27529987
Description
Flashcards by Steve Thompson, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Steve Thompson
almost 4 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Green-winged Teal A dabbling duck. Tiny duck with a petite, thin bill. Males have brown head w/ wide green swatch behind the eye, creamy speckled breast, and mostly gray body. | |
| American Wigeon A dabbling duck. Look for pale blue bill. Breeding males with prominent white forehead and broad green slash behind eye. | |
| American Kestrel Petite falcon (size of Mourning Dove) Note very short curved beak, and spotted pale white breast. Often perched on telephone wires or fences in grassland. | |
| Western Grebe Grebes are ducklike divers w/thin neck. Large grebe w/ very thin, long, yellow-green bill. Notice very long neck with white on front and sides. Very bright yellow-orange bill. | |
| Killdeer Shorebird, but often nests near human development (parking lots, roofs, etc.). Notice two black bands across breast set it apart from other plovers. | |
| Least Sandpiper Smallest shorebird; sparrow-sized. Falls into category called "peeps". Notice yellow-green legs. Breeds on arctic tundra! | |
| Ring-billed Gull Common inland gull. Forages along lakes, rivers and ponds, as well as plowed fields, parking lots, etc. Smaller and more slender than Herring Gull. | |
| American Tree Sparrow Note (a) rusty cap (b) rusty (not black) eyeline (c) gray head (d) unstreaked grayish beak w/dark smudge in center | |
| White-crowned Sparrow Breast is plain gray w/o streaks Bill color varies from yellow to pink, always brighter than White-throated sparrow. Black-and-white head pattern and solid gray throat down to belly. Typically in shrubby areas. | |
| Blue Jay Black and white markings on wings and tail. Size between robin and crow. Prominent crest on head. Dark ring around neck and small dark eyeline. | |
| Western Meadowlark Thick black V on neck, with yellow below. Bill is as long as length of head. Found in grasslands. | |
| Great Blue Heron Very large and lanky. Extremely long neck and legs Gray-blue overall w/ dagger-like bill. Forages in shallow wetlands waiting for prey and stalking fish. | |
| Canada Goose a.k.a. Cackling Goose Black head and neck w/ white chinstrap. Listen for loud 'honking'. | |
| Northern Shoveler A dabbling duck. Huge spoon-shaped bill. Dark green head, white breast, chestnut sides & belly. | |
| Gadwall A dabbling duck. Gray overall, w/small white patch on wing. Large puffy head. Upends to reach aquatic vegetation. | |
| Bufflehead A diving duck. Large head and small gray bill. Black and white. Large black patch on back of head. Up close you may see that patch around throat is purple, and face greenish. | |
| Common Goldeneye Large duck. Black head w/circular white patch at base of bill. Black back, white body. Note bright YELLOW eyes. | |
| Hooded Merganser A small diving duck. Showy black and white crest on head. Two zebra stripes on their white breast. Chestnut sides. Eats mainly fish. | |
| Bald Eagle Blackish brown body w/white head. Underside of tail is white (visible in flight). Immature plumages may be messy and mottled w/large patches of white, especially on belly. Scavenges and hunts near bodies of water. | |
| Great Horned Owl Large owl; look for distinctive ear tufts. Preys upon a variety of animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. | |
| Belted Kingfisher (Female pictured) Stocky and large headed. Shaggy crest. Long bill. Powder blue above and white underparts, w/blue breast band. Female has additional rusty band on belly. | |
| Downy Woodpecker Smallest of woodpeckers. Plumage nearly identical to larger Hairy Woodpecker. | |
| Red-winged Blackbird Black with red shoulder patch that is sometimes concealed. Males have rusty feather edges in winter. Females streaked brown and often confused with sparrows. | |
| Bushtit Tiny, long-tailed, fluffy gray balls that are constantly in motion. Usually in active, twittering flocks that move quickly through landscape. Drab gray-brown, always scruffy. | |
| Steller's Jay Half black, half blue. Long, black crest. Some interior populations have more white above the eye than Pacific populations. | |
| Black-capped Chickadee Gray overall w/black cap and black chin. White cheek and back of neck. Chickadees have the black throat (nut hatches don't) | |
| Dark-eyed Junco Sparrow with large variation b/t populations. ALL have short pink bills and white outer tail feathers. Forages on ground for seeds (often below feeders). Slat-colored var. has slate on shoulders. Pink-sided var. has pinky brown shoulders and breast. | |
| Black-billed Magpie Large black-and-white relative of crows and jays. Exceptionally lengthy tail is longer than body. | |
| Woodhouse's Scrub-jay Royal blue above w/gray-brown back and dirty grayish underparts. Distinctive flight - quick wingbeats then glide. No crest (unlike other jays). Typically in oak and pinon-juniper forests. | |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch Bold black-and-white head stripes and reddish orange underparts. Smaller than White-breasted Nuthatch. Creeps along tree trunks and branches. Nuthatches are one of few birds that are often upside down as they move down tree trunks! | |
| Mountain Chickadee Black chin of the Chickadee. Black cap - though with a white stripe above the eye (vs Black-capped Chickadee that has solid black cap) | |
| Lesser Goldfinch Small finch. Adult males in spring and summer have yellow underparts. Black top with one white wingbar. Little less bright than American Goldfinch, which has yellow coming all the way across neck and upper back. Non-breeding males and females are much more mottled brown/olive and can be difficult to distinguish from American. | |
| American Goldfinch Small finch. Adult makes in spring and summer are bright yellow with black forehead and wings. Non-breeding males and females are much more mottled brown/olive and can be difficult to distinguish from Lesser. | |
| White-tailed Ptarmigan Plump, chickenlike bird found in high elevation tundra. Winter - Both sexes pure white. Summer - Male grayish brown feathers on head, neck and back. | |
| Chipping Sparrow Rusty cap in breeding season. Plain grayish breast, black eyeline. | |
| Western Tanager Similar to a Lesser Goldfinch (see the white wingbars). Mottled red on head and throat. Breeds in coniferous forests at higher elevation in summer. | |
| Yellow-breasted Chat Long-tailed tanager-like bird with thick bill. Bright yellow throat and breast, contrasting white spectacles, and dull olive-green under. Often difficult to see in dense thickets, except in breeding season males sit conspicuously to sing. [Found in Eldorado Canyon May 27] | |
| White-breasted Nuthatch Similar to Red-breasted, except pure white underparts and no prominent BLACK EYELINE. Creeps along tree trunks and branches. Nuthatches are one of few birds that are often upside down as they move down tree trunks! | |
| Northern Flicker Medium-size woodpecker with distinctive colors. Large black crescent shape mark on breast. In flight, look for bright white rump. "Red-shafted" located in West. "Yellow-shafted" in East. Eats lots of ants and worms. | |
| Western Kingbird Larger flycatcher (just smaller than a robin). Often seen perching in open areas. Most similar to Cassin's Kingbird. Western is separated by paler gray head that fades to whiter throat and breast. Also note black tail w/white edges (white stripes along vertical edge of outer tail feathers. | |
| Spotted Towhee Sparrow of western N.A. Black above w/white spots on wings and back. Bright rufous sides, and white belly. Eye is staring RED. Forages mainly along ground, scraping away leaf litter in scrubby areas and forest edges. | |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove Body is uniformly chalky-beige with a black crescent on the nape. Smaller and paler than Rock Pigeon. Introduced from Eurasia to the Bahamas, from where it spread rapidly across N.A. | |
| Cooper's Hawk Small to medium-sized hawk. Adults are gray above with pale orange barring below; immatures are browner and streaky. Very similar to Sharp-shinned Hawk, but larger with bigger head. Also note deeper, slower wingbeats. Breeds in forested areas; more common in suburban areas than Sharp-shinned Hawk. Feeds mainly on birds captured in flight. Often stalks feeders in search of prey. | |
| Mallard Extremely common large dabbling duck. Green head, chestnut breast, and gray body. White wingbars on the front and trailing sides of the blue wing patch are bolder compared to those on American Black Duck and Mottled Duck. | |
| Red-tailed Hawk Relatively larger hawk. Perches atop telephone poles, light posts, and edges of trees. Incredible variation in plumages, including less common dark morphs and various regional differences. Eastern adults have brilliant reddish-orange tail and pale underparts with obvious band of dark marks across belly. Western birds are typically darker. Immatures do not have a red tail. | |
| American Crow Entirely black. Large, long-legged, thick-necked bird with heavy, straight bill. Very social, sometimes forming noisy flocks in the thousands. Aggressive, often chase away hawks and owls. Common in fields, woods, and cities. Thrives around people. | |
| American Robin Fairly large songbird gray above with warm orange underparts and blackish head. In fall and winter, forms large flocks and gathers in trees to roost or eat berries. Common across North America in gardens, parks, yards, golf courses, fields, pastures, and many other wooded habitats. | |
| House Finch Very common suburban finch. Males vary in shades and intensity of red, yellow and orange. Similar to Purple and Cassin's Finch, but House Finch males are more orangey-red with color equally bright on crown, throat, and breast. |
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