Bird List

Anatidae: Mute Swan

Huge white birds with long necks, red/orange bill, black face

adults have black knob on top of the beak

can be aggressive

Anatidae: Canado Goose

Black head and neck with white chinstrap, brown body varying in shades

typically in groups

graze on land and up-ends in water for aquatic vegetation

Anatidea: Mallard

males have a green head, chestnut breast, gray body

females are mottled brown with orange and black bill splotches

Anatidae: Ring-Necked Duck

males have glossy black head abdomen back, gray sides with white side spur

females are gray/brown, white eyes, dark bill

Anatidea: Common Merganser

large duck, sleek body with thin red bill

breeding males have dark green head and mostly white body with peachy blush on underparts

females and immature males have rusty brown head and gray bodies with clearly demarcated white throat

feed on fish by diving in rivers, lakes, ponds

Phasianidae: Wild Turkey

large-bodied, long neck, small head

often seen in small groups in open fields near woods

Columbidae: Rock Pigeon

Chunky body, small head

variable plumage but mostly blue-grey head and breast

Columbidae: Mourning Dove

half the size of the rock pigeon

chunky body, small head and tail

gray-brown upper parts, slight pink wash on neck and breast, long pointed tail

Apopidae: Chimney Swift

“flying cigar” with blunt head, squared off tail, long sickle shaped wings

dark gray body with slightly pale throat

nest and root in chimney

Trochilidae: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Males have red and black throat, green upperparts, dingy whitish belly

females have green upper parts, whitish belly

Rallidae: American Coot

Plump, chicken like bird that acts like a duck

gray overall with blacker head and white bill, tiny tail and short wings

feet are large, yellow and oddly lobed

Charadriidae: Killdeer

Often nest near human development

two black bands across breast set them apart

vocalize frequently

Charadriidae: Piping Plover

Small, plump, color of dry sand

breeding plumage is a black strip across forehead, orange legs, orange bill with black tip, single black strip across breast

Scolopacidae: American Woodcock

Plump, plain Buffy-salmon belly, also has long bill with black tip

mostly brown

Scolopacidae: Spotted Sandpiper

Underparts spotted in the summer, plain in winter

distinctive wingbeats, snappy and below horizontal

Laridae: Ring-Billed Gull

smaller and more slender

black tips on primaries

thinner bill, white ventral, gray dorsal

Laridae: Herring Gull

Adults are gray/black, black wing tips

Laridae: Great Black-Backed Gull

Largest gull

dark black backs, yellow bill, white wing tips

Gaviidae: Common Loon

large-body diving waterbird

breeding adults have black and white patterning, during winter, plain gray above and white below

long, heavy bill held straight

Phalacrocoracidae: Double-Crested Cormorant

Large body, dark body with orange bare skin at base of bill

swims like a duck

finds open perches to spread wings and let feathers dry

juveniles have paler breast

Ardeidae: Great Blue Heron

Large, lanky with extremely long neck and legs

gray-blue overall with dagger like bill

forages in shallow wetlands

Ardeidae: Green Heron

Small, dark heron with blue-green back, rusty colored neck and dark cap

usually crouched in egetation

chestnut brown face and breast

Cathartidae: Turkey Vulture

Appear dark from distance, up close dark brown above with red head

white remixes and black forewings

Soar in V shape

Pandionidae: Osprey

Mostly white head and underparts, dark brown back

Large, mostly white raptor that cruises over lakes, rivers, and coastal waterways in search of fish

In flight, holds wings in a kink

Accipitridae: Cooper’s Hawk

Medium sized, relatively short rounded wings and rounded tail

Adullts are pale above with pale orange barring below, juveniles are browner and streaky

Accipitridae: Bald Eagle

Mature adults have blackish/brown body with white head and yellow beak

Immature plumages are mottled brown with patches of white

Accipitridae: Red-Tailed Hawk

Most common roadside raptor in North America

Brown upper parts with red-brown tail with a terminal black band

Strigidae: Eastern Screech Owl

Small, stocky owl with large head and no neck

pointed ear tufts are often raised

Varies in color from gray to bright rufous, yellow eyes

Found in variety of habitats with trees, particularly near water

Strigidae: Great Horned Owl

Large and widespread with distinctive ear tufts

Typically well-camouflaged dark brown overall, but varies in color

Strigidae: Barred Owl

Mottled brown and white, black eyes

Rounded head lacks ear tufts

Dark bars on breast

Alcedinidae: Belted Kingfisher

Stocky and large-headed with a shaggy crest

Bill is long, straight, thick, and pointed

Powder blue above with white underparts and blue breast band. Females have additional rusty band across belly

Picidae: Downy Woodpecker

Tiny, widespread and familiar woodland resident and backyard visitor

Black and white plumage, short bill and black markings on white outer tail feathers

Picidae: Red Bellied Woodpecker

Medium-sized that is not well named, rarely is the slight red wash on the belly visible

Black and white barring on the back and wings, plain Buffy breast and face, red nape

Adult males have red extending onto the crown

Picidae: Norther Flicker

Large, brown woodpecker with black barring on the back and black spots on the belly

Underwings are yellow or red, depending on subspecies

Bright white rump, yellow on back of retrices

Females have lighter breast

Falconiade: Peregrine Falcon

Burly, powerful, sharp-winged raptor that feeds mainly on birds captured in flight

Chases prey down at high speeds with continuous powerful wingbeats

Considerable plumage variation across subspecies

Blue-gray upper parts, black face, barred underparts

Falconidae: American Kestrel

Petite falcon roughly the same size as Mourning Dove, larger head and wider tail

Long, narrow wings and square tipped tail in flight

Males have rufous upper parts with black bars

Females have pale orange breast

Tyrannidae: Eastern Phoebe

Medium-sized flycatcher

Plumage is nondescript brownish above and pale below, with blurry vest

Skinnier bill than a sparrow

Tyrannidae: Eastern Kingbird

Dark brown to black above and clean white below, white tail tip

Flycatcher about the size of a robin

Metallic twittering song often heard in summer

Vireonidae: Blue-Headed Vireo

Attractive, colorful vireo with thick white spectacles

Dark blue/gray head, yellowish sides, and bold white wing bars

Corvidae: Blue Jay

Blue above, light gray below

Black and white markings on wing and tail

Larger than a robin, smaller than a crow

Crest and long tail

Corvidae: American Crow

Entirely black, large, long-legged, thick-necked bird with heavy straight bill

Short tail, squared off at the end

Very social

Aggressive, often chase away hawks and owls

Paridae: Black-Capped Chickadee

Tiny, plump-bodied, big-headed bird that is a woodland resident in northern US and Canada

Gray overall with Buffy flanks and contrasting head pattern; black cap, white cheek, and black throat

Short stubby bill is used for hammering open seeds

Paridae: Tufted Titmouse

Overall gray plumage with paler underparts and orangey sides

Crest is gray, but forehead is black

Rust orange flanks

Hirundinidae: Tree Swallow

Adults are iridescent blue-green above and bright white below; immatures are duller

Small black bill, dark gray wings, notched tail

Hirundinidae: Barn Swallow

Extremely long forked tail and dark rump

Appear dark above (navy blue in good light) and buffy white below

Regulidae: Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Black stripes on the head and bold wing pattern

Bright orange crown patch with yellow and black border, white eyebrows, females have yellow crown

females are more yellow, males are more orange

Regulidae: Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

Plain overall with slightly brighter greenish edges on the wing and tail feathers

Ruby crown only present on males and usually concealed

Females have 2 white wing bars

Sittidae: White-Breasted Nuthatch

Distinctive white face, black cap, and blue-gray underparts

Rusty lower belly and under tail coverts, females have a slightly paler crown than males