Stewart J.
Well-known member
Wonderful thread weather
Stewart
:clap:
Stewart
:clap:
-
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Bird Of The Week (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter weather
- Start date
Oregonian
Well-known member
Photo not a Purple Martin
The photo here is not a purple martin. In fact, it looks like my bad photo of a Blue-Black Grassquit from Moji das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are plenty of nice photos in the gallery of Purple Martins. How did this get loaded here, and attributed to HelenB? Surely I am the only one who would claim such a fuzzy photo!
photo by BF member HelenB.[/QUOTE]
Good Birding,
Jeff
The photo here is not a purple martin. In fact, it looks like my bad photo of a Blue-Black Grassquit from Moji das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are plenty of nice photos in the gallery of Purple Martins. How did this get loaded here, and attributed to HelenB? Surely I am the only one who would claim such a fuzzy photo!
photo by BF member HelenB.[/QUOTE]
Good Birding,
Jeff
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CARDINALIDAE
A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests.
Cool Facts:
The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars.
Experienced adult Indigo Buntings can return to their previous breeding sites when held captive during the winter and released far from their normal wintering area.
The sequences of notes in Indigo Bunting songs are unique to local neighborhoods. Males a few hundred meters apart generally have different songs. Males on neighboring territories often have the same or nearly identical songs.
Indigo and Lazuli buntings defend territories against each other in the western Great Plains where they occur together, share songs, and sometimes interbreed.
Description:
Size: 12-13 cm (5-5 in)
Wingspan: 19-22 cm (7-9 in)
Weight: 12-18 g (0.42-0.64 ounces)
Small songbird.
Short, thick bill.
Male brilliant dark blue all over.
Female dull brown.
Eyes dark brown.
Legs blue-gray to blackish.
Sex Differences:
Male in breeding plumage brilliant blue, female dull brown.
Male:
Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Blue all over, deepest on head. Black in front of eyes. Occasionally with some brown on back, wing, breast, or under tail, or whitish on belly. Wing feathers dark, edged in blue. Upper bill blackish, lower mandible blue-gray.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage: Brown, with some blue edges to scattered feathers; some birds may be more blue than brown. Often whitish on lower belly and under tail. Blackish in front of eyes. Bill whitish to blue-gray. Gape yellowish.
Female:
All brown. Unstreaked or with indistinct streaks on chest. Faint buff wingbars. May have some blue-tinged feathers on wing, tail, or rump. Upper bill brown to blackish, lower mandible pale.
Immature:
Similar to adult female, with brighter buff wingbars. First-year male shows variable amount of blue and brown, may have distinct wingbars.
Similar Species:
Eastern Bluebird had reddish chest and white belly.
Blue Grosbeak larger, with much thicker bill and obvious rufous wingbars.
Female Lazuli Bunting similar, but has more uniform pinkish buff breast and throat, and more conspicuous wingbars.
Female Varied Bunting more uniformly brown, without trace of wingbars, and a slightly more stubby bill.
Sound:
Song a musical series of warbling notes, each phrase given in twos. Call a sharp, thin "spit." Flight call a high buzz.
Range:
Breeds from southern Manitoba to Maine, southward to northern Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to southern Nevada.
Winter Range:
Winters from southern Florida and central Mexico southward through Caribbean and Central America to northern South America.
Habitat:
Breeds in brushy and weedy areas along edges of cultivated land, woods, roads, power line rights-of-way, and in open deciduous woods and old fields. Winters in weedy fields, citrus orchards, and weedy cropland.
Food:
Small insects, spiders, seeds, buds, and berries.
Behavior:
Foraging
Gleans insects off of branches. Feeds in flocks in winter.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Open cup of soft leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, held in place with spider web, lined with fine grasses or deer hair. Placed in shrub or herbaceous plant close to ground.
Egg Description:
Unmarked white; a few have brownish spots.
Clutch Size:
Usually 3-4 eggs. Range: 1-4.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with sparse down.
Conservation Status:
Abundant. May be declining slightly in Southeast.
Other Names:
Passerin indigo (French)
Azulito, Gorrión, Ruicito (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Payne, R. B. 1992. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). In The Birds of North America, No. 4 (A. Poole, Peter Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC; The American Ornithologists' Union.
Mike
Photo by BF member Peacefrog2.
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CARDINALIDAE
A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests.
Cool Facts:
The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars.
Experienced adult Indigo Buntings can return to their previous breeding sites when held captive during the winter and released far from their normal wintering area.
The sequences of notes in Indigo Bunting songs are unique to local neighborhoods. Males a few hundred meters apart generally have different songs. Males on neighboring territories often have the same or nearly identical songs.
Indigo and Lazuli buntings defend territories against each other in the western Great Plains where they occur together, share songs, and sometimes interbreed.
Description:
Size: 12-13 cm (5-5 in)
Wingspan: 19-22 cm (7-9 in)
Weight: 12-18 g (0.42-0.64 ounces)
Small songbird.
Short, thick bill.
Male brilliant dark blue all over.
Female dull brown.
Eyes dark brown.
Legs blue-gray to blackish.
Sex Differences:
Male in breeding plumage brilliant blue, female dull brown.
Male:
Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Blue all over, deepest on head. Black in front of eyes. Occasionally with some brown on back, wing, breast, or under tail, or whitish on belly. Wing feathers dark, edged in blue. Upper bill blackish, lower mandible blue-gray.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage: Brown, with some blue edges to scattered feathers; some birds may be more blue than brown. Often whitish on lower belly and under tail. Blackish in front of eyes. Bill whitish to blue-gray. Gape yellowish.
Female:
All brown. Unstreaked or with indistinct streaks on chest. Faint buff wingbars. May have some blue-tinged feathers on wing, tail, or rump. Upper bill brown to blackish, lower mandible pale.
Immature:
Similar to adult female, with brighter buff wingbars. First-year male shows variable amount of blue and brown, may have distinct wingbars.
Similar Species:
Eastern Bluebird had reddish chest and white belly.
Blue Grosbeak larger, with much thicker bill and obvious rufous wingbars.
Female Lazuli Bunting similar, but has more uniform pinkish buff breast and throat, and more conspicuous wingbars.
Female Varied Bunting more uniformly brown, without trace of wingbars, and a slightly more stubby bill.
Sound:
Song a musical series of warbling notes, each phrase given in twos. Call a sharp, thin "spit." Flight call a high buzz.
Range:
Breeds from southern Manitoba to Maine, southward to northern Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to southern Nevada.
Winter Range:
Winters from southern Florida and central Mexico southward through Caribbean and Central America to northern South America.
Habitat:
Breeds in brushy and weedy areas along edges of cultivated land, woods, roads, power line rights-of-way, and in open deciduous woods and old fields. Winters in weedy fields, citrus orchards, and weedy cropland.
Food:
Small insects, spiders, seeds, buds, and berries.
Behavior:
Foraging
Gleans insects off of branches. Feeds in flocks in winter.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Open cup of soft leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, held in place with spider web, lined with fine grasses or deer hair. Placed in shrub or herbaceous plant close to ground.
Egg Description:
Unmarked white; a few have brownish spots.
Clutch Size:
Usually 3-4 eggs. Range: 1-4.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with sparse down.
Conservation Status:
Abundant. May be declining slightly in Southeast.
Other Names:
Passerin indigo (French)
Azulito, Gorrión, Ruicito (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Payne, R. B. 1992. Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). In The Birds of North America, No. 4 (A. Poole, Peter Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC; The American Ornithologists' Union.
Mike
Photo by BF member Peacefrog2.
Attachments
Last edited:
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Marmot said:
On my palm pilot I have a randomizer and I downloaded the North American Bird list in it. When it picks a bird, I'll first see what kind of Cool Facts I can find...If it's not very interesting I try again. I just changed the format too. I think most people want to read the Cool Facts first. Thanks for the interest!
Mike
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Ivory-billed Woodpecker :clap:
Campephilus principalis Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE
The largest of the woodpeckers north of Mexico and the third largest in the world, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was a bird of old-growth Southeastern forests. Destruction of its forest habitat caused severe population declines in the 1800s, and only a handful of birds remained into the 20th century. It is likely extinct.
Cool Facts:
The Cuban form of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was considered a separate species at one time. It closely resembled the bird from the United States, but it had a slightly smaller bill and the white neck stripes extended farther onto the face. It suffered the same fate as the mainland form, disappearing as the mature forests were destroyed. The last confirmed sighting was made in 1986. Some may still persist in southeastern Cuba, but it may be extinct.
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is very similar to the larger and very closely related Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world, lacked the white neck stripes and had a longer, thinner crest. It was a bird of mature pine forests, and also is likely extinct.
Bills of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker were used as decorations by native Americans and a thriving trade in them existed across much of North America. The presence of Ivory-billed Woodpecker skulls in excavations of archaeological sites outside of the known range of the woodpecker show the extent of the trade and not an ancient range for the species.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was involved in an attempt to relocate the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana in 2002. Go here http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/ for details of that search and more information on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. No ivory-bills were found, and a potential double-knock was determined to be gunshots. Read a report of the expedition published in BirdScope. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/publications/birdscope/Summer2002/ivory_bill_absent.html
Description:
Size: 46-51 cm (18-20 in)
Wingspan: 76-80 cm (30-31 in)
Weight: 450-570 g (15.89-20.12 ounces)
Large woodpecker.
Red or red-and-black crest on head.
Black body.
Large white patches in wings.
White along rear of wings (secondaries). White conspicuous in flight; at rest shows as large white patch across back. White stripes up back and sides of neck, reaching just onto face. Throat black. Bill thick and ivory white. Whitish feathers over nostrils. Legs and feet light gray. Eyes yellow.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, except male has red at back of crest and female lacks red.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest, browner plumage, and brown eyes.
Similar Species:
Pileated Woodpecker is very similar, but has a smaller, dark or silvery bill (sometimes appearing white), the white neck line extending across the face to the top of the bill, a white throat, a white line above the eye, and red on top of the crest. It A perched pileated lacks the large white back and shows only small white spots on the wings. In flight, the trailing edge of the wing is black in Pileated Woodpecker and white in Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
Sound:
Call a nasal tooting "kent." Drum a quick double knock.
Summer Range:
Formerly resident from eastern Texas to North Carolina, and northward up the Mississippi River to Missouri. Also in Cuba.
Habitat:
Mature bottomland forest, cypress swamps with large hardwoods.
Food:
Insects, primarily beetle larvae, fruits, and nuts.
Behavior:
Foraging
Stripped bark from recently dead trees to reach beetle larvae, excavated conical holes deep into wood.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Cavity in tree.
Egg Description:
White.
Clutch Size:
1-5 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Naked and helpless.
Conservation Status:
Destruction of its forest habitat caused the Ivory-billed Woodpecker to decline, and by the 1880s the species was rare. Forest destruction accelerated for the war efforts of World Wars I and II and probably caused the final loss of the species in the United States. Although reports of sightings continue, the species is probably extinct.
Other Names:
Le pic noir a bec blanc (French)
El carpintero real (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Jackson, J. A. 2002. Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 711 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Ivory-billed Woodpecker :clap:
Campephilus principalis Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE
The largest of the woodpeckers north of Mexico and the third largest in the world, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was a bird of old-growth Southeastern forests. Destruction of its forest habitat caused severe population declines in the 1800s, and only a handful of birds remained into the 20th century. It is likely extinct.
Cool Facts:
The Cuban form of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was considered a separate species at one time. It closely resembled the bird from the United States, but it had a slightly smaller bill and the white neck stripes extended farther onto the face. It suffered the same fate as the mainland form, disappearing as the mature forests were destroyed. The last confirmed sighting was made in 1986. Some may still persist in southeastern Cuba, but it may be extinct.
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is very similar to the larger and very closely related Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world, lacked the white neck stripes and had a longer, thinner crest. It was a bird of mature pine forests, and also is likely extinct.
Bills of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker were used as decorations by native Americans and a thriving trade in them existed across much of North America. The presence of Ivory-billed Woodpecker skulls in excavations of archaeological sites outside of the known range of the woodpecker show the extent of the trade and not an ancient range for the species.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was involved in an attempt to relocate the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana in 2002. Go here http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/ for details of that search and more information on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. No ivory-bills were found, and a potential double-knock was determined to be gunshots. Read a report of the expedition published in BirdScope. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/publications/birdscope/Summer2002/ivory_bill_absent.html
Description:
Size: 46-51 cm (18-20 in)
Wingspan: 76-80 cm (30-31 in)
Weight: 450-570 g (15.89-20.12 ounces)
Large woodpecker.
Red or red-and-black crest on head.
Black body.
Large white patches in wings.
White along rear of wings (secondaries). White conspicuous in flight; at rest shows as large white patch across back. White stripes up back and sides of neck, reaching just onto face. Throat black. Bill thick and ivory white. Whitish feathers over nostrils. Legs and feet light gray. Eyes yellow.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, except male has red at back of crest and female lacks red.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest, browner plumage, and brown eyes.
Similar Species:
Pileated Woodpecker is very similar, but has a smaller, dark or silvery bill (sometimes appearing white), the white neck line extending across the face to the top of the bill, a white throat, a white line above the eye, and red on top of the crest. It A perched pileated lacks the large white back and shows only small white spots on the wings. In flight, the trailing edge of the wing is black in Pileated Woodpecker and white in Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
Sound:
Call a nasal tooting "kent." Drum a quick double knock.
Summer Range:
Formerly resident from eastern Texas to North Carolina, and northward up the Mississippi River to Missouri. Also in Cuba.
Habitat:
Mature bottomland forest, cypress swamps with large hardwoods.
Food:
Insects, primarily beetle larvae, fruits, and nuts.
Behavior:
Foraging
Stripped bark from recently dead trees to reach beetle larvae, excavated conical holes deep into wood.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Cavity in tree.
Egg Description:
White.
Clutch Size:
1-5 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Naked and helpless.
Conservation Status:
Destruction of its forest habitat caused the Ivory-billed Woodpecker to decline, and by the 1880s the species was rare. Forest destruction accelerated for the war efforts of World Wars I and II and probably caused the final loss of the species in the United States. Although reports of sightings continue, the species is probably extinct.
Other Names:
Le pic noir a bec blanc (French)
El carpintero real (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Jackson, J. A. 2002. Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 711 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Attachments
Ronald Zee
Well-known member
Destruction of its forest habitat caused severe population declines in the 1800s, and only a handful of birds remained into the 20th century. It is likely extinct.
This also shows what a devastating and non reversible effect man has on nature.
This also shows what a devastating and non reversible effect man has on nature.
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CORVIDAE
Widespread, common, and obvious, the American Crow is known by most people. What is less well known is how complex its life is. Young crows remain with their parents until they can find a home of their own, and individual relationships may last years.
Cool Facts:
American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred, several thousand, or even up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most, but not all, populations the young stay with their parents and help them raise young in subsequent years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.
The American Crow appears to be the biggest victim of West Nile virus, a disease recently introduced to North America. Crows die within one week of infection, and few seem able to survive exposure. No other North American bird is dying at the same rate from the disease, and the loss of crows in some areas has been severe.
In some areas, the American Crow has a double life. It maintains a territory year-round in which all members of its extended family live and forage together. But during much of the year, individual crows leave the home territory periodically. They join large flocks foraging at dumps and agricultural fields, and sleep in large roosts in winter. Family members go together to the flocks, but do not stay together in the crowd. A crow may spend part of the day at home with its family in town and the rest with a flock feeding on waste grain out in the country.
Despite being a common exploiter of roadkill, the American Crow is not specialized to be a scavenger, and carrion is only a very small part of its diet. Its stout bill is not strong enough to break through the skin of even a gray squirrel. It must wait for something else to open a carcass or for the carcass to decompose and become tender enough to eat.
Description:
Size: 40-53 cm (16-21 in)
Wingspan: 85-100 cm (33-39 in)
Weight: 316-620 g (11.15-21.89 ounces)
Eyes dark brown.
Legs black.
All feathers black glossed with violet.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike in plumage, but male averages slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult, but head feathers not glossy and more fluffy, inside of mouth red. Immature wing and tail feathers becoming brownish over the course of the first year.
Similar Species:
Fish Crow very similar, but smaller and with a more nasal voice.
Northwestern Crow essentially identical, but with more nasal voice.
Common Raven larger, with longer and more curved bill, shaggy throat feathers, more distinct "fingers" in the wings, a wedge-shaped tail, and a deeper and more guttural voice.
Chihuahuan Raven very similar, but with wedge-shaped tail and different voice.
Sound:
Common call a harsh "caw." Also a variety of rattles, coos, and clear notes.
Breeds from southeastern Yukon Territory eastward to Newfoundland, and southward to Florida and northern Mexico. Absent from desert regions.
Winter Range:
Winters from southern Canada southward.
Habitat:
Variety of habitats. Requires open ground for feeding and scattered trees for roosting, nesting, and refuge.
Food:
Omnivorous. Waste grain, earthworms, insects, carrion, garbage, seeds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fruit, bird eggs and nestlings.
Behavior:
Foraging
Forages mostly on ground. Pecks from surface and digs through litter. Caches food for later use.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Large open cup of sticks, filled with mud and grass. Lined with thick inner bowl of grapevine bark, hair, and other soft material. Usually placed high in tree.
Egg Description:
Pale bluish green with brown markings.
Clutch Size:
Usually 3-6 eggs. Range: 2-7.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with tufts of down.
Conservation Status:
Populations slightly, but significantly increasing over last half of 20th century. Severe susceptibility to West Nile virus may cause population decreases in near future.
Other Names:
Corneille d'Amérique (French)
Cuervo americano (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
McGowan, K. J. Frequently asked questions about crows. http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm.
Verbeek, N. A. M., and C. Caffrey. 2002. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). In The Birds of North America, No. 647 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Photo by BF member: Leslie
Corvus brachyrhynchos Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CORVIDAE
Widespread, common, and obvious, the American Crow is known by most people. What is less well known is how complex its life is. Young crows remain with their parents until they can find a home of their own, and individual relationships may last years.
Cool Facts:
American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred, several thousand, or even up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most, but not all, populations the young stay with their parents and help them raise young in subsequent years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.
The American Crow appears to be the biggest victim of West Nile virus, a disease recently introduced to North America. Crows die within one week of infection, and few seem able to survive exposure. No other North American bird is dying at the same rate from the disease, and the loss of crows in some areas has been severe.
In some areas, the American Crow has a double life. It maintains a territory year-round in which all members of its extended family live and forage together. But during much of the year, individual crows leave the home territory periodically. They join large flocks foraging at dumps and agricultural fields, and sleep in large roosts in winter. Family members go together to the flocks, but do not stay together in the crowd. A crow may spend part of the day at home with its family in town and the rest with a flock feeding on waste grain out in the country.
Despite being a common exploiter of roadkill, the American Crow is not specialized to be a scavenger, and carrion is only a very small part of its diet. Its stout bill is not strong enough to break through the skin of even a gray squirrel. It must wait for something else to open a carcass or for the carcass to decompose and become tender enough to eat.
Description:
Size: 40-53 cm (16-21 in)
Wingspan: 85-100 cm (33-39 in)
Weight: 316-620 g (11.15-21.89 ounces)
Eyes dark brown.
Legs black.
All feathers black glossed with violet.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike in plumage, but male averages slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult, but head feathers not glossy and more fluffy, inside of mouth red. Immature wing and tail feathers becoming brownish over the course of the first year.
Similar Species:
Fish Crow very similar, but smaller and with a more nasal voice.
Northwestern Crow essentially identical, but with more nasal voice.
Common Raven larger, with longer and more curved bill, shaggy throat feathers, more distinct "fingers" in the wings, a wedge-shaped tail, and a deeper and more guttural voice.
Chihuahuan Raven very similar, but with wedge-shaped tail and different voice.
Sound:
Common call a harsh "caw." Also a variety of rattles, coos, and clear notes.
Breeds from southeastern Yukon Territory eastward to Newfoundland, and southward to Florida and northern Mexico. Absent from desert regions.
Winter Range:
Winters from southern Canada southward.
Habitat:
Variety of habitats. Requires open ground for feeding and scattered trees for roosting, nesting, and refuge.
Food:
Omnivorous. Waste grain, earthworms, insects, carrion, garbage, seeds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fruit, bird eggs and nestlings.
Behavior:
Foraging
Forages mostly on ground. Pecks from surface and digs through litter. Caches food for later use.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Large open cup of sticks, filled with mud and grass. Lined with thick inner bowl of grapevine bark, hair, and other soft material. Usually placed high in tree.
Egg Description:
Pale bluish green with brown markings.
Clutch Size:
Usually 3-6 eggs. Range: 2-7.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with tufts of down.
Conservation Status:
Populations slightly, but significantly increasing over last half of 20th century. Severe susceptibility to West Nile virus may cause population decreases in near future.
Other Names:
Corneille d'Amérique (French)
Cuervo americano (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
McGowan, K. J. Frequently asked questions about crows. http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm.
Verbeek, N. A. M., and C. Caffrey. 2002. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). In The Birds of North America, No. 647 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Photo by BF member: Leslie
Attachments
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus Order CUCULIFORMES - Family CUCULIDAE - Subfamily Neomorphinae
The Greater Roadrunner is a signature bird of the desert Southwest. During the 20th century, its range expanded all the way to southern Missouri and western Louisiana. A ground-dwelling cuckoo, it feeds on snakes, scorpions, and any other small animals it can catch and subdue.
Cool Facts:
The Greater Roadrunner can reach running speeds of 30 km/hr (18.6 mi/hr). It holds its head and tail flat and parallel to the ground when running at its top speed.
To warm up after a cold desert night, a roadrunner will turn its back to the sun, fluff its back feathers, and expose skin along its back. This skin is black in order to absorb more solar energy.
The Greater Roadrunner eats many venomous prey items, including scorpions, spiders, and rattlesnakes. Two birds may cooperate to kill a large snake.
The Greater Roadrunner is an opportunistic forager. It frequently captures small birds at bird feeders and nest boxes. One was observed to leap up from hiding in a dry riverbed and knock down a low-flying White-throated Swift.
The desert-dwelling roadrunner uses salt glands in front of its eyes to excrete excess salt from its blood. Such glands are common in ocean-going birds that can drink seawater. The roadrunner is able to get along without drinking water if it eats food with high enough water content, but it will drink readily if water is available.
Description:
Size: 52-54 cm (20-21 in)
Wingspan: 49 cm (19 in)
Weight: 221-538 g (7.8-18.99 ounces)
Large chicken-like bird.
Long tail.
Short shaggy crest.
Crest blue-black.
Body light brown, heavily streaked with dark brown, glossed bronze.
Belly unstreaked dirty brown.
Bare blue skin around and behind eyes; red patch at back.
Bill long and stout.
White tips to outer tail feathers.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike in plumage; male larger.
Immature:
Juvenile looks similar to adult, but less distinctly marked and lacking metallic bronze gloss.
Sound:
Does not go "beep-beep"! Call is a downward slurring "co-coo-coo-coo-cooooo." Also a clattering "whirrrr" call.
Habitat:
Found in open arid and semiarid country with scattered brush.
Food:
Omnivorous. Insects, spiders, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, birds, eggs, rodents, carrion, and some fruit.
Behavior:
Foraging
Forages primarily on ground, grabbing prey with bill. Beats large prey against a rock or ground.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A shallow platform of thorny sticks. Lined with leaves, grass, feathers, snakeskin, and other materials. Placed in thorny bush, small tree, or cactus
Egg Description:
White with yellowish chalky film.
Clutch Size:
Usually 2-6 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Eyes closed. Active and able to beg.
Conservation Status
Although the range has expanded, populations where it is common show no long-term trend.
Other Names
Grand Géocoucou (French)
Correcamino californiano (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Hughes, J. M. 1996. Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). In The Birds of North America, No. 244 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Dave Stone
Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus Order CUCULIFORMES - Family CUCULIDAE - Subfamily Neomorphinae
The Greater Roadrunner is a signature bird of the desert Southwest. During the 20th century, its range expanded all the way to southern Missouri and western Louisiana. A ground-dwelling cuckoo, it feeds on snakes, scorpions, and any other small animals it can catch and subdue.
Cool Facts:
The Greater Roadrunner can reach running speeds of 30 km/hr (18.6 mi/hr). It holds its head and tail flat and parallel to the ground when running at its top speed.
To warm up after a cold desert night, a roadrunner will turn its back to the sun, fluff its back feathers, and expose skin along its back. This skin is black in order to absorb more solar energy.
The Greater Roadrunner eats many venomous prey items, including scorpions, spiders, and rattlesnakes. Two birds may cooperate to kill a large snake.
The Greater Roadrunner is an opportunistic forager. It frequently captures small birds at bird feeders and nest boxes. One was observed to leap up from hiding in a dry riverbed and knock down a low-flying White-throated Swift.
The desert-dwelling roadrunner uses salt glands in front of its eyes to excrete excess salt from its blood. Such glands are common in ocean-going birds that can drink seawater. The roadrunner is able to get along without drinking water if it eats food with high enough water content, but it will drink readily if water is available.
Description:
Size: 52-54 cm (20-21 in)
Wingspan: 49 cm (19 in)
Weight: 221-538 g (7.8-18.99 ounces)
Large chicken-like bird.
Long tail.
Short shaggy crest.
Crest blue-black.
Body light brown, heavily streaked with dark brown, glossed bronze.
Belly unstreaked dirty brown.
Bare blue skin around and behind eyes; red patch at back.
Bill long and stout.
White tips to outer tail feathers.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike in plumage; male larger.
Immature:
Juvenile looks similar to adult, but less distinctly marked and lacking metallic bronze gloss.
Sound:
Does not go "beep-beep"! Call is a downward slurring "co-coo-coo-coo-cooooo." Also a clattering "whirrrr" call.
Habitat:
Found in open arid and semiarid country with scattered brush.
Food:
Omnivorous. Insects, spiders, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, lizards, birds, eggs, rodents, carrion, and some fruit.
Behavior:
Foraging
Forages primarily on ground, grabbing prey with bill. Beats large prey against a rock or ground.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A shallow platform of thorny sticks. Lined with leaves, grass, feathers, snakeskin, and other materials. Placed in thorny bush, small tree, or cactus
Egg Description:
White with yellowish chalky film.
Clutch Size:
Usually 2-6 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Eyes closed. Active and able to beg.
Conservation Status
Although the range has expanded, populations where it is common show no long-term trend.
Other Names
Grand Géocoucou (French)
Correcamino californiano (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Hughes, J. M. 1996. Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). In The Birds of North America, No. 244 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Dave Stone
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Last edited:
Colin Trotman
Col
Mike,
What's the difference, if any, between the 'American Crow' and our Carrion Crow? (Corvus corone corone) excuse my ignorance, but it looks like the self-same bird to me. The characteristics look pretty similar also!
What's the difference, if any, between the 'American Crow' and our Carrion Crow? (Corvus corone corone) excuse my ignorance, but it looks like the self-same bird to me. The characteristics look pretty similar also!
crispycreme
Well-known member
Colin Trotman said:
That'd be the case for nearly every species of crow. They're all in the same genus and many are indistinguishable from one another by sight alone (case in point: Northwestern vs. American). But as to American Crow vs. Carrion Crow specifically, Wikipedia has this to say:
The American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is slightly smaller than the European Carrion Crow in overall size (39-49 cm in length) and also has a proportionately smaller bill. Feathers are black, with a purple or blue iridescence in some lights. Legs, feet and bill are also black. Several regional forms are recognized and differ in bill proportion and overall size from each other across North America, generally smallest in the southeast and the far west.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_crow
I suspect there are other differences in breeding, voice, foraging behavior, etc., as well but I couldn't find anything specific.
Colin Trotman
Col
Thanks for that Crispy!
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Cackling Goose
Cackling Goose
Branta hutchinsii Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anserinae
The newly recognized Cackling Goose is a smaller version of the Canada Goose. Formerly considered the smallest subspecies of one variable species, recent work on genetic differences found the four smallest forms to be very different. These four races are now recognized as a full species: the Cackling Goose. It breeds farther northward and westward than does the Canada Goose.
Cool Facts:
The Cackling Goose was long considered just a small race of the Canada Goose. The smallest four of the eleven recognized races were recently determined to be distinct enough to be their own species. Cackling Goose includes the races known as Taverner's, Richardson's, Aleutian, and Cackling geese. Confusingly, the "Lesser Canada Goose" is still a race of the Canada Goose.
Although most Cackling Geese nest along ponds and streams in the tundra, the Aleutian form nests on south-facing turf slopes above rocky, cliff-bound shorelines. The Richardson's form can nest in colonies of several hundred pairs on cliffs and steep rock slopes.
The smallest form of the Cackling Goose is only a quarter the size of the "Giant Canada Goose" subspecies.
Description:
Size: 55-75 cm (22-30 in)
Weight: 950-3000 g (33.54-105.9 ounces)
Medium-sized to small goose.
Black head.
Bill small and triangular.
Long, black neck.
White chinstrap.
Light tan to brown breast feathers.
Brownish back.
White undertail.
Rump white.
Tail black.
Legs black.
Eyes black.
Bill black.
White cheek patches may or may not be separated by black stripe on chin.
Black neck sometimes separated from brown chest by white collar.
Sex Differences:
Sexes look alike, male slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult.
Similar Species:
Canada Goose nearly identical, but larger, and with proportionately larger bill.
The blue form of the Snow Goose has an all-white head.
Brant has a dark chest and white limited to the neck, not the cheek.
The rare Barnacle Goose has an entirely white face, a black breast, and a gray and black barred back.
Canada Goose X domestic goose hybrids have a wide variety of different markings, including extended white on head, red on bill, and red legs.
Sound:
Noisy. Call a loud honking or a high-pitched, squeaking cackle.
Breeds from western Alaska eastward across northern Canada to Baffin Island, southward to central Yukon.
Winter Range:
Winters from British Columbia southward to California, eastward to northern Mexico and western Louisiana.
Habitat:
Breeds in coastal marshes, along tundra ponds and streams, and steep turf slopes above rocky shores.
Food:
Entirely herbivorous. Eats variety of plant species and parts, especially grasses, sedges, grain, and berries.
Behavior:
Foraging
Grazes on grass. Tips up to reach aquatic vegetation. Feeds in flocks in fields.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Nest a large open cup, made of dry grasses, lichens, and mosses, lined with down and some body feathers. Usually placed on slightly elevated sites near water. Some cliff nesting.
Egg Description:
Creamy white.
Clutch Size:
2-8 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Covered with down and eyes open. Leaves nest within 24 hours of hatching with the ability to swim and feed.
Conservation Status:
Aleutian Cackling Goose was protected under the original Endangered Species Act in 1973, but was removed from the list in 2001. Other forms increasing, but still below long-term averages.
Other Names:
Bernache de Hutchins (French)
Canada Goose (in part) (English)
Sources used to construct this page:
Banks, R. C., et al. 2004. Forty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 121: 985-995.
Mowbray, T. B., C. R. Ely, J. S. Sedinger, and R. E. Trost. 2002. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis). In The Birds of North America, No.682 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Cackling Goose
Branta hutchinsii Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anserinae
The newly recognized Cackling Goose is a smaller version of the Canada Goose. Formerly considered the smallest subspecies of one variable species, recent work on genetic differences found the four smallest forms to be very different. These four races are now recognized as a full species: the Cackling Goose. It breeds farther northward and westward than does the Canada Goose.
Cool Facts:
The Cackling Goose was long considered just a small race of the Canada Goose. The smallest four of the eleven recognized races were recently determined to be distinct enough to be their own species. Cackling Goose includes the races known as Taverner's, Richardson's, Aleutian, and Cackling geese. Confusingly, the "Lesser Canada Goose" is still a race of the Canada Goose.
Although most Cackling Geese nest along ponds and streams in the tundra, the Aleutian form nests on south-facing turf slopes above rocky, cliff-bound shorelines. The Richardson's form can nest in colonies of several hundred pairs on cliffs and steep rock slopes.
The smallest form of the Cackling Goose is only a quarter the size of the "Giant Canada Goose" subspecies.
Description:
Size: 55-75 cm (22-30 in)
Weight: 950-3000 g (33.54-105.9 ounces)
Medium-sized to small goose.
Black head.
Bill small and triangular.
Long, black neck.
White chinstrap.
Light tan to brown breast feathers.
Brownish back.
White undertail.
Rump white.
Tail black.
Legs black.
Eyes black.
Bill black.
White cheek patches may or may not be separated by black stripe on chin.
Black neck sometimes separated from brown chest by white collar.
Sex Differences:
Sexes look alike, male slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile similar to adult.
Similar Species:
Canada Goose nearly identical, but larger, and with proportionately larger bill.
The blue form of the Snow Goose has an all-white head.
Brant has a dark chest and white limited to the neck, not the cheek.
The rare Barnacle Goose has an entirely white face, a black breast, and a gray and black barred back.
Canada Goose X domestic goose hybrids have a wide variety of different markings, including extended white on head, red on bill, and red legs.
Sound:
Noisy. Call a loud honking or a high-pitched, squeaking cackle.
Breeds from western Alaska eastward across northern Canada to Baffin Island, southward to central Yukon.
Winter Range:
Winters from British Columbia southward to California, eastward to northern Mexico and western Louisiana.
Habitat:
Breeds in coastal marshes, along tundra ponds and streams, and steep turf slopes above rocky shores.
Food:
Entirely herbivorous. Eats variety of plant species and parts, especially grasses, sedges, grain, and berries.
Behavior:
Foraging
Grazes on grass. Tips up to reach aquatic vegetation. Feeds in flocks in fields.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Nest a large open cup, made of dry grasses, lichens, and mosses, lined with down and some body feathers. Usually placed on slightly elevated sites near water. Some cliff nesting.
Egg Description:
Creamy white.
Clutch Size:
2-8 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Covered with down and eyes open. Leaves nest within 24 hours of hatching with the ability to swim and feed.
Conservation Status:
Aleutian Cackling Goose was protected under the original Endangered Species Act in 1973, but was removed from the list in 2001. Other forms increasing, but still below long-term averages.
Other Names:
Bernache de Hutchins (French)
Canada Goose (in part) (English)
Sources used to construct this page:
Banks, R. C., et al. 2004. Forty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 121: 985-995.
Mowbray, T. B., C. R. Ely, J. S. Sedinger, and R. E. Trost. 2002. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis). In The Birds of North America, No.682 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Attachments
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Common Moorhen
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus Order GRUIFORMES - Family RALLIDAE
The most widely distributed member of the rail family, the Common Moorhen inhabits marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, from northern Europe to southern Africa, and across Asia to the Pacific. Vocal and boldly marked, the species can be quite conspicuous, sometimes using its long toes to walk atop floating vegetation.
Cool Facts:
The Common Moorhen has long toes that makes it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation. The toes have no lobes or webbing to help in swimming, but the moorhen is a good swimmer anyway.
The Common Moorhen sometimes lifts its feet out of the water in front of the body while swimming, perhaps to pass over vegetation.
Newly hatched chicks of the Common Moorhen have spurs on their wings that help them climb into the nest or grab emergent vegetation.
Twelve subspecies of Common Gallinule are recognized from around the world, most differing only in size or brightness of plumage. One subspecies is found only in the Hawaiian Islands and has been known as the Hawaiian Gallinule.
Description:
Size: 32-35 cm (13-14 in)
Wingspan: 54-62 cm (21-24 in)
Weight: 310-456 g (10.94-16.1 ounces)
Dark, with white flank stripe.
Red bill and forehead.
Swims on surface of water like a duck.
Bill triangular like a chicken's, not flat like a duck's.
White stripe on sides of undertail.
Breeding (Alternate) Plumage:
Mostly blackish body, brown wings, and white flank stripe. Undertail white with a black line in middle. Forehead shield and bill bright red; bill with yellow tip. Legs olive-yellow. Ring of scarlet just below thigh feathers.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage:
Chin, throat, and underparts paler than on breeding adult. Bill and forehead shield dusky red.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, male slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile brownish-gray with drab maroon bill and no frontal shield.
Similar Species:
Adult Purple Gallinule has blue body plumage, green wings, and a blue frontal shield, and lacks white flank stripe. Juvenile Purple Gallinule has tawny neck and head, mostly white underparts, and greenish wings. Purple Gallinule lacks black line down the middle of the undertail coverts.
American Coot is stockier, has white bill, unmarked flanks, and mostly dark undertail coverts.
Sound
A highly varied repertoire of calls, including clucks, whinnies, cackles, squawks, and yelps.
Breeds in appropriate habitat scattered throughout the United States, from southern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Coast, southward through the Mississippi River basin to the Gulf Coast, and locally in the western states, including the California coast and Central Valley, the Salton Sea, and the Colorado River. Also in much of Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Winter Range:
Resident in West, along Gulf Coast, and southern Atlantic Coast. Moorhens breeding in the north Atlantic and Midwestern states winter from North Carolina to Texas, and possibly southward to Central and South America.
Habitat:
Freshwater or brackish marshes with tall emergent vegetation, ponds, canals, and rice fields.
Food:
Seeds of grasses and sedges, and some snails.
Behavior:
Foraging
Picks food from water surface or from emergent plants while walking or swimming. Dips head, dabbles, and occasionally dives. Flips floating leaves to take snails clinging to undersides.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A wide bowl of grasses and sedges, usually taken from near the nest site. Most commonly anchored to emergent vegetation within a meter of water.
Egg Description:
Gray or buff with variable speckles and splotches.
Clutch Size:
3-15 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Eyes open; covered with gray down except on head and wings.
Conservation Status:
Listed as threatened or as a species of special concern in several Midwestern and Northeastern states because of loss of wetland habitat, predation by introduced mammals, and other factors.
Other Names:
Gallinule poule-d'eau, Poule d'eau (French)
Pollo de agua, Gallareta frentirroja, Pollona negra (Spanish)
Common Gallinule, Florida Gallinule (English)
Sources used to construct this page:
Bannor, B. K., and E. Kiviat. 2002. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). In The Birds of North America, No. 685 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Photo by BF member rudydbn
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus Order GRUIFORMES - Family RALLIDAE
The most widely distributed member of the rail family, the Common Moorhen inhabits marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, from northern Europe to southern Africa, and across Asia to the Pacific. Vocal and boldly marked, the species can be quite conspicuous, sometimes using its long toes to walk atop floating vegetation.
Cool Facts:
The Common Moorhen has long toes that makes it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation. The toes have no lobes or webbing to help in swimming, but the moorhen is a good swimmer anyway.
The Common Moorhen sometimes lifts its feet out of the water in front of the body while swimming, perhaps to pass over vegetation.
Newly hatched chicks of the Common Moorhen have spurs on their wings that help them climb into the nest or grab emergent vegetation.
Twelve subspecies of Common Gallinule are recognized from around the world, most differing only in size or brightness of plumage. One subspecies is found only in the Hawaiian Islands and has been known as the Hawaiian Gallinule.
Description:
Size: 32-35 cm (13-14 in)
Wingspan: 54-62 cm (21-24 in)
Weight: 310-456 g (10.94-16.1 ounces)
Dark, with white flank stripe.
Red bill and forehead.
Swims on surface of water like a duck.
Bill triangular like a chicken's, not flat like a duck's.
White stripe on sides of undertail.
Breeding (Alternate) Plumage:
Mostly blackish body, brown wings, and white flank stripe. Undertail white with a black line in middle. Forehead shield and bill bright red; bill with yellow tip. Legs olive-yellow. Ring of scarlet just below thigh feathers.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage:
Chin, throat, and underparts paler than on breeding adult. Bill and forehead shield dusky red.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, male slightly larger.
Immature:
Juvenile brownish-gray with drab maroon bill and no frontal shield.
Similar Species:
Adult Purple Gallinule has blue body plumage, green wings, and a blue frontal shield, and lacks white flank stripe. Juvenile Purple Gallinule has tawny neck and head, mostly white underparts, and greenish wings. Purple Gallinule lacks black line down the middle of the undertail coverts.
American Coot is stockier, has white bill, unmarked flanks, and mostly dark undertail coverts.
Sound
A highly varied repertoire of calls, including clucks, whinnies, cackles, squawks, and yelps.
Breeds in appropriate habitat scattered throughout the United States, from southern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Coast, southward through the Mississippi River basin to the Gulf Coast, and locally in the western states, including the California coast and Central Valley, the Salton Sea, and the Colorado River. Also in much of Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Winter Range:
Resident in West, along Gulf Coast, and southern Atlantic Coast. Moorhens breeding in the north Atlantic and Midwestern states winter from North Carolina to Texas, and possibly southward to Central and South America.
Habitat:
Freshwater or brackish marshes with tall emergent vegetation, ponds, canals, and rice fields.
Food:
Seeds of grasses and sedges, and some snails.
Behavior:
Foraging
Picks food from water surface or from emergent plants while walking or swimming. Dips head, dabbles, and occasionally dives. Flips floating leaves to take snails clinging to undersides.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A wide bowl of grasses and sedges, usually taken from near the nest site. Most commonly anchored to emergent vegetation within a meter of water.
Egg Description:
Gray or buff with variable speckles and splotches.
Clutch Size:
3-15 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Eyes open; covered with gray down except on head and wings.
Conservation Status:
Listed as threatened or as a species of special concern in several Midwestern and Northeastern states because of loss of wetland habitat, predation by introduced mammals, and other factors.
Other Names:
Gallinule poule-d'eau, Poule d'eau (French)
Pollo de agua, Gallareta frentirroja, Pollona negra (Spanish)
Common Gallinule, Florida Gallinule (English)
Sources used to construct this page:
Bannor, B. K., and E. Kiviat. 2002. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). In The Birds of North America, No. 685 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Photo by BF member rudydbn
Attachments
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PARULIDAE
A small, inconspicuous bird of the forest floor, the Ovenbird is one of the most characteristic birds of the eastern forests. Its loud song, "teacher, teacher, teacher," rings through the summer forest, but the bird itself is hard to see.
Cool Facts:
On its breeding ground, the Ovenbird divides up the forest environment with the other warblers of the forest floor. The Ovenbird uses the uplands and moderately sloped areas, the Worm-eating Warbler uses the steep slopes, and the Louisiana Waterthrush and the Kentucky Warbler use the low-lying areas.
The Ovenbird gets its name from its covered nest. The dome and side entrance make it resemble a Dutch oven.
It's a tough life being a small migratory bird. Studies estimate that half of all adult Ovenbirds die each year. The oldest known Ovenbird was seven years old.
Neighboring male Ovenbirds sing together. One male starts singing, and the second will join in immediately after. They pause, and then sing one after the other again, for up to 40 songs. The second joins in so quickly that they may sound from a distance as if only one bird is singing. Ovenbirds rarely overlap the song of their neighbors.
Description:
Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
Wingspan: 19-26 cm (7-10 in)
Weight: 16-28 g (0.56-0.99 ounces)
Small songbird.
Olive brown back.
White underside with bold, dark streaked spots.
White eyering.
Orange crown bordered by black stripes.
Throat white, broken by black malar streaks.
Legs pinkish.
Flanks light buffy.
Undertail white.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike.
Immature:
Immature like adult, but less brightly colored.
Similar Species:
Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes similar, but have broad whitish eyestripes, are less round in shape, more dark brown on the back, lack the orange and black crown, and constantly bob their tails.
Thrushes have round spots, not streaks on their chests and lack the orange and black crown.
Sound:
A loud, ringing "cher, teacher, teacher, teacher."
Summer Range:
Breeds from southeastern Yukon eastward to Newfoundland, southward to Wyoming, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Winter Range:
Winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
Habitat:
Breeds in mature deciduous and mixed deciduous and coniferous forests.
Winters in primary and second growth forests.
Food:
Forest insects.
Behavior:
Foraging
Picks insects off leaf litter on the forest floor.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Nest a woven domed cup of dead leaves and plant stems, with the entrance on the side. Placed on ground. Lined with hair.
Egg Description:
White with dark speckles in a wreath around the large end.
Clutch Size:
3-6 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with sparse brown down.
Conservation Status:
Maturation of forests in Northeast may be causing slight increases in the Ovenbird population. May be declining at edge of range.
Other Names:
Paruline couronnée (French)
Pizpita dorada, Señorita del monte, Verdín suelero (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Van Horn, M. A. and T. Donovan. 1994. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). In The Birds of North America, No. 88 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Larry Lade
Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PARULIDAE
A small, inconspicuous bird of the forest floor, the Ovenbird is one of the most characteristic birds of the eastern forests. Its loud song, "teacher, teacher, teacher," rings through the summer forest, but the bird itself is hard to see.
Cool Facts:
On its breeding ground, the Ovenbird divides up the forest environment with the other warblers of the forest floor. The Ovenbird uses the uplands and moderately sloped areas, the Worm-eating Warbler uses the steep slopes, and the Louisiana Waterthrush and the Kentucky Warbler use the low-lying areas.
The Ovenbird gets its name from its covered nest. The dome and side entrance make it resemble a Dutch oven.
It's a tough life being a small migratory bird. Studies estimate that half of all adult Ovenbirds die each year. The oldest known Ovenbird was seven years old.
Neighboring male Ovenbirds sing together. One male starts singing, and the second will join in immediately after. They pause, and then sing one after the other again, for up to 40 songs. The second joins in so quickly that they may sound from a distance as if only one bird is singing. Ovenbirds rarely overlap the song of their neighbors.
Description:
Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
Wingspan: 19-26 cm (7-10 in)
Weight: 16-28 g (0.56-0.99 ounces)
Small songbird.
Olive brown back.
White underside with bold, dark streaked spots.
White eyering.
Orange crown bordered by black stripes.
Throat white, broken by black malar streaks.
Legs pinkish.
Flanks light buffy.
Undertail white.
Sex Differences:
Sexes alike.
Immature:
Immature like adult, but less brightly colored.
Similar Species:
Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes similar, but have broad whitish eyestripes, are less round in shape, more dark brown on the back, lack the orange and black crown, and constantly bob their tails.
Thrushes have round spots, not streaks on their chests and lack the orange and black crown.
Sound:
A loud, ringing "cher, teacher, teacher, teacher."
Summer Range:
Breeds from southeastern Yukon eastward to Newfoundland, southward to Wyoming, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Georgia.
Winter Range:
Winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
Habitat:
Breeds in mature deciduous and mixed deciduous and coniferous forests.
Winters in primary and second growth forests.
Food:
Forest insects.
Behavior:
Foraging
Picks insects off leaf litter on the forest floor.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
Nest a woven domed cup of dead leaves and plant stems, with the entrance on the side. Placed on ground. Lined with hair.
Egg Description:
White with dark speckles in a wreath around the large end.
Clutch Size:
3-6 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with sparse brown down.
Conservation Status:
Maturation of forests in Northeast may be causing slight increases in the Ovenbird population. May be declining at edge of range.
Other Names:
Paruline couronnée (French)
Pizpita dorada, Señorita del monte, Verdín suelero (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Van Horn, M. A. and T. Donovan. 1994. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). In The Birds of North America, No. 88 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Larry Lade
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Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anatinae
A member of the tribe of "stiff-tailed ducks," the Ruddy Duck has a spiky tail that it often holds straight up in display.
Discussion:
This duck is one of the most aquatic members of the family and like a grebe can sink slowly out of sight. Although it can avoid danger by diving or by hiding in marsh vegetation, it is a strong flier and undertakes long migrations to and from its nesting places. Largely vegetarian, it favors pondweed and the seeds of other aquatic plants, but also consumes large numbers of midge larvae during the breeding season.
Description:
Size: 35-43 cm (14-17 in)
Wingspan: 56-62 cm (22-24 in)
Weight: 300-850 g (10.59-30.01 ounces)
Small duck.
Large white cheek patches.
Dark cap.
Bill blue or bluish.
Long tail often held up.
Breeding male bright cinnamon red.
Sex Differences:
Male with bright white cheeks; reddish in breeding plumage. Female browner with dark line through cheek patch.
Immature:
Similar to adult female.
Similar Species:
Female Black Scoter has whitish cheeks, but is larger, darker, has a dark chest, and prefers salt water (ruddy prefers fresh water).
Sound:
Usually silent except in courtship. Male makes series of muffled popping noises.
Summer Range:
Breeds across American West from Northwestern Territories southward to Mexico, and in scattered localities in Midwest and Northeast. Also in Caribbean. Introduced to Britain.
Winter Range:
Winters along coasts from southern Canada southward, and southern United States southward to northern Central America and the Caribbean.
Other Names:
Canard roux (French)
Pato zambullidor (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Brua, R. B. 2001. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 696 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis Order ANSERIFORMES - Family ANATIDAE - Subfamily Anatinae
A member of the tribe of "stiff-tailed ducks," the Ruddy Duck has a spiky tail that it often holds straight up in display.
Discussion:
This duck is one of the most aquatic members of the family and like a grebe can sink slowly out of sight. Although it can avoid danger by diving or by hiding in marsh vegetation, it is a strong flier and undertakes long migrations to and from its nesting places. Largely vegetarian, it favors pondweed and the seeds of other aquatic plants, but also consumes large numbers of midge larvae during the breeding season.
Description:
Size: 35-43 cm (14-17 in)
Wingspan: 56-62 cm (22-24 in)
Weight: 300-850 g (10.59-30.01 ounces)
Small duck.
Large white cheek patches.
Dark cap.
Bill blue or bluish.
Long tail often held up.
Breeding male bright cinnamon red.
Sex Differences:
Male with bright white cheeks; reddish in breeding plumage. Female browner with dark line through cheek patch.
Immature:
Similar to adult female.
Similar Species:
Female Black Scoter has whitish cheeks, but is larger, darker, has a dark chest, and prefers salt water (ruddy prefers fresh water).
Sound:
Usually silent except in courtship. Male makes series of muffled popping noises.
Summer Range:
Breeds across American West from Northwestern Territories southward to Mexico, and in scattered localities in Midwest and Northeast. Also in Caribbean. Introduced to Britain.
Winter Range:
Winters along coasts from southern Canada southward, and southern United States southward to northern Central America and the Caribbean.
Other Names:
Canard roux (French)
Pato zambullidor (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Brua, R. B. 2001. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 696 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Mike
Attachments
weather
Pirate name: Poncy Henry Goodfellow
American Avocet
American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana
Order CHARADRIIFORMES - Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE
With its elegant profile and striking coloration, the American Avocet is unique among North American birds. In summer it can be found in temporary and unpredictable wetlands across western North America where it swings its long upturned bill through the shallow water to catch small invertebrates.
Cool Facts:
* In response to predators, the American Avocet sometimes issues a series of call notes that gradually changes pitch, simulating the Doppler effect and thus making its approach seem faster than it actually is.
* Nesting American Avocets aggressively attack predators, sometimes physically striking Northern Harriers or Common Ravens.
* A female American Avocet may lay one to four eggs in the nest of another female, who then incubates the eggs. American Avocets may parasitize other species' nests too; single American Avocet eggs have been found in the nests of Mew Gulls. Other species may also parasitize avocet nests. Avocets have incubated mixed clutches of their own eggs and those of Common Terns or Black-necked Stilts. The avocets reared the stilt hatchlings as if they were their own.
* American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators.
Description:
* Size: 43-47 cm (17-19 in)
* Wingspan: 72 cm (28 in)
* Weight: 275-350 g (9.71-12.36 ounces)
* Large shorebird. Long legs.
* Long, upturned bill.
* Black-and-white upperparts.
* Rusty or gray neck and head.
* Wings black on outer half; white inner half crossed by black bar on upper surface.
* Underparts white.
* Legs grayish blue.
* Bill black.
* Eyes dark brown.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, but female slightly smaller, with shorter and more curved bill.
Immature:
Similar to adult, but head colored light buff.
Similar Species:
* Black-necked Stilt has all black back, black face and back of neck, and red legs.
* Godwits less cleanly marked and with shorter legs.
Sound:
Call a repeated, high-pitched "kleek."
Summer range:
Breeds in the western Great Plains, from Saskatchewan and Alberta southward through Montana and the Dakotas to eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. Also breeds in isolated wetland areas in the arid western states, and along coast of California and Texas. A few breed on Atlantic Coast. Also breeds in central Mexico.
Winter range:
Winters in California and Mexico, and along coast from Texas to North Carolina.
Habitat:
Shallow fresh and saltwater wetlands.
Food:
Aquatic invertebrates.
Behavior:
Foraging
Feeds in shallow water, while wading or swimming. Locates food by sight and snaps it up, or sweeps its long bill through the water, capturing prey by touch.
Displays:
In territory establishment and in self-defense, performs elaborate ritualized displays. One notable display involves two pairs, or a pair and a third individual, facing each other in a circle and then stretching their bills toward each other. Upon the approach of a terrestrial predator, may approach the predator with a teetering gait and outstretched wings, as if on a tightrope. Also crouches on the ground as if incubating, only to move and crouch again in a new location.
Courtship:
In its pre-copulation display, the male American Avocet preens himself with water, gradually gaining intensity to the point of frenzied splashing just before he mounts the female. After copulating, the pair intertwines their necks and runs forward.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A scrape in the ground, lined with grass or other vegetation, feathers, pebbles, or other small objects, or completely unlined.
Egg Description:
Greenish brown with irregular dark spots. Pointed on one end.
Clutch Size:
Usually 4 eggs. Range: 3-4.
Condition at Hatching:
Downy and able to walk.
Conservation Status:
Populations declined in the 1960s and 1970s, largely from the loss of wetlands from water diversion for human use. Contamination of wetland habitat with selenium caused increased developmental abnormalities and mortality. Since 1995, owners of selenium-contaminated sites in northern California have been required to provide safe wetland habitat for the species. Breeding success on the newly created sites has been much greater than initially expected, but long-term prospects for breeding at these sites are not clear.
Other Names:
Avocette d'Amérique (French)
Avoceta Americana, Piqocurvo (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Robinson, J. A., L. W. Oring, J. P. Skorupa, and R. Boettcher. 1997. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana). In The Birds of North America, No. (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA., No. 275 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Ron Conley
American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana
Order CHARADRIIFORMES - Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE
With its elegant profile and striking coloration, the American Avocet is unique among North American birds. In summer it can be found in temporary and unpredictable wetlands across western North America where it swings its long upturned bill through the shallow water to catch small invertebrates.
Cool Facts:
* In response to predators, the American Avocet sometimes issues a series of call notes that gradually changes pitch, simulating the Doppler effect and thus making its approach seem faster than it actually is.
* Nesting American Avocets aggressively attack predators, sometimes physically striking Northern Harriers or Common Ravens.
* A female American Avocet may lay one to four eggs in the nest of another female, who then incubates the eggs. American Avocets may parasitize other species' nests too; single American Avocet eggs have been found in the nests of Mew Gulls. Other species may also parasitize avocet nests. Avocets have incubated mixed clutches of their own eggs and those of Common Terns or Black-necked Stilts. The avocets reared the stilt hatchlings as if they were their own.
* American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators.
Description:
* Size: 43-47 cm (17-19 in)
* Wingspan: 72 cm (28 in)
* Weight: 275-350 g (9.71-12.36 ounces)
* Large shorebird. Long legs.
* Long, upturned bill.
* Black-and-white upperparts.
* Rusty or gray neck and head.
* Wings black on outer half; white inner half crossed by black bar on upper surface.
* Underparts white.
* Legs grayish blue.
* Bill black.
* Eyes dark brown.
Sex Differences:
Sexes similar, but female slightly smaller, with shorter and more curved bill.
Immature:
Similar to adult, but head colored light buff.
Similar Species:
* Black-necked Stilt has all black back, black face and back of neck, and red legs.
* Godwits less cleanly marked and with shorter legs.
Sound:
Call a repeated, high-pitched "kleek."
Summer range:
Breeds in the western Great Plains, from Saskatchewan and Alberta southward through Montana and the Dakotas to eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. Also breeds in isolated wetland areas in the arid western states, and along coast of California and Texas. A few breed on Atlantic Coast. Also breeds in central Mexico.
Winter range:
Winters in California and Mexico, and along coast from Texas to North Carolina.
Habitat:
Shallow fresh and saltwater wetlands.
Food:
Aquatic invertebrates.
Behavior:
Foraging
Feeds in shallow water, while wading or swimming. Locates food by sight and snaps it up, or sweeps its long bill through the water, capturing prey by touch.
Displays:
In territory establishment and in self-defense, performs elaborate ritualized displays. One notable display involves two pairs, or a pair and a third individual, facing each other in a circle and then stretching their bills toward each other. Upon the approach of a terrestrial predator, may approach the predator with a teetering gait and outstretched wings, as if on a tightrope. Also crouches on the ground as if incubating, only to move and crouch again in a new location.
Courtship:
In its pre-copulation display, the male American Avocet preens himself with water, gradually gaining intensity to the point of frenzied splashing just before he mounts the female. After copulating, the pair intertwines their necks and runs forward.
Reproduction:
Nest Type
A scrape in the ground, lined with grass or other vegetation, feathers, pebbles, or other small objects, or completely unlined.
Egg Description:
Greenish brown with irregular dark spots. Pointed on one end.
Clutch Size:
Usually 4 eggs. Range: 3-4.
Condition at Hatching:
Downy and able to walk.
Conservation Status:
Populations declined in the 1960s and 1970s, largely from the loss of wetlands from water diversion for human use. Contamination of wetland habitat with selenium caused increased developmental abnormalities and mortality. Since 1995, owners of selenium-contaminated sites in northern California have been required to provide safe wetland habitat for the species. Breeding success on the newly created sites has been much greater than initially expected, but long-term prospects for breeding at these sites are not clear.
Other Names:
Avocette d'Amérique (French)
Avoceta Americana, Piqocurvo (Spanish)
Sources used to construct this page:
Robinson, J. A., L. W. Oring, J. P. Skorupa, and R. Boettcher. 1997. American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana). In The Birds of North America, No. (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA., No. 275 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.
Mike
Photo by BF member Ron Conley
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