Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!o.gp.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!rk30+ From: rk30+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ruth Kline) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Are oriole "feeders" fakes? Message-ID: Date: 24 May 91 20:17:36 GMT Organization: School of Urban and Public Affairs, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 21 I hope you knowledgeable birders can help settle an argument I'm having with my sister. She just bought an oriole feeder, built on the same design as hummingbird feeders except the liquid is orange rather than red and this one has the design of orange slices on it. She claims the garden shop person who sold it to her said it would attract orioles, much like the hummer feeders attract hummers. My argument is that orioles do not eat by sucking nectar, as do hummers, and that this oriole feeder is just a money-making exploitation of well-meaning people. Given the fact that orioles *do* love oranges and are attracted to the feeder because of the orange color, will they really be able to suck out the man-made nectar inside? I definitely am puzzled by this and, though I've seen an oriole only once in my life, I believe the structure of their beeks would indicate that they are seed/insect eaters. Please set me straight on this!