FEATHERED FEATURE
Rather than wait to publish this page until a survey of Lafayette Park bird species can be completed, we’re going to make it a work-in progress instead. We’ve started the list with some familiar faces, but we’ll periodically add new avian residents of Lafayette Park until the census is complete, shining a spotlight on each new neighbor before they move into the appropriate (and expandable) family groups below.
Have you spotted a species we’ve not yet profiled and listed? Tell us about it! Email our in-house urban wildlife biologist and Lafayette Square resident, Kieran Lindsey, and send a picture if you have one!
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Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
[Photo: Dan Dzurisin, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Owls (Strigidae)
ID: The Great Horned Owl (GHO) is North America’s largest owl (18 to 24½ in from beak to tail-tip; 2 to 5.5 lbs). Mottled greige plumage, a cedar-red face, and amber eyes make for easy identification, not to mention the eponymous horns (which are actually feather tufts).
Diet: GHO are the antithesis of a picky eater. Their diet, which is the most diverse of all North American raptors, includes everything from scorpions to skunks to snow geese. Although they are primarily nocturnal hunters, GHOs will hunt in broad daylight when necessary, pursuing prey on the wing but also on foot when small species attempt to escape beneath underbrush.
Habitat: GHOs have established year-round territories from Alaska to Nova Scotia, and southward into Central America. They prefer old-growth or secondary-growth deciduous, coniferous, and mixed-stand forests, but they can be found in orchards and other agricultural lands, swamps, deserts, and established suburban and urban neighborhoods and parks.
Fun Fact: GHO eyes are so large they don’t move in the sockets — those muscles had to make way for more light-sensing rods but GHOs can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to see in any direction (by comparison, a healthy human neck can rotate about 60 to 80 degrees left-to-right).
Want to learn more about the Great Horned Owl? Click here!
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
[Photo by Corn Farmer, ccl by-nd 2.0]
Family: Cardinals and Allies (Cardinalidae)
ID: Probably the most widely recognized wild bird species in the entire Saint Louis metro areas, thanks to a certain MLB team that calls the area home. The Northern Cardinal is a relatively large songbird (8-1/2 to 9 in or 21-23 cm from bill to tail-tip) with a brightly-colored vice-like beak and a jaunty crest. Males are brilliant red with a contrasting black mask and throat; females are tawny-olive with red-tinged wings and a smaller black mask.
Diet: Adult Northern Cardinals consume primarily seeds and fruit, but they’ll down an insect or three while gathering them to take back to youngsters in the nest. Black oil sunflower seed is a guaranteed backyard feeder hit.
Habitat: This species likes to hang out along forest/woodland edges, in urban and suburban yards and parks, overgrown fields, marshy thickets, and other places offering abundant seed choices. Nests are usually wedged into the fork of small tree branches or shrubs behind a heavy curtain of foliage, about 1-15 feet above ground.
Fun Fact: Female Northern Cardinals, unlike most of their sister songbirds, sing. Mated pairs croon together, and the female’s part is this duet is longer and more complex than her significant other’s.
Want to learn more about the Northern Cardinal? Click here!
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Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
[Photo: Mark Moschell, CC-BY-NC-2.0]
Family: Cardinals and Allies (Cardinalidae)
ID: The male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (RBG) is a hard bird to miss, or to misidentify. The name alone tells you almost everything you need to know: look for a bird with a bright cherry red chest (birds don’t actually have breasts) set off by black (above) and white (below), and an heavy, cone-shaped beak. Female RBGs are more easily mistaken for any number of basic brown birds with the exception of that recognizable bill. Both genders are similar in size to an American robin (7 to 8¼ in or 18-21 cm, beak to tail tip).
Diet: RBGs change their diet throughout the year. In the spring and summer breeding season they focus on insects, augmented with wild fruits and seeds; during fall migration they rely on berries as a source of sugar-spiked fuel; and in winter they become opportunivores, consuming both invertebrates and plants, including calorie-dense seeds and nuts found at neighborhood bird feeders.
Habitat: This species can be found in a variety of surroundings, such as deciduous and deciduous-coniferous woodlands, thickets and edges, second-growth forests, wetlands and riparian terrain, orchards, parks, suburbs, and cities. They fan out across most of Canada and the top and eastern halves of the US for breeding season, then migrate through the Midwest (including Saint Louis) and Southeast down to Central America and the Caribbean.
Fun Fact: Many a bird enthusiast has waxed poetic about the RBG’s voice. Some have deemed its vocal prowess superior to the finest efforts of the American robin and the scarlet tanager, others have suggested it sings like a robin with opera training, and then there are those who think the RBG sounds like it is overjoyed, in a hurry, and inebriated.
Want to learn more about the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak? Click here!
Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
[Photo: Doug Greenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Cardinals and Allies (Cardinalidae)
ID: Talk about a couple with wildly different sartorial tastes! Summer Tanager menfolk are loud and proud, clad head to tail in glowing traffic light RED with a hint of asphalt black edging on their wing feathers. Tanager gals prefer a different primary color; their yellow plumage is reminiscent of dried, late autumn sycamore leaves. Blah to his bling. Smaller than an American Robin but larger than a sparrow (6-1/2 in or 17 cm, beak to tail-tip), Summer Tanagers have stout, blunt bills which, like their legs, are horn-colored with an overlay of pale pink.
Diet: Bees and wasps are a favorite food item for Summer Tanagers but they’ll consume other aerial and terrestrial insects as well, often with a side of mixed wild fruits. Flying insects may be pluck from mid-air and then carried back to a perch where they’ll be given a sound thrashing against a branch or park bench before being tossed down the hatch…a useful habit for a toothless creature who likes to eat crunchy bugs.
Habitat: Summer Tanagers like to raise their families along the edges of deciduous or pine-and-oak woodlands in the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Southern U.S., or in willow, cottonwood, mesquite, and salt cedar stands in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Tolerant of human neighbors, they can also be found in urban parks and suburban backyards. As temperatures drop and days grow short, Summer Tanagers migrate to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
Fun Fact: Summer Tanagers and their close relatives, the Scarlet (P. olivacea), Western (P. ludoviciana), and Hepatic (P. flava) tanagers, used to belong to the larger family of “true” tanagers (Thraupidae), but taxonomists looked at new evidence and changed their minds. Now the North American branch of the clan hangs out with the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). Confused? Sorry about that, but updating classifications is how PhD students in ornithology earn their keep, and natural science publishers sell new field guides.
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
[Photo: Rachid H, CC-BY-NC-2.0]
Family: Crows, Jays, and Magpies (Corvidae)
ID: If you see a large black bird (15¾ to 20¾ in or 40-53 cm from beak to tail-tip) with a heavy, generic bill in or around Lafayette Park, you can be 95%-ish certain you’re looking at an American Crow. There are only two other species of similar size, shape, and color that might come to mind as a possibility— the Common Raven, which doesn’t live in the Midwestern states, and the Fish Crow, a slightly smaller bird that sometimes makes its way up the Mississippi River into St. Louis (and accounts for the 5% missing from the estimate above). Even in flight it’s relatively easy to ID an American Crow based on those same metrics, plus the rounded wingtips with feathers that spread like fingers, especially when these birds are playing games with the wind.
Diet: There’s security in dietary diversity and the success of the American Crow is evidence to back up that statement. They’ll eat both plant-based foods (e.g., grain, seeds, nuts, fruits, and berries) and animal-based foods (e.g., earthworms, insects, fish, frogs, small turtles, mussels and clams, other birds and their eggs, small-to-medium sized mammals), and even carrion and garbage in a pinch.
Habitat: Like the majority of the Corvid clan, American Crows are adaptable and resilient creatures who can and do live in nearly any open space with a few trees for perching and a reliable source of food. Since that description fits most human settlements, this is a common species in cities and suburbs, parks, cemeteries, landfills, and golf courses, to name but a few of their many hangouts. That said, American Crows do avoid deserts and unbroken forests when possible.
Fun Fact: American Crows are known to make and use tools–a skill that used to be considered unique to Homo sapiens (until we could no longer ignore evidence to the contrary). Examples include modifying a tree branch or twig and then using it to access food in a small hold; placing clams or hard nuts just so on a roadbed so the tires of oncoming cars will crush the hard exterior; and pelting tree and rock climbers with pine cones.
Want to learn more about the American Crows of Lafayette Park? Click here!
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
[Photo: Peter Miller, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Crows, Jays, and Magpies (Corvidae)
ID: The Blue Jay is a familiar, gregarious, and vocal relative of crows and ravens. Azure above with a pert crest, ivory below, accessorized with a brief ebony mask, necklace, and barring on the tail and wings, both males and females are definitely fashion-forward. While smaller than its cousins, the Blue Jay still qualifies as one of the larger backyard bird species (9-1/2 to 12 in or 25-30 cm, beak to tail-tip).
Diet: Blue Jays are adaptable omnivores, happy to grab a snack at a backyard fly-thru or glean insects, nuts, and seeds throughout their territory. True to their corvid roots, they will occasionally raid the nests of other birds species for eggs and offspring, or scavenge dead and dying creatures, but their reputation for piracy far exceeds their actual thievery.
Habitat: Forests and woodlands are the preferred hangouts of Blue Jays, but oak trees have a special place in this bird’s heart. Boldly unconcerned by the presence of people, they’ve learned how to make the most of the built environment, and backyards in particular, where oaks and feeders abound.
Fun Fact: Blue jays play a critical role in the survival of other wildlife species… and not just birds. Acting as informal sentries, Blue Jays are on constant alert. If they spy a potential predator they’ll sound the alarm and other creatures in the neighborhood take note and take cover.
Want to learn more about how Blue Jays patrol Lafayette Park? Check out our blog!
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
[Photo: Brian Garrett, cc-by-2.0]
Family: Dotterels, Lapwings, and Plovers (Charadriidae)
ID: Easily identifiable with plumage in coastal tones of wet sand tan and seafoam white, as well as sunny orange eyes and rump, the Killdeer completes this dramatic fashion statement with black striping on the head and chest.
Diet: High protein invertebrates are the Killdeer diet of choice, including earthworms, snails, beetles, moths, and other insects, as well as the occasional amphibian or fish.
Habitat: Ideally suited in color and physique to the shores of a salt life, Killdeer have nonetheless gravitated to suburban lawns and urban parking lots, especially when those iconic metropolitan features include night lights that also attact flying insects. As long as the landscape is relatively dry and flat with shortly cropped vegetation, this long-legged avian is happy to call beaches, mudflats, pastures, athletic fields, golf courses, drivewys, and airports home.
Fun Fact: It may not walk or talk like a duck but the Killdeer is a surprisingly adept swimmer, even in swiftly flowing streams.
Want to learn more about Lafayette Park’s very own Killdeer? Click here!
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
[Photo: Transport Pixels, CCL by-sa 2.0]
Family: Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl (Anatidae)
ID: With its striking black head and neck set off by a white chinstrap, the iconic Canada Goose is one of the most recognizable wild residents of Lafayette Park. In most settings, the Canada goose would be the largest representative of the waterfowl family (29-3/4 in – 43-1/4 in or 76-100 cm, beak to tail-tip) but, of course, Lafayette Park is home to the even larger Mute Swan.
Diet: Canada Geese take a seasonal approach to their diet, prioritizing grasses and sedges in spring and summer, adding higher calorie seeds, agricultural grains, and wild berries in fall and winter, where available.
Habitat: There’s a reason why humans and Canada Geese are so often neighbors — we’re both drawn to the same landscape features: broad expanses of lawn; some trees for shade; sparse under-story for the long line-of-sight that reduces predatory surprises; and a lake or pond with limited edge vegetation and a gently sloped entry. Because public parks in cities and suburbs are designed to those same specifications, they’re seen as safe places for both kids and goslings… with supervision, of course.
Fun Fact: Due to the urban heat island effect — consistently warmer temperatures year round as a result of high concentrations of concrete and asphalt thermal mass — urban lakes and ponds are slower to freeze over in winter than their rural counterparts, providing year-round access to the open water that Canada Geese perceive as their go-to safety zone. As such, some Canada Geese opt out of annual migration and become full-time residents. This adaptation has caused scientists to reconsider their findings about migration, which had previously been considered an undeniable urge. Turns out that at least some migratory species behavior is less instinctive than we thought!
Want to learn more about the Canada Geese of Lafayette Park? Click here!
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Photo: hedera.baltica, CCL by-sa 2.0
Family: Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl (Anatidae)
ID: Mallards are a dabbling duck, common in cities and suburbs. As ducks go, they are relatively large-bodied (20-25-1/2 in or 50-65 cm from bill to tail-tip), weighing in at 2-3 lbs (1000-1300 g) as adults. This species is sexually dimorphic, meaning it’s easy to tell mature males and females apart based on their plumage. Males have a dark opalescent-green head and canary-yellow bill, a gray body with chocolate brown chest and black rear. Females have streaky light and dark brown bodies and variegated orange and umber bills. Both sexes have an ultramarine blue speculum patch bordered in white on the trailing edge of each wing.
Diet: Generalist foragers, Mallards have a diverse diet of seeds, vegetation, and invertebrates (e.g., worms, snailes, crayfish, aquatic insect larvae). Comfortable in close proximity to people, they’ll also readily accept handouts, even though bread and some other human foods can cause health problems for waterfowl (and for people, too!).
Habitat: Mallards are literal water-babies, taking their first swim within a day or two of hatching. A common resident of park ponds and lakes, these ducks can also be found near almost any permanent water feature, including marshes, bogs, estuaries, roadside ditches, and flooded pastures and rice fields. During rainy periods they can also be seen dabbling in ephemeral pools of water, such as those that form beneath the cypresses on the western side of Lafayette Park.
Fun Fact: This species doesn’t dive but they’ll readily tip face-down in the water for a snack, their tails bobbing above the surface like a buoy.
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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor, introduced spp.)
Photo: Mark Philpott, CCL by-nc 2.0
Family: Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl (Anatidae)
ID: Mute Swans epitomize the iconic image most American’s picture when they think of a swan. As an adult, this formidable waterfowl species can grow to nearly 5 feet long (150 cm) from bill to tail-tip and tip the scale at over 30 pounds (14,300 g). Mute Swans have white plumage that merges into old ivory at the neck, which is so richly feathered as to appear furred. The bill is bright orange defined with an inky lores that bulges into a knob just above the nostrils.
Diet: Mute Swans are primarily herbivores but they do supplement aquatic vegetation with protein in the form of insects, tadpoles, snails, and small fish. At Lafayette Park, they also receive a daily ration of ground dried corn, delivered by dedicated caregivers (see link below for more info).
Habitat: More native to Russian ballets and European fairy tales than Arch City, Mute Swans are nonetheless fairly common on city park water features in parts of North America thanks to help from human super-fans. They’ll happily put down roots near fresh, brackish, or saltwater ponds, slow-moving rivers, and other large bodies of water.
Fun Fact: All Mute Swans in North America are descendants of individuals imported from Europe from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. Offspring from these original settlers were sold to other hobbyists or escaped to establish breeding populations in the wild, particularly in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest regions of the U.S.
Want to learn more about Lafayette Park’s very own mute swans? Click here!
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Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens)
[Photo: Hal Trachtenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
[Photo: Hal Trachtenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Finches, Euphonias, and Allies (Fringillidae)
ID: During the breeding season, male American Goldfinches are so easy to spot and identify they’re usually an early entry on a novice birder’s life-list. This small (4-1/4 to 5 in or 11-13 cm from beak to tail-tip) finch sports the classic cone-shaped bill of a seed-eater. American Goldfinches are sexually dimorphic species, meaning it’s possible to differentiate males from females by certain physical features, such as plumage. In summer, American Goldfinch males wear an unmistakably bright saffron on the back, belly, and most of the head, with an ebony forehead and wing feathers edged in ivory. Females brighten their summer wardrobe as well, albeit to a lesser degree then the menfolk, with shades of lemon and olive. During the rest of the year, both males and females dial down the wattage from gold to drab khaki with dim memories of sunnier days at the throat and crown.
Diet: Seeds, seeds, and more seeds, primarily from the plant family Asteraceae (e.g., sunflowers, asters, thistles, daisies, etc.), trees, such as western red cedar, elm, and birch, and some grasses.
Habitat: Parks and residential areas in cities and suburbs, as well as exurban and rural areas, American Goldfinches are attracted to weedy fields, overgrown vacant lots and habitat patches, all of which are prime habitat for their seed-producing plants of choice. Nearby trees and shrubs for nesting are a bonus.
Fun Fact: American Goldfinches are as vegan as it gets; they’re the one of only a few bird species that eat a 100% plant-based diet and feed the same to their young. As a result, when a brown-headed cowbird or other species practicing nest parasitism leaves an egg in an American Goldfinch nest, it may hatch but the chick won’t live more than 2-3 days because it can’t survive on an all-see diet.
Want to learn more about the American Goldfinches of Lafayette Park? Click here!
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
Photo: Indiana Ivy Nature Photographer, cc by 2.0
Family: Finches, Euphonias, and Allies (Fringillidae)
ID: Similar in size to a house sparrow (5 to 5-1/2 in or 13-14 cm, beak to tail-tip) with the same cone-shaped beak that gives away their seed-eating preferences, the male House Finch’s blushing crimson face, neck, chest, belly, and rump insure a positive identification. Clad in the demure khaki, buff, and black palette preferred by so many female songbirds, she’s nonetheless recognizable, as she and her mate share distinctive short wings, light-and-dark streaked bellies and modestly notched tails.
Diet: House Finches adults are strict vegetarians who augment the seeds of grasses, forbs, and at feeders with fruits and plant buds.
Habitat: Based on their common name alone it should come as no surprise House Finches are a common feature of the human-build environment. Happy in a variety of ecosystems, including desert, grasslands, savannah, riparian, suburban and urban settings below 6,000 feet of elevation, they’ll nest in deciduous and coniferous trees, cacti, rock outcrops and building ledges, as well as in vents and hanging planters.
Fun Fact: Originally, the House Finch was a strictly West Coast resident. In 1940, however, a small group was released on Long Island, New York, by entrepreneurs who failed to get rich quick by selling “Hollywood finches” as pets. The transplanted birds quickly adapted to the other side of the continent and by the early 1990s had spread across most of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada… but the two populations haven’t yet filled in the space between the coasts.
Pied-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
[Photo: Len Blumin, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Photo: Syd Phillips, cc by-nc 2.0
Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)
ID: Cooper’s Hawks are one of the more easily identifiable raptors… with one caveat—they’re easily mistaken for a sharp-shinned hawk. Both species have a pewter-gray head, back, and wings, with barred apricot-and-cream chest and belly. Coopers are generally larger (14-1/2 to 15-1/3 in or 37-39 cm) than sharpies (9-1/3 to 13-1/3 in or 24-34 cm) but since female hawks are considerably bigger than males, a female sharpie may be similar in size to a male Coopers. A more reliable distinguishing trait is that sharpies have a smaller, rounder head while the Coopers’ head is boxier, kind of like a crew-cut but less spiky. Lastly, if you’re in Lafayette Park and the bird in question is tending a nest then it’s definitely a Cooper’s Hawk; Missouri isn’t part of the sharpies’ breeding territory.
Diet: All hawks are carnivores but they do specialize. Cooper’s Hawks will take a small mammal, such as a chipmunk or rabbit, if the opportunity arises but they tend to concentrate their hunting efforts on medium-sized birds, such as American robins, jays, flickers, starlings, doves, and pigeons. This is one reason they’re often observed hanging out near backyard bird feeders and in city parks.
Habitat: Cooper’s Hawks like a leafy topography and it doesn’t much matter to them whether the trees where they hang out are in a secluded forest, a quiet suburban neighborhood, or even a hectic cityscape.
Fun Fact: Falcons usually kill their prey with a bite but Cooper’s Hawks use suffocation, squeezing tight with their feet or sometimes holding their next meal under water until it drowns. Which, admittedly, isn’t a fun fact as far as the creature trapped in those deadly talons is concerned… but this is a hawk-eat-robin-eat-earthworm-eat-dead-hawk world. You’re either eating dinners or you are dinner (I don’t make the rules, folks, I just report them).
Want to know more about the Cooper’s Hawk? Click here!
Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
[Photo: Henry T. McLin, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)
ID: Red-tailed Hawks (RTHs) are large birds typical of the Buteo genus with broad, arched wings and a short, fanned tail. Head, back, and wings are dark walnut brown and the underside is creamy white with dark or rufous streaks… but its the bright cinnamon tail feathers for which this species is named that cinches the identification.
Diet: The RTH is an unwavering carnivore. Their primary dietary targets are mammals, such as rabbits and hares, voles, mice, and rats, but they’ll take what opportunity offers, including birds, reptiles, and even carrion if hunger necessitates. This large hawk can take prey weighing from as trifling as an ounce to a super-sized meal of over five pounds.
Habitat: One reason the RTH is such a familiar species across the North American continent is the species’ ability to adapt to almost any open habitat–prairies and pastures, highway easements and urban parks, fragmented forests and wooded suburbs, even deserts and tropical rainforest (in Mexico).
Fun Fact: Courting RTH’s have a kamikaze approach to testing a potential mate’s trustworthiness. The pair begins this team-building exercise by soaring in side circles high above the landscape. The male peels off, diving steeply, then launches skyward again, passing the female as he gains altitude. After several of these impressive swoops, he’ll attempt a fly-by, extending his legs to touch her briefly as he passes. If she’s interested, she’ll turn in response and the two will grasp one another by the talons, plummeting in spirals toward terra firma, and then unclasp just in time to terminate a catastrophic landing. In contrast to that, getting dressed up and saying “I do” in front of friends and family seems a rather tepid way to commit, wouldn’t you agree?
Want to know more about the Red-Tailed Hawk? Click here!
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Photo: Kenneth Cole Schneider, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0
Family: Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae)
ID: At nearly 3 feet tall, with sparkling white plumage and an elastic s-shaped neck, this tall, elegant bird is hard to miss, even when it stands statue-still while fishing from the concrete lip of Lafayette Park Lake. During breeding season the Great Egret dresses to impress with lacy plumes called aigrettes, tangerine bill, and parrot-green lores. Black feet distinguish this egret from its golden slippered Snowy cousin.
Diet: A natural born spear-fisher, the Great Egret hunts in the shallows or belly-deep in fresh, brackish, or marine waters. But even a devoted piscivore enjoys some dietary variety and isn’t above taking advantage when a dragonfly, frog, duckling, or mouse happens by.
Habitat: Access to water is a must, but Great Egrets are fairly adaptable once that basic requirement has been met, so they can be found in urban parks, along streams and rivers, marshes, flooded fields, commercial fish ponds and hatcheries. During the breeding season they congregate with other wading birds in colonies (aka rookeries).
Fun Fact: Great Egrets are slow but powerful flyers, maintaining cruising altitude and a 25 mph air speed with only two wingbeats per second.
Want to learn more about Lafayette Park’s very own great egret? Check out our blog!
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Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
[Photo: Dennis Church, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae)
ID: Small for a heron but in the mid-range of the broader scope of birdlife, Green Herons are short and stocky, with a long-ish bill and neck, the latter often folded close to the shoulders, and not much of a tail. Greenies blend in well to their aqueous environments but you might not think so when their plumage is described: slightly irridescent gray-green back and wing feathers edged or veined in silver, taupe belly, auburn ascot, and a dark hunter green head, all held aloft by goldenrod yellow legs and feet.
Diet: If it lives in or on water, or accidentally falls in, and if it can be grabbed or impaled by a hefty, pointed beak, then a Greenie has probably eaten it — minnows, sunfish, carp, and catfish, dragonflies, waterstriders, boatmen, and backswimmers, spiders, snails, crawfish, and pea clams, frogs and tadpoles, turtles, snakes, mice, rats, and young muskrats… to name a few.
Habitat: Found (if you look carefully) foraging near the edge of lakes, ponds, drainage ditches, marshes, and a variety of other inland fresh and coastal marine waters. They nest in these wet habitats as well but they’ll settle for drier landscapes if there’s handy access to a local dive-in market.
Fun Fact: Greenies have been documented making and using tools. Specifically, they create fishing lures out of various small objects such as down, dead insects, or even bread crumbs. Fish rise to the surface to investigate and then, for a moment or two, discover there’s more to the world than water. For example, there’s air, and hungry herons.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
[Photo: Jamie Chavez, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)
ID: Don’t be fooled by the pixie-like demeanor of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (RTH, 2-2/3 to 3-1/2 in or 7-9 cm from beak to tail-tip); a mighty, courageous heart beats within that minuscule breast. Both sexes wear a shimmering emerald or olive green cloak and hood paired with a smoke-colored belly. Males have a dazzling prismatic crimson throat that appears matte charcoal when not illuminated by the sun. Short wings, insignificant legs and feet, and a slim, slightly arched bill complete the look.
Diet: Best known for their copious intake of plant nectars (so much more nutritious than the carbonated sugar-water we humans sip through plastic prosthetic beaks, aka straws), however, even hummingbirds need a bit of protein now and then, in the form of insects and spiders.
Habitat: During the summer breeding season, RTHs are common in deciduous woodland edges and prairies, as well as backyards and public parks. They’re especially attracted to red and orange tubular blooms, including honeysuckle, jewelweed, trumpet creeper, bee-balm, and red morning glory. While wintering in tropical climes, RTHs live in dry forests, hedgerows, citrus groves, and scrub.
Fun Fact: RTHs and swifts are both members of the same taxonomic order, the Apodiformes. The literal translation of this Latin word is “without feet”… not technically true but, given the puny proportions of these birds’ lower limbs, it’s easy to understand the sentiment behind the label.
Want to learn more about Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds? Click here!
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
[Photos: Rick from Alabama & Jen Goellnitz, CCL 2.0]
Family: Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)
ID: The Belted Kingfisher (11 to 14 in or 28-36 cm, beak to tail tip) is a robin-sized bird but, thanks to a bulkier build, large head, and hefty bill, appears more substantial. Adults wear an easily recognizable combo of cloud white below, stormy gray-blue above, and a band of slate-hued feathers across the chest. Females in breeding plumage sling a copper belt over their bellies, and juvelines, once feathered, shower the gray chest band with rusty spots.
Diet: Given the name of this avian, it should come as no surprise that the species is primarily piscivorous (i.e., fish-eating). But they aren’t fanatics… they’ll mix up the menu with crustaceans, mollusks, and amphibians, along with terrerstrial creatures that may accidentally fall into a body of water. Hovering or perched above, the kingfisher watches for a meal to appear on or just below the surface, then dives with eyes closed for a grab and go.
Habitat: Belted Kingfishers are found throughout most of the contiguous United States year-round, but some of their population will move into northern Canada during the breeding season, and into Central America for fall and winter. No matter where they roam these birds are never far from water for long. Streams, rivers, ponds and lakes, mangroves, swamps, estuaries and calm coastal waters, even a backyard koi pond will do when it’s time to go fishing, but when it’s time to raise a family they must find a vertical earthen bank in which to carve a long, vertically-sloped tunnel and nesting chamber.
Fun Fact: While in the nest, young Belted Kingfishers have acidic stomachs that digest the bones, scales, and shells they’re ingesting. By the time they’re old enough to fledge, however, their digestive chemistry has changed and they regurgitate these hard ingredients, just like Mom and Dad.
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Coming soon!
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)
[Photo: Andrew Cannizzaro, CCL by 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
[Photo: Hal Trachtenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimiidae)
ID: It’s the bird in the gray flannel suit! These slender, mid-sized songbird, both guys and dolls, dresses for success in mostly monochromatic shades of slate… which makes the bright, bittersweet orange bootie tucked until staid charcoal tail feathers all the more surprising. The Catbird’s ensemble is capped off with an impish black pillbox.
Diet: Gray Catbirds are primarily insectivores, chowing down on caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths, beetles, and ants, but they’ll add blackberries, bay berries, elderberries, and poison ivy when these wild fruits are in season. Occasionally, Catbirds will help themselves to garden fruits like raspberries, strawberries, and cherries as well.
Habitat: Lafayette Park is the summer home of our local Gray Catbird crowd… from autumn through early spring they’ll head to the east coast of the continent, from the Mid-Atlantic states down into the Gulf Coast of Central America. Catbirds prefer to hang out in the dense shrubs, tangled vines, and stands of saplings common to recently disturbed created by development, as well as along roadsides, fallow farmland, and residential landscaping.
Fun Fact: If you can hear a Gray Catbird mewing but he won’t come out to say hello, try making a quiet “pish, pish, pish” sound… this relative of the mockingbird care rarely resist this an enticing sound.
Want to learn more about the Gray Catbird? Click here!
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Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
[Photo by tink tracy, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Family: Mockingbirds and Thrashers (Mimidae)
ID: As a vocal impersonator extraordinaire, the Northern Mockingbird doesn’t need to be a sartorial showoff. This slender, medium-sized (8-1/4 – 10-1/4 in or 21-26 cm, beak to tail-tip) is stone gray above, platinum on the belly and throat, with darker taupe wings and tail. Two bright white wingbars and outer tail feathers help observers to determine the Mockingbird’s true identity.
Diet: The Northern Mockingbird is a seasonal insectivore, eating protein-rich bugs in spring and summer, switching to a higher carb diet of mostly fruit in fall and winter. When opportunity knocks they’re also known to partake of a small lizard or the sap of a recently pruned tree.
Habitat: Mockingbirds prefer the grassy areas interspersed with fruiting shrubs and trees so often found in parks, suburban yards, and it’s an added bonus that living in close proximity to humans offers plenty of interesting sounds to copy. Males like to shout their serenades from the tops of trees, streetlights, poles, and utility lines for maximum effect.
Fun Fact: Northern Mockingbirds employ an eye-catching behavior when foraging for dinner out on the lawn — jerky, hesitating steps taken while periodically opening the wings a fraction or in full, creating a flash of light illusion with their white wing patches. Ornithologists aren’t certain what purpose this serves but some have proposed the “wing flash” may startle insects into jumping or flying up in response, making them easier to catch. The problem with this hypothesis is that it doesn’t hold up to observation. Birds who use this system don’t snag any more bugs than those who don’t. Who knows? Maybe it’s just the Mockingbird version of dabbing.
Want to learn more about the Northern Mockingbirds of Lafayette Park? Click here!
Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)
[Photo: Anne, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Family: Nightjars and Allies (Caprimulgidae)
ID: Common Nighthawks are all about the camouflage. Clad in the black-white-gray-buff color scheme employed by the U.S. Navy, these mottled birds are masters at blending in to the branches, grasses, gravel, and sand where they deploy. Slender and of moderate size (8-2/3 to 9-1/3 in or 22-24 cm from beak to tail-tip), Common Nighthawks have large eyes, a flat head, and a deceptively small bill that opens to reveal a gaping maw, useful for hoovering insects from the sky. Long pointed wings and tail are a clue to the aerial prowess of this acrobatic aviator.
Diet: Dining almost exclusively on the wing, the Common Nighthawk prefers to forage in low light. They’re most active at dawn and dusk, and they’ve learned to take advantage of the insect-attracting beacon of artificial lighting in urban/suburban locales; stadium lights, lighted parking lots, and streetlamps create particularly bountiful hunting grounds.
Habitat: Common Nighthawks nest on the ground or flat rooftops, live in the sky, and rest in-between on tree limbs, rocky outcrops, and other horizontal surfaces in both rural and urban habitats. As urban gravel roofs are replaced by rubberized materials there’s been a decrease in use of this protected nesting resources and, possibly, a reduction in the prevalence of these useful consumers of mosquitoes and other pesky bugs. Common Nighthawks spend the winter in South America but not much is known about the specific habitats they utilize while there.
Fun Fact: The common name of this bird is rather misleading. Technically, they’re not noctural (active at night) but crepuscular (active at twighlight). Moreover, they aren’t hawks, or even closely related.
Want to learn more about the Common Nighthawks of Lafayette Park? Click here!
White-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
[Photo: Tim Boyer, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Nuthatches (Sittidae)
ID: White-Breasted Nuthatch (WBN) — the name isn’t a completely accurate description but it does help as a mnemonic. That said, the color referenced in this year-round resident’s moniker is more like the faint gray of second-day snow than milky-white, and it actually spans the entire belly, including the underside of the tail, the chest (because, technically, birds do not have breasts), shoulders, throat, neck, and face. The beak is a terse iron chisel, the head a similar tone. The WBN doesn’t have much of a neck but, nonetheless, wears an open collar of licorice black that sets off a cool slate cape flung across wing feathers in shades and tints of taupe. A dusting of henna along the sides provides a spot of color to this wintry scene.
Diet: This species is essentially insectivorous, scanning and probing tree bark for wood-boring beetle larvae, tree hoppers, sclae, ants, stinkbugs, click beetles, and moths (including gypsy and tent caterpillars), as well as spiders. They will also accept sunflower seeds, peanuts, peanut butter, and suet and backyard feeding stations, along with acorns and hawthorn nuts.
Habitat: WBNs are non-migratory birds who prefer mature trees to saplings, deciduous to coniferous woods so Lafayette Park has a lot of curb appeal, as do established neighborhoods in suburbs and cities across the entire U.S., parts of southern Canada, and the middle swath of Mexico and Central America.
Fun Fact: In winter, you’ll often see WBNs at feeders with chickadees and titmice. In fact, researchers have observed that when titmice are absent from a mixed species foraging flock, WBNs are far more cautious and unwilling to visit feeders, which tend to be placed in open areas with less cover and protection from predatory birds.
Want to learn more about the White-Breasted Nuthatch? Click here!
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
[Photo: Dennis Church, ccl by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Owls (Strigidae)
ID: A large (16¾ to 19½ in from beak to rounded tail-tip), stocky (1 to 2 lbs), distinctive owl with a flat, rounded face and enormous dark eyes. The Barred is mottled nut-brown, sepia, and white on the back and wings, with the same color palette applied in vertical streaks on the belly, horizontal streaks at the collar.
Diet: This carnivore is a casual diner who’s looking for convenience. Rather than actively searching for squirrels, mice, rabbits, and other small mammals, as well as birds, lizards, frogs, and various invertebrates, Barred Owls sit on a branch near their home base watching attentively, then quietly dropping down onto their dinner. Frayed feather edges keep their wing beats silent. Small prey is swallowed whole; larger prey may be stashed in a vacant nest cavity or in the crook of a tree limb and consumed over time.
Habitat: Barred Owls can be found in diverse settings, from swamps to riparian to upland terrain. But, as one of North America’s larger owl species, this feathered predator needs a home with trees that are large enough to have offer roomy nesting cavities. In general, that means you’re more likely to hear their iconic “Who cooks for you?” call in unfragmented forests, secluded cemeteries, or older urban neighborhoods and parks.
Fun Fact: Barred Owls would be couch-potatoes if only they had couches. They don’t migrate, and they prefer to stay close to home. A study of 158 banded individuals found that none them had wandered more than six miles during the entire time they were being observed.
Want to learn more about Barred Owls? Click here!
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
[Photo: Dan Dzurisin, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Owls (Strigidae)
ID: The Great Horned Owl (GHO) is North America’s largest owl (18 to 24½ in from beak to tail-tip; 2 to 5.5 lbs). Mottled greige plumage, a cedar-red face, and amber eyes make for easy identification, not to mention the eponymous horns (which are actually feather tufts).
Diet: GHO are the antithesis of a picky eater. Their diet, which is the most diverse of all North American raptors, includes everything from scorpions to skunks to snow geese. Although they are primarily nocturnal hunters, GHOs will hunt in broad daylight when necessary, pursuing prey on the wing but also on foot when small species attempt to escape beneath underbrush.
Habitat: GHOs have established year-round territories from Alaska to Nova Scotia, and southward into Central America. They prefer old-growth or secondary-growth deciduous, coniferous, and mixed-stand forests, but they can be found in orchards and other agricultural lands, swamps, deserts, and established suburban and urban neighborhoods and parks.
Fun Fact: GHO eyes are so large they don’t move in the sockets — those muscles had to make way for more light-sensing rods but GHOs can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to see in any direction (by comparison, a healthy human neck can rotate about 60 to 80 degrees left-to-right).
Want to learn more about Great Horned Owls? Click here!
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Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)
[Photo: Doug Greenberg, CC-BY-NC-2.0]
Family: Owls (Strigidae)
ID: A short (6¼ to 9⅔ in or 16-25 cm from head to tail) and stocky bird with a large head and no visible neck (but it has one, I assure you), the Eastern Screech-Owl can be hard to spot. Not because of its size, but because both gray- and red-morph variations have cryptic, streaked and barred feathers that provide excellent camouflage against tree bark. Often, ESOs are mistakenly identified as baby Great Horned Owls because of the ear tufts they share, but nestling owls of either species don’t resemble the adults that closely.They’re easier to find by sound, due to their distinctive call which has been compared to the whinny of a horse who just sampled a helium balloon.
Diet: This feathered predator not a picky eater. If it’s alive and small enough for a ¼—½ lb bird to catch and kill, this agile flyer armed with strong feet and sharp talons will turn it into supper. That includes earthworms, insects and spiders, crayfish, tadpoles and frogs, lizards, songbirds, rodents, and even small rabbits.
Habitat: Eastern Screech-Owls will call almost any habitat with enough trees, tree cavities, or nest boxes home, although they do prefer a less dense understory if they have their druthers… which probably explains why they’ve become a common species in suburbs, old cemeteries, city parks, and such.
Fun Fact: Turns out the suburbs really are a great place to raise kids. Research suggests that Eastern Screech-Owls chicks are more likely to survive to fledglinghood is they’re raised in suburbia than in the rural hinterlands, possibly because Screech-Owl predators are less common in human-dominated landscapes.
Want to learn more about Eastern Screech-Owls? Click here!
Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
[Photo: Frank Schulenburg, ccl by-sa 2.0]
Family: Pheasants and Relatives (Phasianidae)
ID: This extra-large (43¼ to 45¼ in, beak to tail-tip; 6 to 24 lbs) gamebird doesn’t even attempt to blend into the surrounding landscape. Both males and females are dark, iridescent bronze and green overall with rust-tipped tail and rump feathers, set off with lighter toned banding and bold white bars on back, breast, and wings. Wild turkeys have the bare head and neck of a scavenger with a colorful blue and red twist, even though they are primarily vegetarians.
Diet: Wild Turkeys have an impressively diverse plant-based diet consisting of nuts (acorns, pecans, hickory), seeds (ash, cherries), buds, ferns, mosses, bulbs, sedges, and grasses. But they aren’t hard-core vegans; if, in the process of foraging at nature’s bountiful salad bar, an insect, snail, or salamander happens to go down the hatch along with the greenery… well, so be it.
Habitat: Venturing into suburban and urban habitats with greater regularity of late from the open forests they more traditionally occupy, Wild Turkeys are found in every U.S. state except Alaska, as well as southern Canada and parts of Mexico. This symbol of the American Thanksgiving holiday makes itself at home in a variety of woodlands, depending on the region, including: ash, beech, cherry, cottonwood, cypress, elm, hickory, juniper, magnolia, oak, pecan, pine, sweetgum, and willow.
Fun Fact: When it’s time to go and flying isn’t the best option, Wild Turkeys have been known to tuck their wings in close to their bodies, spread their tails, and swim away, kicking hard with their unwebbed feet.
Want to learn more about the Wild Turkey? Click here!
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
[Photo: Mark Moschell, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)
ID: Mourning Doves are a parfait of muted tones, with raspberry-tinged legs, pale peach breast feathers, apricot head, pale blueberry eyelids, along with pecan-colored back, primary feathers, and long fan-shaped tail. Raisin-dark spots garnish the wing coverts of this slim, average-sized (9 to 13-1/3 in or 23-34 cm from beak to tail-tip) ground-feeder.
Diet: Mourning Doves have truly earned the descriptor granivore; seeds comprise up to 99% of this bird’s diet, although they will occasionally add a berry or a snail as an amuse-bouche. Mourning Doves may look a bit delicate but they have large appetites, consuming 12-20% of their body weight each day.
Habitat: Open country sprinkled with trees or wooded edges are a Mourning Doves’ preferred landscape, and since people tend to like a similar vista the two species often find themselves living in close proximity. Backyard bird feeders are an attractant for these birds but you’re more likely to see them on the ground below, quietly filling their crops with the seeds other birds have tossed overboard.
Fun Fact: Mourning Doves can drink brackish water with a salinity level of about half that of sea water. This special skill helps them to live in desert habitats where many other birds, and people, would quickly die of thirst for lack of fresh, potable water.
Want to learn more about Mourning Doves? Click here!
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Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Family: Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)
ID: In North America, the Rock Piegeon is an introduced species, brought by Europeans in the early 1600s. They’re a mid-sized bird (11-2/3 to 14-1/4 in or 30-36 cm from beak to tail-tip) with a small head, broad pointy wings, a wide round-edged tail, and a husky build. Thanks to escaped fancy and racing birds, there’s a good deal of color variation but the majority have a blue-gray body, darker feathers with bars or spots, and an opalescent turquoise or teal throat.
Diet: True omnivores, Rock Pigeons will eat seeds, fruits, and the occasional invertebrate, as well as foods offered or discarded by humans, such as bread, french fries, and chips.
Habitat: To a Rock Pigeon’s eyes, city buildings must look pretty similar to the stone cliffs of their native habitat because they clearly find a metropolitan setting welcoming. The species thrives when living close to human neighbors, appropriating ledges, overhangs, eaves, and flat roofs as nesting sites.
Fun Fact: Rock Pigeons have a great sense of direction, able to find their way back home from miles and miles away. Experiments have shown they can even do this while blindfolded using their ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic fields, the position of the sun, and possibly through sound and scent. I don’t know what’s more impressive — the ability to find one’s way without a gps app or the ability to fly while blindfolded (or maybe the experimental subjects walked home, which in some ways would be even more astonishing).
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, CCL by-nd 2.0
Family: Sparrows, American (Passerellidae)
ID: A glowing rusty-orange ascot cap, charcoal eyeline, smallish bill, and streak-free gray belly makes this charming mid-sized sparrow (4-2/3 to 5-3/4 in or 12-15 cm from beak to tail-tip) one of the more recognizable little brown birds.
Diet: As evidenced by its cone-shaped bill, seeds make up a large portion of the Chipping Sparrow’s diet, which is augmented with some insects and small fruits during the metabolically challenging breeding season.
Habitat: Even though Chipping Sparrows prefer to hang out around trees, especially the wooded edges of parks and backyards, the best way to spot one is to look down… this species spends a lot of time foraging in the undergrowth where the grasses and herbs that produce their favorite seeds are found.
Fun Fact: Chipping Sparrows have a rather slapdash approach to construction. Often, the resulting nest is so loosely woven that light shines through, providing little in the way of insulation during chilly weather.
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Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyernalis)
Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, cc by 2.0
Family: Sparrows, American (Passerellidae)
ID: As adults, Dark-Eyed Juncos are a sparrow-sized (5-1/2 to 6-1/3 in or 14-16 cm from beak to tail-tip) riff on shades of gray** — pewter head, back, and chest, tarnished silver wings, white-gold belly, and chalky outer tail feathers. Bright black eyes are complimented by a concise pink bill.
Diet: When it comes to birds the beak never lies… about dietary preferences, that is. Dark-Eyed Juncos are all about the seeds, including chickweed, buckwheat, and various backyard feeder offerings like millet (which they prefer over sunflower seeds). During the breeding seasons seeds are supplemented with insects.
Habitat: Found in coniferous and deciduous forests, including urban/suburban landscapes, across all of the U.S. and most of North America from sea level to over 11,000 feet of elevation.
Fun Fact: Despite their affection for trees, Dark-Eyed Juncos usually nest on the ground, scooping out a cup-shaped nest hidden by forest floor vegetation.
** The ones who live in Lafayette Park, anyway. Out West, though, the “Oregon” phase is a recipe for brown–dark chocolate head, cinnamon wings and back, pale persimmon sides, biscuit belly… but there are also pink-sided, red-backed, and other subspecies color variations.
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Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)
[Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, ccl by 2.0]
Family: Sparrows, American (Passerellidae)
ID: The Eastern Towhee’s conspicuous color pattern makes for much easier identification than is usually the case for members of the sparrow family. Males are inky above, from tail to hooded head, with cinnabar orange sides and a snowy white belly. Females wear the same basic outfit but substitute a a muted burnt umber for black.
Diet: Towhees forage in the topsoil, leaves, and twigs beneath shrubby understory, kicking and scratching out a living of wild seeds, fruits, berries, and insects. In spring, they’ll add some tender leaf and flower buds to the mix, and will occasionally help themselves to cultivated grains and fruits.
Habitat: Found in woodlands and fields, the one thing that Eastern Towhee habitats share in common is dense shrub cover with a generous layer of leaf litter below.
Fun Fact: Eastern Towhees are one of the more introverted songbird species, and they’ve developed a type of semaphore language of wing and tail lifts, droops, fans, and flicks to tell other Towhees, “Hey, I really not in the mood to socialize right now so step off.”
Want to learn more about the Eastern Towhee? Click here!
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Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
[Photo: Tom Benson, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
[Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC-BY-2.0]
Family: Sparrows, American (Passerellidae)
ID: Medium is a great all-around descriptor for this middling-sized sparrow (4½ to 6½ in or 12-17 cm from bill to tail-tip) with mid-toned warm brown and soft gray plumage (see Fun Facts below for more on coloration and size). In other words, you may have trouble telling this Little Brown Bird (LBB) from other LBBs, and the song isn’t likely to help because of considerable differences in pattern over the species’ enormous range. One distinguishing feature is the bill, which is rather more short and husky than common for a sparrow (not much to go on, I know, but I’m doing the best I can).
Diet: The bill says “seed-eater,” and that’s correct… but it isn’t the whole story. Other plant foods include wild and cultivated berries, sunflower seeds, wheat, buckwheat, clover, and ragweed. In the summer, when insects and other invertebrates are plentiful, Song Sparrows take advantage of the largess and chow down on caterpillars, dragonflies, weevils, beetles, midges, snails, earthworms, and spiders.
Habitat: Just about anywhere this bird can hang its hat can be home, from coastal marshes to arctic tundra, deserts and chaparral, prairies, rain forests, deciduous and mixed woodlands, agricultural lands and suburban neighborhoods. Let’s face it, you’ve probably seen one of these LBBs at some point in your life… you just don’t know that you did.
Fun Fact: Song sparrows can look significantly different in one part of their range compared to another, varying in both color and size. Individuals found in Southwestern deserts are pale; those in the Pacific Northwest are darker and streakier; while those who live in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands are quite darker and one third again larger than those living along the East Coast.
White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
[Photo: Doug Greenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus, introduced spp.)
Photo: hedera.baltica, CCL by-sa 2.0
Family: Sparrows, Old World (Passeridae)
ID: A small, husky sparrow (5-1/2 – 6 in or 14-15 cm, 0.5 – 1.0 oz or 18-28 g), with short legs, and the thick, conical bill of a seed-eater. Plumage is gray, brown, and black, similar to that of another European immigrant, the House Sparrow. What sets the Eurasian Tree Sparrow apart from its more abundant cousin? A chestnut crown and black cheek patch.
Diet: A true granivore, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow will feed protein-rich insects to nestlings but once these birds reach maturity they consume only grain and seeds.
Habitat: Native to wooded urban parkland, farms, and woodlots in Europe, Saint Louis’ Lafayette Park is home to one of the few North American populations. A small flock was imported and released into the park on April 25, 1870, where the birds survived and formed a breeding population. The species has had limited range expansion success, however. Currently, Eurasian Tree Sparrows are found only in a small area north of the city and into parts of Illinois and Iowa bordering the Mississippi River. (For more information on the history of Eurasian Tree Sparrows in Lafayette Park, click on the link below!)
Fun Fact: In its native range, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow has a great deal of variation in plumage and size, comprised of up to 33 separately named races. The flock introduced to Lafayette Park came from Germany and are members of the most widespread group.
Want to learn more about Lafayette Park’s very own Eurasian Tree Sparrows? Click here!
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus, introduced spp.)
Photo: Dennis Church, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0
Family: Sparrows, Old World (Passeridae)
ID: A stocky, round-headed sparrow common to urban and suburban landscapes. Males are gray below, with wings and back of chestnut streaked with darker brown and black, white cheeks and a black throat. In breeding seasons males wear a gray capped crown. Females are khaki-gray below, the wings and back are a combination of buff, medium-brown, and black, with a buff eye-stripe.
Diet: House Sparrows will eat grain and seeds from almost any source, including livestock feed and manure, as well discarded human foods such as bread, french fries, and snack chips. House Sparrows eat insects during the summer months and also feed them to nestlings.
Habitat: Anywhere you’ll find people, you’re likely to find House Sparrows. They’ve become so successful, and dependent, on humans and our built environment, that they are now considered to be an obligate species, meaning that to be successful they must live in the specific habitat associated with H. sapiens.
Fun Fact: House Sparrows are one of the most adaptive urban wildlife species, and they have been quick to learn how to exploit their human neighbors. For example, they’ll follow lawnmowers or visit light fixtures at dusk to make finding insects easier, and they’ve even learned how to trip automatic door beams to access warehouses, lawn and garden centers, and grocery stores.
Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
[Photo: hedera.balltica, ccl by-sa 2.0]
Family: Starlings (Sturnidae)
ID: These chunky, robin-sized birds are an easy species to ID, with their short tails and wings, slender yellow beaks, and their black plumage that shimmers purple and green in sunlight. Following winter molt, their rainbow feathers are strewn with bright white spots.
Diet: Common Starlings prefer to eat insects and other invertebrates when available but they are opportunistic omnivores in the truest sense of that description, consuming wild and cultivated fruits, grains, seeds, and nuts, as well as discarded french fries, potato chips, bread, and other edible stuff in trash cans and dumpsters.
Habitat: If you want to see a Common Starling, go where the people are… they have hitched their wagon to the Homo sapiens star. Found in cities, suburbs, and agricultural lands, they need open areas (lawns, fields) to forage for food, access to a water source, trees or buildings for nesting cavities. Common Starlings avoid expansive stretches of deciduous woodlands, evergreen forests and chaparral, and deserts… in other words, habitats with low human population.
Fun Fact: In flight, their pointed wings, tail, and long beaks give the appearance of a small, four-pronged star… and that’s how they came to have the name star-ling.
Want to learn more about the Common Starling? Click here!
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
[Photo: Jim McCulloch, CCL by 2.0]
Family: Swifts (Apodidae)
ID: Imagine an ample Perfecto cigar with wings and you shouldn’t have any trouble identifying a Chimney Swift silhouette against a blue backdrop. They’re even tobacco-colored, albeit somewhat paler at the throat. This smallish bird (4-2/3 to 5-3/4 in or 12-15 cm from beak to tail-tip) has a round head, short neck, and an abbreviated tail with several short, spiky feathers that assist with balance when these small-footed creatures cling to vertical surfaces. Their long, slim, arched wings tolerate quick, unpredictable turns as they scour the sky for insects.
Diet: Chimney Swifts eat exclusively while airborne, snagging flies, bees, beetles, mosquitoes, and other insects from the wild blue yonder. Larger bugs are captured in the bill, smaller ones go straight down the hatch. Chimney Swifts feed over a variety of landscapes, including cities and suburbs, meadows, forests, agricultural fields, and marshes, most often at dusk.
Habitat: As hollow trees and other natural nesting sites have become more scarce, man-made cavities, in the form of residential chimneys, incinerator flues, and similar hollow forms have taken on greater importance in the survival of this helpful avian species. Chimney Swifts spend the spring and summer breeding season in the eastern half of North America, then winter in the upper Amazon basin, including Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.
Fun Fact: As their annual migration departure nears, Chimney Swifts will often roost together by the thousands. As dusk transitions into night, the flock begins to congregate, circling around the staging area, which is often a large, inactive smokestack, until seemingly on cue they funnel into the opening like a tornado — it’s a truly breathtaking sight!
Want to learn more about Chimney Swifts? Click here!
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Family: Thrushes and Allies (Turdidae)
ID: It doesn’t get more iconic than the charcoal jacket and garnet waistcoat worn by both male and female American Robins. The largest of North American’s thrushes (7-3/4 to 11 in or 20-28 cm from beak to tail-tip), this species has a yellow-gold bill, long legs, long tail, a prosperous chest and belly, with accents of white beneath the tail and around the eyes. Male Robins have a somewhat darker head, particularly in breeding season.
Diet: Technically speaking, the American Robin is an omnivore but from a practical standpoint they’re really only interested in two main food groups: invertebrates and fruit. Known to have an appetite for earthworms, Robins will also eat snails and insects. Ever the efficient eater, these birds will prioritize feeding on fruits that have insects inside.
Habitat: Given how prevalent the American Robin has become in towns, suburbs, and cities, it might come as a surprise to learn they can also be found in areas where human populations are more sparse, such as tundra, near mountain treelines, and in forests. In fact, Robins are one bird species that is quick to recolonize territory after a forest fire.
Fun Fact: American Robins are considered a welcome sign that Spring has sprung but here in St. Louis, as in many other parts of the U.S., this species is a year-round resident. During winter months Robins spend more time in trees, roosting together in large flocks, than foraging in grassy lawns so they’re not as noticeable. Robins are also less vocal when they aren’t claiming and defending breeding territories.
Want to learn more about the American Robins of Lafayette Park? Click Here!
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
[Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
[Photo: Andrew Reding, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice (Paridae)
ID: At first glance, it may appear that the tiny (4⅔ to 5¾ in or 12-15 cm, bill to tail-tip) Black-Capped Chickadee is a gray-scale bird, but zoom in to macroscopic and you’ll see a sepia overlay beneath the wings and down the sides, fading to bright white on the belly to match the cheeks and edges of wing and tail feathers. That buffy bronze tone can be spotted on the back in some regions and light conditions.
Diet: The Black-Capped Chickadee is an omnivore whose diet varies with the season. From spring through fall, when insects, spiders, and other invertebrates are more plentiful, these protein-packed foods account for 80-90% of calories consumed. Sunflowers seeds, peanuts, suet and other feeder offerings provide the fatty fuel needed to weather winter’s chill.
Habitat: Happy to live side-by-side with humans, the wide-ranging Black-Capped Chickadees can be found in deciduous and mixed forests, cottonwood groves, willow thickets, suburban yards, and city parks, across most of the top tier of North America, from southern Alaska to Newfoundland, and as far south as northern New Mexico and parts of West Virginia, western Virginia and North Carolina, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee.
Fun Fact: Brain space is at a premium when your entire head measures up to about 1½ inches. So, at the end of each breeding season, neurons storing outdated information wither, allowing Black-Capped Chickadees to trade memories and grudges for the ability to adapt to changes in the environment and the social structure of the flock. Talk about “new year, new you”!
Want to learn more about Black-capped Chickadees? Click here!
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC-BY-2.0]
Family: Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice (Paridae)
ID: Even smaller (3¾ to 4⅔ in or 10-12 cm, beak to tail-tip) than the black-capped chickadee, the Carolina Chickadee is otherwise nearly identical to its cousin, at least so far as outward appearances go — black cap and bib, white cheeks and belly, tawny sides, and soft gray above (although the black-capped wing and tail feathers are edged in white). In 1998 the two species were officially recognized as genetically distinct, and they share only a meager margin of overlapping distribution (see the Habitat section below for details). As such, identification gets a lot easier the closer you get to the center of each species’ range.
Diet: Winter finds Carolina Chickadees making frequent visits to feeders to fill up on calorie-rich seeds and suet. For the remainder of the year their diet shifts to greater focus on animal protein, in the form of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates. Peckish Carolina Chickadees hold food with their feet, wedging bugs and peanut pieces alike against a perch before hammering away with their short but sturdy bill.
Habitat: Unperturbed by human neighbors (and why not, since they are quite philanthropic about donating food to the chickadee cause), Carolinas call a variety of habitats home, including deciduous and mixed woodlands, swamps and riparian swaths, suburban yards, and city parks. Their territory is less extensive than black-cappeds, ranging along the southeastern coast from Delaware to central Florida, west to central Texas, and sloping north to just below the Great Lakes. Carolinas rub wings with black-cappeds in a limited area that includes parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Fun Fact: Other songbird species rely heavily on the chickadees, including the Carolina, to warn them of potential predators. They listen for that singular chick-a-dee-dee call, and come to learned that more dees means a higher threat level.
Want to learn more about Carolina Chickadees? Click here!
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
[Photo: Deb Venuti, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Family: Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice (Paridae)
ID: The understated Tufted Titmouse is a small bird (5½ to 6¼ , beak to tail-tip) with a BIG voice. With large black eyes, a rusty wash of color below the wings, and a jaunty crest, this cousin of the chickadee is distinctive enough to be easily recognized by even novice birders. Their short, round bill is an effective chisel, allowing Titmice to hammer their way past hard seed and nut shells to the prize inside.
Diet: The Tufted Titmouse is a seasonal omnivore, focusing heavily on insects in spring and summer, seeds and nuts in fall and winter… which is not to suggest they’ll forego the feeder until temperatures drop, but they may not visit as often when caterpillars, stinkbugs, spiders, and snails are readily available.
Habitat: Found in deciduous and mixed evergreen-deciduous woodlands across rural, suburban, and urban landscapes, Tufted Titmice can been seen across most of the eastern half of the U.S.
Fun Fact: Like their brethren, the chickadees and tits, Tufted Titmice hoard food. Using caches within about 130-150 feet from a feeder, these birds select a single seed, remove the shell, stuff the future snack into a crevice, and repeat.
Want to learn more about Tufted Titmice? Click here!
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC-BY-2.0]
Family: Treecreepers (Certhidae)
ID: Trim and tiny (4¾ to 5½ in or 12-14 cm from beak to tail-tip), the Brown Creeper is equipped with a slim, downward-arched bill, and a relatively long, spine-tipped tail. Bright white below with streaked and dappled tones of brown above, they can be particularly hard to detect against the tree bark upon which they spend most of their life clinging so watch for their stereotypic spiraling movement if you’re hoping to add this species to your life-list!
Diet: Brown Creepers are technically insectivores who hunt and gather all manner of invertebrates from the wrinkled surface of bark with their forceps -shaped bills. When pickings get slim in winter they’ll supplement all that protein with some carbs in the form of seeds and other plants (because everyone craves some comfort food in cold weather).
Habitat: This small North American bird prefers large trees. The summer breeding season finds the Brown Creeper in mature coniferous forests of southern Canada, the Rocky Mountain range all the way south to Central America, the West Coast, Great Lakes, and Northeast. In winter, some members of the population move into the oak-hickory forests in the middle of the continent.
Fun Fact: Brown Creepers have an average metabolic demand of 4-10 calories per day (for reference, a single stalk of celery has about 6 calories, and the average adult human needs 2,000 calories per day). A single spider provides enough energy for the bird to climb 200 vertical feet (while also searching and probing for their next meal).
Want to learn more about the Brown Creeper? Click here!
Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
[Photo: Marcel Holyoak, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Troupials and Allies (Icteridae)
ID: The Brown-Headed Cowbird (BHC) is petite (6½ to 8¾ inches or16-22 cm, bill to tail-tip) compared to other blackbirds but far from delicate. Another characteristic that differentiates this species from its closest kin is a distinctively finch-like body and beak. The adult mail is iridescent black with a bronze head, females and juveniles wear shades of taupe finely streaked on the underside.
Diet: Since BHC chicks are raised by foster parents of many different songbird species (technically, this breeding strategy is referred to as brood parasitism) they’re introduced from a young age to diverse diets from an early age. As adults, they are primarily seed-eaters with some insects to balance out all those carbs. Female cowbirds need more calcium than most of their feathered peers due to the large number of eggs they produce over the course of a breeding season and, as such, they are known to eat snail shells and event sneak some egg shells from the nests of other birds.
Habitat: BHCs prefer grassy expanses and wooded edges but their not picky about rural versus suburban or urban landscapes.
Fun Fact: BHC femals are known to lay eggs in the nests of over 200 different species of birds but individual females tend to have host species preferences.
Want to learn more about the Brown-Headed Cowbird? Click here!
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Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)
[Photo: Jocelyn Anderson, cc-by-2.0]
Family: Troupials and Allies (Icteridae)
ID: Some common names are more helpful than others and it would be hard to be more directly descriptive than the Red-Winged Blackbird… at least for males of the species, who are dark as coal with epaulets of geranium red and dandelion yellow on each shoulder. Females forego any hint of flashiness, wearing tweedy tones of cozy cocoa and cream. Both are similarly robin-sized (6½ t0 9 in or 17-23 cm from bill to tail) and tipping the scale at 1 to 2½ oz (32 to 77 g).
Diet: RWBs are insectivores who will supplement their high protein diet with corn, wheat, or feeder seeds, especially during colder months with their favorite foods are harder to come by.
Habitat: The traditional setting for RWBs is a fresh or saltwater marsh, meadow, pasture, or agricultural field throughout most of North and Central America but the species has been expanding into suburban and urban landscapes of late, and their easily recognizable conk-la-ree! check! check! calls can often be heard in Lafayette Park and the surrounding neighborhood.
Fun Fact: The closer a male RWB is to the center of his personal territory, the more assertively he’ll display his colorful shoulder patches as he ostentatiously defends his claim; conversely, the further afield he travels from home and hearth, as when chasing off trespassing rivals, the less visible his epaulets become until, eventually, they can’t be seen at all. At that point, he’ll turn tail and fly back to his comfort zone.
Want to learn more about the Red-Wing Blackbirds of Lafayette Square? Click here!
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
[Photo: Dennis Church, CCL-by-2.0]
Family: Tyrant Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)
ID: Female and male Eastern Phoebes are sparrow-sized (5½ to 6½ in or 14-17 cm, beak to tail-tip) and semi-pudgy. This songbird is mushroom brown above (often with the head a shade or two darker) and pale almond white below. New fall wing feathers feature almond edging and a pale lemon-yellow wash can be observed on the belly.
While you’re unlikely to mistake a black-capped chickadee for an Eastern Phoebe by sight, it’s trickier to tell the two apart by sound… but not impossible. The Phoebe’s fee-bee call is faster and scratchier, often with a second syllable that alternates higher and lower than the first. The chickadee’s fee-bee call, on the other hand, is slower and sweeter, with a lower second note that’s often doubled to fee-bee-bee.
Diet: Bugs supplemented with berries is an adequate summation up the preferred rations of the Eastern Phoebe.
Habitat: Eastern Phoebes prefer open woodlots, such as those found in suburban yards, municipal parks, and cemeteries. They’ll often build nests, or claim nests other species have built, under the eaves of a building, the overhang of a bridge, or similar areas with “roofed” protection from the weather.
Fun Fact: The Eastern Phoebe became North America’s very first banded bird when John James Audubon, a name revered by birders around the globe, placed a silvered thread around the leg of an individual he trapped and then tracked over several years.
Want to learn more about the Eastern Phoebe? Click here!
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Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
[Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, cc by-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)
[Photo: Hal Trachtenberg, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus)
[Photo: Dave Inman, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Red-Eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
[Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Family: Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis (Vireonidae)
ID: The Latin name offers an accurate description of this bird’s plumage, at least when viewed from above. Shades of olive-green span from tail to neck and across the wings, but the underside tells another story. Quiet chartreuse beneath the tail and wings fades into pale silver on the belly. There’s a darker gray cap on the head set off by black eyebrow and eye stripes spaced with white. The distinguishing red-eye of the common name is left out of the official moniker, for reasons known only taxonomists. Large-ish for a vireo, the REV doesn’t measure up to anyone’s idea of a big bird (with the possible exception of the bee hummingbirds). Tipping the scale at 0.4 to 0.9 oz (12-26 g), even when stretching to the limits of their reach they’re about 4¾ to 5 in long (12-13 cm beak to tail-tip).
Diet: Technically, REVs are omnivores because their diet does contain seeds, fruits, and insects… but rarely all at the same time. While they’re in South America, they rely almost exclusively on small wild berries; during the summer breeding season in North America they shift to eating mostly insects, spiders, and small snails; and during migration they’ll eat just about anything they can find.
Habitat: REVs like woodlands. They aren’t too picky about deciduous versus coniferous and, while they do prefer to have some shrubbery below, they’ll make an exception if the trees are large enough, which is why they can be found in some older suburban neighborhoods, city parks, and cemeteries.
Fun Fact: REVs choose a migratory pathway between North and South America based, at least in part, on their waistlines. Birds carrying a larger fuel supply in the form of body fat tend to head directly across the Gulf of Mexico, while slimmer birds hug the coastline or travel inland, around the sea rather than over it. Also, the more cloud cover during the trip the more likely REVs will migrate over land.
Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
[Photo: John Sutton, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Family: Warblers, New World (Parulidae)
ID: Nothing says style like an abbreviated color palette, and the Black-and-White Warbler is most certainly cuts a dashing figure. And not just the fellas; the females wear nearly the same costume… but not exactly a carbon copy. They’re about the same size (4⅓ to 5 in or 11-13 cm from bill to tail-tip) but she has a white throat, a narrow black eye-stripe, and is slightly more gray-scale all over; he has a thicker black eye-strip and a black ear patch.
Diet: Largely, but not exclusively, insectivorous. Moth and butterfly caterpillars are the calories of choice during spring migration and into breeding season but as the days grow longer and the six-leggeds more plentiful, BWWs will expand their dietary choices to include flies, beetles, leafhoppers, weevils, and ants, as well as the occasional spider.
Habitat: BWWs make use of diverse habitats, including deciduous and coniferous forests, wetlands, mangroves, and orchards in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. St. Louis and Lafayette Park are on the edge of the Midwestern breeding territory for this easily identifiable warbler. They’ll also fan out into the northeastern US states and across Canada into the Northwest Territories of Canada. Winters are spent in Central America south into Peru, as well as the coast of southeastern North America, Florida, and south to the Carribean.
Fun Fact: BWWs have a beneign appearance and a bellicose natures, compared to other warblers, that is. They’ll defend breeding territory and food resources from other BWWs, and have been observed in combat with chickadees, nuthatches, and redstarts.
Want to learn more about the BWWs of Lafayette Park? Click here!
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
[Photo: Skip Russell, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Chestnut-Sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)
[Photo: Michael Janke, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Golden-Winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)
[Photo: Kent McFarland, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia)
[Photo: Dave Inman, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Tennessee Warbler (Oreothylpis peregrina)
[Photo: Dan Mooney, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Orange-Crowned Warbler (Oreothylpis celata)
[Photo: Gillfoto, CCL by-sa 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
[Photo: Finch, CCL by-nc-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
[Photo: Hal Trachtenberg, CCL-BY-NC-2.0]
Family: Waxwings (Bombycillidae)
ID: Thanks to a wardrobe of sophisticated tans, taupes, pewters, and lemon, a fierce sweep of eye liner, a jaunty but tasteful chapeau, and the kind of airbrushed perfection that graces the covers of fashion-forward magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, the Cedar Waxwing is the super model of the avian set. Punctuate the subdued ensemble with wingtips dipped in glossy, glowing crimson and it’s little wonder this petite bird (5½ to 6¾ from bill to tail-tip) is as easy to spot and recognize as a Kardashian.
Diet: Fruit, fruit, and more fruit, supplemented by a serving or two of high-protein, low-fat insects… that’s what it takes for the Cedar Waxwing to stay photo-shoot fabulous.
Habitat: Cedar Waxwings like to hangout near woodlands and water, but they’ve become increasingly common in cities and suburbs.
Fun Fact: In the 1960s, birders in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada began to noticed the waxy yellow tail-tips that are a common feature of this species had taken on a decidedly orange tone. Research determined the change of hue was due to red pigment in the berries of a species of honeysuckle introduced to North America at that time.
Want to learn more about the Cedar Waxwing? Click here!
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
[Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
ID: A Downy looks like the iconic image of a woodpecker but in miniature form: black-and-white hounds-tooth plumage, straight back, wide shoulders, anvil head, and a chisel beak. Males have a small patch of scarlet on the back of the head, females stick strictly to the binary color scheme. NOTE: New birders can have trouble telling the difference between a Downy and a Hairy Woodpecker but there are a couple of easy tips to keep in mind next time you hear a drumbeat in the woods and spot the percussionist out on a limb: 1) Downys are about the size of a house sparrow, while Hairys are about the size of an American Robin; 2) Downys have a short bill while a Hairy’s bill is about the same length as the distance between the back of the head and the base of the bill; and 3) the outermost tail feathers of a Downy are white with black bars, while the same feathers on a Hairy are almost always entirely white.
Diet: Like other woodpeckers, Downys subsists on a diet of mainly insects, including ants, caterpillars, and larvae that develop under tree bark, but about a quarter of their calories come from grains, acorns, and wild berries. They’re also know to take advantage of suet, peanuts, and black oil sunflower seeds when offered at a feeder, and have even been observed taking a quick sip of some hummingbird feeder go-juice.
Habitat: Downy woodpeckers can be found in open woodlands, orchards, parks, and suburbs, but they also like to have some edge habitat that features shrubs and tall weeds.
Fun Fact: Downys would feel very much at home in a 1950s-era sitcom, in that they males and females divide up work by gender. Males forage for insects on small branches and weedy stems, while females scour larger branches and tree trunks. Lest you interpret this behavior as chivalry, it turns out traditional male turf offers higher yields, and the boys actively chase the girls away. When researchers remove all the males from a woodlot females are quick to shift to shopping along the sprigs and twigs.
Want to learn more about the Downy Woodpecker? Click here!
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Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
[Photo: Keith Williams, CCL by-nc 2.0]
Coming soon!
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Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
[Photo: Rick from Alabama, CCL by 2.0]
Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
ID: The mid-sized (~9 in from beak to tail-tip) Red-bellied Woodpeckers (RBW) hass a black-and-white hounds-tooth jacket with a buffy turtleneck underneath that looks as though it may have been washed with a new red t-shirt. Males sport a bright scarlet mohawk from nostrils to neck nape, while females wear a bobbed version of the coiffure.
Diet: RBWs spend a lot of time poking and chipping at tree bark in search of insects and spiders, but they supplement their diet with a variety of seeds, fruits, and even the occasional lizard or small fish.
Habitat: The name says everything you need to know: uplands or bottom lands, national forest or suburbia, oak, hickory, poplar or pine… woodpeckers need trees like peanut butter needs jelly.
Fun Fact: RBWs are often misidentified as red-headed but once you see the less common cousin you’ll never mistake one for the other again.
Want to learn more about the Red-Bellied Woodpecker? Click here!
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Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
[Photo: Jen Goellnitz, cc-by-nc-nd-2.0]
Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
ID: This medium-sized (7½ to 9 in or 19-23 cm from beak to tail-tip) has plumage that is anything but average. Blocks of ebony and ivory on the body contrast with a look-at-me bright crimson head and neck that marks passage into adulthood (juveniles have a pale bronzed-brown head, dingy belly, and ash-black wings).
Diet: RHWs use their pike-shaped bill to skewer insects they find while probing tree bark (beetles, cicadas) or pluck from thin air (midges, flies), but they’ll also chisel wooden caches then wedge acorns, fruit nuts, and live insects into these DIY pantries for safe keeping. They’ll also snack on suet during the winter months.
Habitat: These semi-nomadic woodpeckers are drawn t dead trees and snags in mature stands of oak, oak-hickory, maple, ash, and beech (although in the southern part of their range they can be found in pine and pine-oak forests). Missouri is in the center of their year-round range so RHWs breed and winter in the area.
Fun Fact: The vaguely bemused countenance of a RHW belies their true nature — they are bold and combative, defending their territory against all comers, not just members of their own or related species, and are an honored symbol of war to the Cherokee nation.
Want to learn more about the Red-Headed Woodpecker? Click here!
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Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
[Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CCL by 2.0]
Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
ID: As is so often the case with members of the woodpecker family, it’s easy to tell these mid-sized (7 to 8½ in or 18-22 cm, beak to tail-tip) boys from girls because their gender is written all over their faces. Well, make that all over their throats — his is red and hers is white. Other than that, their costumes are identical: matching bright red Garrison caps that can be raised to form a crest; black-and-white houndstooth backs; mostly black wings with vertical wing patches in contrasting white; stripes of the same binary shades on either side of the face; a black v-neck; and a white belly with a subtle yellow stain, almost as if they’ve been hugging dandelions.
Diet: Three guesses as to the favorite food of this feathered tree tapper… if you guessed “sap” you get to advance to the bonus round! These non-sap foods can also be found on a sapsucker’s dinner menu. Answer? What is insects, berries, and buds. Ding, ding, ding, ding! You win!
Habitat: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are found throughout the eastern side of the North American continent but spread out to the western edge of northern Canada during the breeding season. They prefer young forests and edge habitat although it doesn’t much matter if the woodlot is in a rural, suburban, or urban landscape. Unlike their brethren, dead trees aren’t a sapsuckers necessity. Snags and such are great for nesting but they don’t produce any sap.
Fun Fact: YBS have learned how to take advantage of the built environment, especially when it comes to drumming their claim to territory. Street signs cymbals create a satifying clamor, metal roof flashing makes a splendid snare, and the amplification potential of chimney flue really blows the crowd away!
Want to learn more about the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of Lafayette Park? Click here!
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
[Photo: elly Colgan Azar, CCL by-nd 2.0]
Coming soon!
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House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
[Photo: Tom Murray, CC-BY-NC-2.0]
Family: Wrens (Troglodytidae)
ID: The House Wren is a big superlative voice pouring forth from a modest brown-patterned package (4¼ to 5 in or 11-13 cm, bill to tail-tip). There’s no difference in plumage between males and females (at least, not that the human eye detects… the wrens might quibble with me on this point). When the perky tail point up, as it so often does, it makes the whole bird look like check-mark to me, verifying that my ID is correct (or at least in the wren ballpark).
Diet: It’s a wren-eat-bug world. Beyond that, these birds aren’t picky about provisions — beetles, caterpillars, flies, harvestmen (aka daddy longlegs) all fill the bill. House Wrens have been observed eating snail shells as well, possibly as a calcium source, possibly to provide grit for their crop (to take the place of heavy teeth), possibly both.
Habitat: House Wrens will make a home in just about any habitat that features trees, shrubs, and some edge understory. They nest in cavities and have learned how to build a nursery in the nooks and crannies of both trees and buildings. They’re also found across the entire lower-48, at least as some times during the year. They come to Saint Louis during their breeding season, then head south to Texas, Louisiana, and other coastal states for warmer temperatures in winter.
Fun Fact: When you nest in a crevice, as House Wrens are wont to do, there’s always the possibility of an insect infestation. Since this is an insectivorous species, when mites and ticks and gnats move in it’s kind of like having groceries delivered… but sometimes even a wren needs a little help with pest control. That’s when one of the adult birds sets off in search of spider egg sacs to bring home. When these 8-legged exterminators hatch, they make short work of all those pesky left-overs!
Want to learn more about the House Wrens of Lafayette Park? Click here!
Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis)
[Photo: Fyn Kynd, ccl by 2.0]
Coming soon!
