Week One - Common Winter Residents Flashcards
American Crow
(Corvus brachyrhychos)
They’re social and like to crow…you know how it is.
American Goldfinch
(Spinus tristis)
A little yellow with black & white barring on wings during the winter.
Males have a hat!
Finchy chatter and flight call. “Potato chip, Potato chip!”
Horned Lark
(Eremophila alpestris)
Common winter visitor in grassland and agricultural areas.
Very mottled back, w/ bright yellow face and black mustache.
Sounds like ice being poured into a cup - lots of notes, tinkling, and chaotic.
Hairy Woodpecker
(Leuconotopicus villosus)
It’s trill is the same note.
No black spots on outer feathers. Longer than downy, but it can be hard to tell.
Bill is the length of it’s head. Extremely lonh and thin tongue.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
(Melanerpes carolinus)
Red striping on head, ends just above the eye for females, but farther for males.
Lives in urban areas, deciduous areas…they are common feeder birds!
Super loud, forceful, hard and high pitched trill.
European Starling
(Sturnus vulgaris)
Noisy and mechanical. Beak turns black after mating.
Cedar Waxwing
(Bombycilla garrulus)
So high pitched it can be hard to hear!
Black-Capped Chickadee - Paridae
(Poecile atricapillus)
Tan vent (bootyhole).
Contact/alarm call is “Chickadeedeedeedee!” More “dee”s if a threat is bigger.
Downy Woodpecker
(Picoides pubescens)
Males have a bright patch of red on the back of the head.
Small, with a pretty short bill, half the length of the head.
Black spottinf on some outer tail feathers.
Squeaky, high-pitched calls and chirps, with the trill descending in tone.
Brown Creeper - Certhiidae
(Certhia americana)
Likes mixed, coniferous, and deciduous forests. They forage by spiralling up a tree!
Clean white breast w/ mottled brown back, and a very sweet song.
Dark-Eyed Junco
(Junco hyemalis)
Only here during winer. Likes oak savannas, deciduous forests.
Pink bill and long leggies.
American Robin
(Turdus migratorius)
American Coot
(Fulicia americana)
Have a very short tail, red eye, and white bill that extends to forehead.
Very noisy - a squeaky ruckus, as they are usually in huge flocks.
Blue Jay
(Cyancitta cristata)
Crest can be raised or lowered with a long striped tail.
Lots of sounds - they are mimics!
Red-Breasted Nuthatch - Sittidae
(Sitta canadensis)
A stark black cap, white eyemark, and black superciliariy.
Sounds like an annoying car alarm.
White-Breasted Nuthatch - Sittiidae
(Sitta carolinensis)
Slate on top, grey on bottom.
Kind of “laughing” call.
Tufted Titmouse - Paridae
(Baeolophus bicolor)
Has a crest…not very distinguishing.
House Finch
(Haemorhous mexicanus)
Heavy beak to crack open harder seeds.
Lots of streaking on back and breast for females.
A chattery call, ends in a high ascending tone. In the middle there is a descending trill.
House Sparrow
(Passer domesticus)
Male is dinstinctive, with black bib, white cheek patches, and a rufous hat.
Females are drab with a clear breast.
Harsh, distinct call.
