Orioles will not use a nesting box to nest and raise their young. The bird builds a hanging nest which is attached to a tree limb. The bullock type often builds nests which are not as deep or sometimes they build a shallow nest in a tree crotch. They nest from 15 feet to 40 feet from the ground. The only way to attract orioles to nest nearby is to offer them a supply of string and horsehair which they can use to build nests. The oriole nests in the north and mid range from the middle of May to the middle of June, in the southern portion of the range from the beginning of May to the end of June. These pretty birds only nest one time per year which exposes the reason why there are so few of them available to devour pest insects. The female builds the nest and incubates the eggs. The male helps in rearing the young and takes off after the young have fledged. The eggs are incubated for 12 days and they leave the nest 14 days later. The normal clutch is four or five eggs. They will not reuse an old nest.
