List of birds of Canada and the United States

Five-year-old golden eagle

North American birds most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to the continent as part of the supercontinent Laurasia until around 60 million years ago.[1] Many groups occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere and worldwide. However some groups unique to the New World have also arisen; those represented in this list are the hummingbirds, the New World vultures, the New World quail, the tyrant flycatchers, the vireos, the mimids, the New World warblers, the tanagers, the cardinals and the icterids.

Several common birds in North America, such as the house sparrow, the rock pigeon, the European starling and the mute swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to this continent but were brought here by humans from Europe or elsewhere. Introduced species are marked on this list as (I). There may be species that have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America that are not on this list. This is especially true of birds that are commonly held as pets, such as parrots and finches.

One species, the cattle egret, was historically an African bird. In the 20th century this bird colonized North America and is now found throughout the lower 48 states of the United States.[2] The cattle egret is the only Old World bird to establish itself in North America in historical times without being introduced by humans. As such, it is not marked as introduced on this list. Neither is the glossy ibis, which probably had a similar history.[3]

The status of one bird on the North American list, the ivory-billed woodpecker, is controversial. Until 2005 this bird was widely considered to be extinct. In April of that year, it was reported that at least one adult male bird had been sighted in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.[4] This report however, has not been universally accepted, and the American Birding Association still lists the ivory-billed woodpecker as extinct.[5][6]

The definition of the area covered by a list of "North American" birds is somewhat subjective. The original list published by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) in 1886 covered birds found in North America north of Mexico, and included Baja California, Bermuda and Greenland. In 1983, the area was expanded to include all of Mexico, Central America south through Panama, the West Indies and the Hawaiian Islands, while Greenland was dropped. This expansion more than doubled the number of birds on the AOU list. Other organizations, such as the American Birding Association (ABA), use a smaller area: the current ABA area includes the 49 continental states of the US, Canada and the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, plus surrounding waters.[7] It does not include Greenland, Bermuda, the Bahamas or the Hawaiian Islands.[7] This article is based on a checklist used by the ABA, which used by most field guides for North American birds, and is complete up to October 2015. Since the ABA follows the AOU on taxonomical matters, the AOU's list is used to settle questions of taxonomy.

Contents:

See also        References        External links

Condition of bird population

A study by the National Audubon Society has found that populations of some the most common birds in North America have plummeted since 1967, with some species showing a decline of 80 percent. The study also found that California species were particularly affected, with population declines of 75 to 96 percent for several species, including the northern pintail, horned lark and loggerhead shrike. The decline may be due to loss of habitat to urban sprawl, especially grasslands, forests and wetlands, energy development and industrialized agriculture. Climate change could compound losses in the future.[8][9][10]

Taxonomy

The taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the accompanying bird lists adhere to the conventions of the AOU's (1998) Check-list of North American Birds, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North America birds. The AOU's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the body responsible for maintaining and updating the Check-list, "strongly and unanimously continues to endorse the biological species concept (BSC), in which species are considered to be genetically cohesive groups of populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups" (AOU 1998). See Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy for an alternative phylogenetic arrangement based on DNA-DNA hybridization.

Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in North America as permanent residents, summer or winter residents or visitors, or migrants. The following codes are used to designate some species:

This list follows the ABA for determination of rarity. The markings (A) and {C} correspond to the ABA birding codes five and four respectively.

Extinction Extinction Extinct in the Wild Critically Endangered Endangered species Vulnerable species Near Threatened Threatened species Least Concern Least ConcernIUCN conservation statuses

Summary of 2006 IUCN Red List categories.

Conservation status - IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

EX - extinct, EW - extinct in the wild
CR - critically endangered, EN - endangered, VU - vulnerable
NT - near threatened, LC - least concern
DD - data deficient, NE - not evaluated
(v. 2013.2, the data is current as of March 5, 2014[11])

and Endangered Species Act:

E - endangered, T - threatened
XN, XE - experimental non essential or essential population
E(S/A), T(S/A) - endangered or threatened due to similarity of appearance
(including taxa not necessarily found in the USA, the data is current as of March 28, 2014[12])

Ducks, geese and swans

Trumpeter swan
Wood duck pair
Falcated duck
Common eider

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.

Curassows and guans

Order: Galliformes   Family: Cracidae

The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colorful facial ornaments.

Partridges, grouse, turkeys and Old World quail

Wild turkey

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.

New World quail

California quail

Order: Galliformes   Family: Odontophoridae

The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.

Loons

Pacific loon

Order: Gaviiformes   Family: Gaviidae

Loons are aquatic birds the size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. Their plumage is largely gray or black, and they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well and fly adequately, but, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body, are almost helpless on land.

Grebes

Clark's grebe

Order: Podicipediformes   Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.

Albatrosses

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Diomedeidae

The albatrosses are amongst the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus Diomedea have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.

Shearwaters and petrels

Northern fulmar

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.

Storm petrels

Wilson's storm petrel

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Hydrobatidae

The storm petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.

Tropicbirds

Order: Phaethontiformes   Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their long wings have black markings, as does the head.

Boobies and gannets

Blue-footed booby

Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.

Cormorants

Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored skin on the face. The bill is long, thin and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature among the Pelecaniformes order

Darters

Order: Suliformes   Family: Anhingidae

Darters are cormorant-like water birds with very long necks and long, straight beaks. They are fish eaters which often swim with only their neck above water.

Frigatebirds

Order: Suliformes   Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black or black-and-white birds, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.

Pelicans

Brown pelican

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes.

Bitterns, herons and egrets

Snowy egret

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Threskiornithidae

Members of this family have long, broad wings, are strong fliers and, rather surprisingly, given their size and weight, very capable soarers. The body tends to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills.

Storks

Wood stork

Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and, as a result, are mute.

New World vultures

The California condor is one of North America's most endangered birds

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae

The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers. However, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they locate carcasses.

Osprey

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

Pandionidae is a family of fish-eating birds of prey, possessing a very large, powerful hooked beak for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight. The family is monotypic.

Eagles, kites and allies

Northern goshawk

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.

Caracaras and falcons

American kestrel

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.

Rails, gallinules and coots

King rail

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically, family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps and rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak flyers.

Sungrebe

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Heliornithidae

Limpkin

Limpkin

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Aramidae

The limpkin is an odd bird that looks like a large rail, but is skeletally closer to the cranes. It is found in marshes with some trees or scrub in the Caribbean, South America and southern Florida.

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking, but unrelated, herons, cranes fly with their necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays.

Thick-knees

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Burhinidae

The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.

Lapwings and plovers

Killdeer

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatchers are large, obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs.

Stilts and avocets

American avocet

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.

Jacanas

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Jacanidae

The jacanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

Sandpipers and allies

Greater yellowlegs
Red-necked phalarope

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large, diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpiper, curlew, godwit, shank, tattler, woodcock, snipe, dowitcher and phalarope. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without directly competing for food.

Pratincoles

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Glareolidae

Pratincoles have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding.

Gulls, terns and skimmers

A Western gull in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Ring-billed gull

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.

Skuas

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Stercorariidae

Skuas are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with gray or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They have longish bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large dark gulls, but have a fleshy cere above the upper mandible. They are strong, acrobatic fliers.

Auks, murres and puffins

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colors, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are only distantly related to the penguins and are able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest.

Pigeons and doves

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Old World parrots

Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittaculidae

African and New World parrots

Green parakeet

Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittacidae

Cuckoos, roadrunners and anis

Black-billed cuckoo

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs.

Barn owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Tytonidae

Barn owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons.

Typical owls

Juvenile great horned owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

Typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Nightjars

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically colored to resemble bark or leaves.

Swifts

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Apodidae

The swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.

Hummingbirds

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

Trogons

Order: Trogoniformes   Family: Trogonidae

Trogons are residents of tropical forests worldwide and have soft, often colorful, feathers with distinctive male and female plumage. They have compact bodies with long tails and short necks.

Hoopoes

Order: Upupiformes   Family: Upupidae

This black, white and pink bird is quite unmistakable, especially in its erratic flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. It is the only member of its family. The song is a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which gives rise to its English and scientific names.

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Cerylidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.

Woodpeckers, sapsuckers and flickers

Red-naped sapsucker

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.

Antbirds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thamnophilidae

Antbirds are a family of Passerines found from Argentina north to Mexico. There are a great variety of antbirds, with antbirds, antwrens and antshrikes. Antshrikes are small, often handsomely marked birds. There is only one species of antbird recorded in the United States; an audio recording of a barred antshrike from Harlingen, Texas, in September, 2006.[13]

Tyrant flycatchers

Willow flycatcher

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust and have stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.

Tityras and allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tityridae

Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forests and woodlands in the Neotropics. The approximately 30 species in this family were formerly spread over the families Tyrannidae, Pipridae and Cotingidae (see Taxonomy). As of yet, no widely accepted common name exists for the family, although "tityras and allies" and "tityras, mourners and allies" have been used. They are small to medium-sized birds.

Shrikes

Northern shrike

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked.

Vireos

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae

The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically greenish in color and resemble wood warblers, apart from their heavier bills.

Jays, crows, magpies and ravens

Clark's nutcracker

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae

The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.

Larks

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. They feed on insects and seeds.

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.

Chickadees and titmice

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.

Penduline tits

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Remizidae

The penduline tits are a family of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. The verdin is the only North American representative of its family.

Bushtits

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Aegithalidae

The long-tailed tits are a family of small passerine birds. Their plumage is typically dull gray or brown in color. There is only one North American representative of this primarily Palearctic family.

Nuthatches

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds, which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have large heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet.

Treecreepers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin, down-pointed, curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves vertically on trees.

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and inconspicuous birds, except for their loud songs. They have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.

Gnatcatchers

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae

These dainty birds resemble Old World warblers in their structure and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers are mainly soft bluish gray in color and have the typical insectivore's long, sharp bill. Many species have distinctive black head patterns (especially males) and long, regularly cocked, black-and-white tails.

Dippers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cinclidae

Dippers are named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.

Bulbuls

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Pycnonotidae

The bulbuls are a family of medium-sized passerine songbirds native to Africa and tropical Asia. They are noisy and gregarious birds with often beautiful, striking songs.

Kinglets

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Regulidae

The kinglets are a small family of birds which resemble the titmice. They are very small, insectivorous birds in the genus Regulus. The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their name.

Leaf-warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Phylloscopidae

Old World warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sylviidae

The family Sylviidae is a group of small, insectivorous, passerine birds. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs.

Reed-warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Acrocephalidae

Grassbirds and allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Megaluridae

Old World flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Muscicapidae

This a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. Species below only occur in North America as vagrants. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.

Thrushes

Western bluebird

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.

Mockingbirds and thrashers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mimidae

The mimids are a family of passerine birds which includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance.

Starlings and mynas

An immature female European starling

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae

Starlings and mynas are small to medium-sized Old World passerine birds with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct and most are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit. The plumage of several species is dark with a metallic sheen.

Accentors

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Prunellidae

The accentors are in the only bird family which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. The species below only appears in North America as a vagrant.

Wagtails and pipits

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Motacillidae

Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. There are 54 species worldwide and 11 North American species.

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae

The waxwings are a group of birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in the summer and berries in winter.

Silky-flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Ptiliogonatidae

The silky-flycatchers are a small family of passerine birds which occur mainly in Central America. They are related to waxwings, and like that group have soft silky plumage, usually gray or pale-yellow.

Olive warbler

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Peucedramidae

The olive warbler is the only representative of its family. It was formally classified with the Parulidae, but DNA studies warrant its classification in a distinct family.

Longspurs

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Calcariidae

The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds which have been traditionally grouped with the Emberizeridae (New World sparrows), but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.

Wood-warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae

Nashville warbler

The wood warblers are a group of small, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores. In August 2011, the North American Committee of the AOU changed their classification of many of the wood warblers. Since this list is based on the AOU classification, changes to scientific names are updated here. Since many other taxonomic committees have yet to rule on these changes (including the South American Committee of the AOU) or have ruled in other ways, species pages remain with their original scientific names until more of a consensus is achieved.

Bananaquit

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Coerebidae or Genus: Coereba Incertae sedis

The bananaquit is a small passerine bird. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers. It is the only member of the genus Coereba and is normally placed within the family Coerebidae, although there is uncertainty whether that placement is correct (hence the assignment genus: Coereba incertae sedis).

Tanagers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thraupidae

The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics. Many species are brightly colored. They are seed eaters, but their preference tends towards fruit and nectar. Most have short, rounded wings.

American sparrows, towhees and juncos

Eastern towhee

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Emberizidae

Emberizidae is a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.

Cardinals, grosbeaks and allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: cardinalidae

The cardinals are a family of robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodlands. The sexes usually have distinct plumages.

Icterids, meadowlarks, cowbirds, grackles and orioles

Hooded oriole

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae

The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red.

Finches

Gray-crowned rosy-finch

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae

Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.

Old World sparrows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or grayish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.

Waxbills

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Estrildidae

Waxbills are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but vary widely in plumage colors and patterns. They build large, domed nests and lay five to ten white eggs.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Historical perspective". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  2. ↑ Crosby, Gilbert T. (July 1972). "Spread of the Cattle egret in the Western Hemisphere" (PDF). Journal of Field Ornithology. 43 (3): 205–212. doi:10.2307/4511880. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  3. ↑ Matheu, Eloїsa; del Hoyo, Josep (1992). "Family Threskiornithidae (ibises and Spoonbills)". In Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and Jordi Sargatal. Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 1: Ostrich to ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 501–02.
  4. ↑ "Ivory-billed woodpecker rediscovered in Arkansas". National Public Radio. April 28, 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  5. ↑ "ABA checklist" (PDF). American Birding Association. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  6. ↑ "ABA checklist codes". American Birding Association. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "ABA area". American Birding Association. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  8. ↑ U.S. bird populations plummet, by Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com, June 14, 2007.
  9. ↑ Common bird species in dramatic decline: A new Audubon study is one of the most comprehensive looks at bird-population trends in North America, By Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor, June 15, 2007.
  10. ↑ Disappearing common birds send environmental wake-up call, Audubon press release, June 14, 2007.
  11. ↑ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries, § 17.11 Endangered and threatened wildlife.". US Government Printing Office. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  13. ↑ Texas Bird Records Committee: Texas Bird Records Committee Report For 2007

Sources

External links

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