Information about birds as they are featured in this blog . You can see photos of these birds by clicking on the various Labels provided with each blog post.
- American Goldfinch
- American White Pelican
- Blue Jay
- Cardinal
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cowbird
- Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored Junco)
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Phoebe
- Golden Eagle
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret (aka Common or American Egret)
- Killdeer
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Orchard Oriole
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ring-necked Duck
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Summer Tanager
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Length: 4 - 5"
- Features: bright yellow, with black forehead, wings, and tail (except in winter, both sexes are yellowish-brown); female olive-green above, lighter below; white rump;
- Habitat: farmlands, weedy fields with scattered trees, river groves, suburbs, parks, and at feeders
- Likes to eat: In the wild, goldfinches feed wherever there is are lots of seeds; generally they take seeds right off a plant rather than feeding on ones that have fallen below. They like to feed on birch seeds and alder seeds in winter, and in spring through fall they eat composite weed seeds such as thistle, sunflower, dandelion, ragweed, mullein, evening primrose, and goldenrod. At feeders, goldfinches are partial to sunflower (especially black, and prefer hulled) and thistle seeds.
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting: It is often stated that goldfinches do not nest until the thistles have bloomed and gone to seed (because they need it for their nest). This is not true; they often build nests long before, and use fibers such as milkweed stalks, salsify seed tops and other downy materials.
- Resident: Year-round
- Behavior Observations: They have an undulating flight
- Special Notes: Breed late in summer (starting in July), probably because they feed their young on the seeds of composite flowers (such as thistle or sunflower) that ripen in late summer. Goldfinches molt twice a year. In fall, after breeding, they have a complete molt. At this time the male, which in summer is bright yellow and has a black patch over his bill, loses these colors and grows in feathers that look like a grayish version of the summer female. The female also changes from her bright yellow plumage of summer into this grayer color. Therefore, in winter, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between male and female. In spring, they molt all their body feathers but not their wing feathers. At this time both acquire their summer plumage. The male's brighter color may help him attract a female or advertise the boundaries of his territory, while the female's more camouflaged coloration may allow her to be more secretive around the nest.
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythorhynchos):
- Length: 4 - 5', wingspan 9'
- Features: Plumage white, except for black on wings; bill and pouch pinkish-orange (gray on immature)
- Habitat: Lakes, ponds; when not breeding, in coastal seas
- Likes to eat: Fish
- Calls/Songs:
- Nesting:
- Resident: Migratory
- Behavior Observations: Many observers remark on the military-style behavior of pelican flocks. Flying pelicans usually flap their wings and glide in unison. Over long distances they proceed in straight lines or in V's. A group may sun on a sandpit, all facing in the same direction, all bills pointed to the sky. When fishing, they form a line in the water and swim toward the beach, beating the water with their wings and herding the fish ahead of them. Unlike Brown Pelicans, they do not dive.
- Special Notes: We witnessed the military-style behavior while watching them on the Ohio River. A pelican flew up into the air, with the rest following one by one...but the first pelican did this short "plummet" toward the water (but didn't reach it) and flew back up into the air, twice, with each pelican behind doing the same thing; all very graceful and synchronized.
BLUE JAY: Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis):
- Length: 7 - 8 1/2"
- Features: prominent crest; conical reddish bill; male bright red, with black around eye and bill; female brownishy-yellow, with red on wings and tail.
- Habitat: open woods, forest edges, thickets, suburbs, parks.
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: Varied musical repertoire consists of loud, clear whistles that are usually repeated several times. Male and female may sing alternatively, as if in response to each other. (Hear it!)
- Nesting:
- Resident: Year-round.
- Behavior observations: In winter, cardinals will flock together (male and female too) and feed near each other, at our feeder and on ground. There still seems to be a "tag-team" effort among them, with a lot of activity when many are feeding at once, and a definite hierarchy of strong male in the lead.
- Length: 4 1/2 - 5"
- Features: reddish cap; white stripe above eye, black eye streak; pale grayish below; immature ones have streaky brown cap
- Habitat: open woodlands, forest edges, farmlands, orchards, suburbs, parks
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: The "Chippy" is named for its song - a trill or string of musical chips, varying from quite long to quite brief. It normally sings from a perch in a tree, often an evergreen. (Hear it!)
- Nesting: Evergreens are also favorite nesting sites although the birds may be found raising young in orchard trees, in dooryard vines and shrubbery, and occasionally even on the ground
- Resident: They may reside in our area year-round, we are close to the year-round and winter ranges
- Behavior Observations:
- Special Notes:
COWBIRD:
Dark-Eyed Junco (Slate-colored Junco) (Junco hyemalis):
- Length: 5 - 6 1/2"
- Features: White outer tail feathers; light pink bill; white belly; rest of plumage slate-gray (with or without white wingbars)
- Habitat: Coniferous and mixed forests; forest edges and at feeders (winter)
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting:
- Resident: Winter (non-breeding)
- Behavior Observations:
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis):
- Length: 5 - 7"
- Features: Male bright blue above, with orange-red throat and breast; female paler; immature mostly gray, spotted with white on back and breast.
- Habitat: Open areas with scattered trees and fencerows; farmlands, orchards, suburbs.
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting:
- Resident: Year-round
- Behavior Observations:
- Special Notes: Introduced house sparrows and starlings have taken over its preferred tree holes, but bluebirds will nest in birdhouses specially designed to keep out the alien intruders (they also like old mailboxes as you can see in the photo!).
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannu tyrannus):
- Length: 7 - 9"
- Features: Blackish above, white below; dark tail with prominent white band at tip. The two sexes look much the same, juveniles are similar but a bit paler, and the winds have a buff edge. The male crown feathers will more often show a crest. Like other birds in the flycatcher family, he sits with an upright posture. The female does not usually show her crest, and tends sit more horizontally on a perch.
- Habitat: Forest edges; woodlands and open areas with occasional tall trees
- Likes to eat: Insects in spring, and summer, and like fruit and berries when they become available. They will sit on a perch and fly out to grab insects out of the air. The birds also feed on the ground, especially in winter.
- Calls/Songs:
- Nesting: The female builds a large nest of weeds, twigs, and bark lined with feathers, and plant down. The nest can be in a shrub, low tree near water, or even on a manmade structure such as a fence post or telephone pole. (Brown-headed Cowbirds will often lay their eggs in the nests of Kingbirds. Kingbirds will often destroy these eggs if they are put in the nest before their own are laid but, are more likely to leave them after theirs are laid.)
Eggs: The female lays 2 to 5 creamy white or pale pink eggs, with dark blotches. She incubates the eggs for 14 to 17 days. The young birds will be fed by both parents until they start to fly in around 17 days, and the adults will continue to feed them for up to five weeks after this. The young tend to remain with the parents until the birds gathers in flocks for migration.- Resident: Breeding visitor
- Breeding: Wooded areas near rivers, streams, or wetlands. As with many birds, during courtship the males does elaborate displays including backward somersaults and zigzags in the air. A pair will flutter their wings and call noisily in a greeting display whenever they meet.
- Behavior Observations: Flies with stiff, shallow wingbeats from a high perch. Fearless in defense of its territory; it will attack by flying at it from above, pecking and pulling out feathers (it may also land on the intruder).
- Special Notes:
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe):
- Length: 5 - 7" long
- Features: Brownish olive above, with darker head; whitish below, with gray breast
- Habitat: Woodlands, farmlands, suburbs; usually near water
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs:
- Nesting:
- Resident:
- Behavior Observations: Sits upright on perch and wags tail frequently
- Special Notes:
Great Egret (aka Common or American Egret) (Casmerodius albus):
- Length: 36 - 42"
- Features: Large white bird; neck long, thin, curved in flight; bill orange-yellow; legs and feet black.
- Habitat: Wetlands, wet pastures.
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting: Egrets and herons nest in trees, frequently in mixed colonies that include cormorants and ibises. When the male is ready to incubate the eggs, he lands on a branch near the nest; as he approaches, he raises his wings and the long nuptial plumes on his back. His mate reacts by raising her back feathers as he caresses her with his head. After the female leaves, the male settles on the eggs, once more raising and flaring his plumes.
- Resident: Winter (breeding)
- Behavior Observations:
- Special Notes:
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous):
- Length: 8 1/2 - 11"
- Features: 2 black bars across the upper chest; white collar, forehead, spot behind eye; reddish rump and upper tail; wide white wing stripe is visible in flight
- Habitat: They enjoy prairies, meadows, other open areas, coasts, mud flats, irrigated land.
- Likes to eat: Insects
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting: This plover nests on open ground, not necessarily near water. The nest is at best a depression in the ground
- Resident: Year-round
- Behavior Observations: The nest is defended valiantly when it contains eggs or young; the bird spreads its wings and tail, scolds, and may even fly at the invader. If a potential predator comes very near, however, the Killdeer tries to lure it away by playing wounded. With one wing held up over the back and the other flapping on the ground, it waits for the intruder to get close, then runs and repeats the display until the intruder is a safe distance from the nest or young.
- Special Notes: They don't visit feeders, but remain in the open areas. They tend to do their "run-stop" behavior often, to either check their progress and surroundings or to see if they have disturbed any insects to eat. We see this behavior often as we walk down to the mailbox, but it includes their squeak, then the run-stop.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris):
- Length: 3 - 3 1/2"
- Features: Bill long, needlelike; metallic green above; throat metallic red (male) or dingy white (female).
- Habitat: Deciduous and mixed forests; rural, suburban and city gardens.
- Likes to eat: Nectar (sugar/water mixture).
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting:
- Resident: Spring/Summer visitor (breeds)
- Behavior Observations: As males arrive, they begin to "dive-bomb" each other for their territory and to scare off any others from the nectar feeder. As we sit out on the front deck, it sounds as if massive mutant bumble bees are coming at you! Last year, we saw a male "stake out" their area by hovering in front of a nearby shrub and it suddenly began flying in an arc shape (like a "U") many times to frighten off anyone else.
- Special Notes: Of the 15 species of hummingbird that regularly nest north of Mexico, this is the only one breeding east of the Great Plains. Unlike other birds, they can fly backwards or straight up and down. They can also hover, and are able to drink flower nectar without actually landing on the blossom. The flowers they drink from are usually long, tubular, and orange or red.
TURKEY VULTURE:
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) :
- Length: 5 1/2 - 7"
- Features: crown broadly striped with black and white (light and dark brown on immature); gray breast; pink or yellowish bill; pale throat
- Habitat: mountain thickets, areas with scattered brush and trees; roadsides, suburbs (winter)
- Likes to eat:
- Calls/Songs: (Hear it!)
- Nesting:
- Resident: They are winter visitors here (supposedly) but am curious since we are still seeing them in mid-April
- Behavior Observations:
- Special Notes:
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