

Black headed grosbeaks are found in Washington throughout their breeding season. This is normally around the spring and summer months. 

These grosbeaks are recognised by their black, orange and white plumage with their wings and head black with elements of white, the remainder of their body from neck to belly is orange whilst they also have a triangular black beak. Females are far duller in color with the black wings a more orange/gray color and the rest of the body a washed out orange.

Black headed grosbeaks can be found near broadleaved or mixed forests where they will inhabit brushy, riparian areas, shrubs within conifer, streamside corridors, wetlands and suburban areas. 

In regards to what these birds eat, it includes mostly insects like caterpillars, flies, snails, bees, berries like blueberries,, strawberries, blackberries, a variety of seeds like seeds of weed and plants like mistletoe and poison oak.

Black headed grosbeaks will typically live between 7 – 8 years in the wild although the longest lifespan we’re aware of is in the 24 year range.

6. Varied Thrush (Ixoreus Naevius)

• Size: 20 – 24cm
• Weight: 80 – 90 grams
• Wingspan: 35 – 40cm

Varied thrushes can be found in the majority of Washington year round so you should be able to spot them all throughout the state. 

These thrushes are recognised by their black and orange plumage, their neck and breast are orange, their head a wings a mixture of black and orange with thick black horizontal lines across their breast line and eyeline. Females are mostly brown and orange following a very similar pattern to the males but, the brown color replaces the black.

You’ll often find a varied thrush near coniferous forest of various types with dense, wet forest near the coast, in areas of fir, hemlock, and spruce with dense understories being their most common habitat.

Varied thrushes tend to eat insects like beetles, ants, caterpillars, crickets, smaller fruits and berries.

In regards to lifespan, a varied thrush is known to live for around 5 – 6 years.

7. Barn Swallow (Hirundo Rustica)

• Size: 17 – 20cm
• Weight: 17 – 21 grams
• Wingspan: 33 – 36cm

Barn swallows are summer and spring residents within Washington as those are the months that will typically encompass their season for breeding. 

Barn swallows are recognised by their dark blue, white and rusty orange plumage with the back a dark blue color with the breast and neck rusty orange in color. Females look very similar to the males but their breast plumage is white as opposed to rusty orange like the males.

These avians spend the majority of their time in farmlands or open pastures near water where they’ll occasionally build their mud and straw nests on ledges, generally on farm buildings.

Barn swallows mostly consume seeds, insects, fruits and a variety of berries.

These swallows tend to live for around 2 years on average, with the upper end of their lifespan being roughly 11 years.

8. Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus Rufus)

• Size: 7 – 9cm
• Weight: 2 – 5 grams
• Wingspan: 11 – 12cm

Rufous hummingbirds can be found in Washington throughout their breeding season, which will normally encompass the spring and summer months. 

These hummingbirds are recognised by their mostly orange body with a white breasts, and a mixture of darker brown and white wings. Females on the other hand have hints of orange on their body but are mostly gray with a white breast and belly area.

You’ll often spot rufous hummingbirds around open or shrubby areas, forest openings, yards, and parks, and sometimes in forests, thickets, swamps, and meadows from sea level to about 6,000 feet.

They’ll typically consume the same as what most other hummingbirds would eat such as smaller insects, nectar from flowers, sugar water from feeders and even tree sap.

Roufus hummingbirds are known to live for up to 8 years and 11 months, which is also the longest recorded lifespan.

9. American Robin (Turdus Migratorius)

• Size: 12.5 – 14cm
• Weight: 16 – 22 grams
• Wingspan: 20 – 22cm

American robins are year round residents within Washington therefore, you should be able to spot them all throughout the state in every season. 

These robins are recognised by by their gray wings, back and tail, black head, yellow beak and orange belly/breast. Females have a far duller color scheme where the plumage that is black is mostly gray whilst the breast is a lighter orange.

American robins are often seen around woodlands, suburban backyards, parks, and grasslands with shrubs.

As for what they eat, it includes fruits, seeds, suet, crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts, raisins and a variety of insects like beetles, flies, worms among many others.

American robins tend to live for an average of 2 years in the wild although some can live upto 5 or 6 years.