Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The Baltimore oriole is named for Lord Baltimore, the first Proprietor of Maryland. Apparently, the bird’s striking black-and-orange plumage reminded late 17th century naturalists of Lord Baltimore’s coat-of-arms. Well and good for the time, but I think we can come up with a descriptive name that’s more relevant to the bird itself – and it’s not just the first part of the common name that could be reconsidered. This “oriole” is actually a member of the blackbird family (Icteridae). Based on their bright colors and behavior, many New World blackbirds were (understandably, but) incorrectly lumped into the Old World bird family Oriolidae by early taxonomists. Now that we know they’re *not* related (their similarities are due to convergent evolution), perhaps we could choose a more appropriate common name? While we’re at it, what about that scientific binomial? Icterus galbula translates as “yellow yellow bird.” Could we at least make that “orange yellow bird”? Maybe I’m just a grouchy stickler, but I believe this stunning blackbird deserves a new moniker – hec, the baseball “birds” can be proud blackbirds, too! 🟠⚾⚫

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.