Bird watching is a great way to get closer to nature. What better way than watching birds from the comfort of your backyard!
Arizona is home to a variety of bird species. A number of these birds live in Arizona year-round while others are migratory birds and thus, only appear during certain seasons.
So, if you are wondering, what birds are in my backyard in Arizona, read on to find out how to attract and identify these beautiful birds to your backyard.
Verdin
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz. (5-8 g)
The Verdin is a small bird of penduline tit species. It is the only species in the genus Auriparus. Its scientific name is the Auriparus flaviceps.
Description
The Verdin is a small chickadee-like songbird with a slight body, moderately long tail, small head, and a tiny pointed bill. The adult birds are greyish with yellow heads. They have a small chestnut patch at the bend o the wings. The young ones are similar, but they lack yellow and chestnut colors.
The average weight of these birds is 5 to 8 grams with an average length of 9 to 11 cm.
Habitat
The Verdin nests and forages in thorny deserts scrub with scattered trees. They are permanent residents in the arid areas in the US.
Food
If you want to attract a Verdin, the ideal feeder is the nectar feeder. Inside this feeder, you can put sugar water. These birds also feed on insects and spiders, fruits, and plant matters in small amounts.
To be able to capture the insects, they move fast and with agility through small branches, often hanging upside down or using their feet to survey the undersides of the leaves. Some of the insects they feed on include leafhoppers, aphids, beetles, caterpillars, wasps, and spiders.
Plants food include palm, agarita, hackberry, wolfberry, and mesquite. They also eat the seedpods from legumes such as paloverde, mesquite, and ironwood.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs. The eggs are usually light greenish with irregular dark reddish spots, especially at the larger end. The chicks are hatched naked and helpless.
Mourning Dove
MEASUREMENTS
Male
Length: 9.1-13.4 in (23-34 cm)
Weight: 3.4-6.0 oz (96-170 g)
Wingspan: 17.7 in (45 cm)
Female
Weight: 3.0-5.5 oz (86-156 g)
Wingspan: 17.7 in (45 cm)
Mourning Dove, also known as the American Mourning Dove or the Rain Dove, is a medium-sized member of the dove family, Columbidae. Other names used to refer to the Mourning Dove are the Turtle Dove, Carolina Pigeon, and Carolina Turtledove. The scientific name for the Mourning Dove is Zenaida macroura.
Description
Mourning Doves have plump bodies with short legs and small bills. The head of the bird appears small in comparison to the body. They have a long, pointed tail that is unique among other North American Doves.
Mourning Doves are grey to delicate brown above with large black spots on their wings and a black-bordered white tip to the tail feathers. They have a pale peach-colored below. The birds have a long thin tail and a thin black bill. The legs of the birds are pinkish. The eyes are dark, surrounded by light skin. Adult male Mourning Doves have a distinct bluish-grey color on their crowns. Females have more brown coloring and are a little smaller than males.
Male Mourning Doves weigh 96 to 170 grams and are 23 to 24 cm long. Their wingspan is approximately 45 cm. Females weigh 86 to 156 grams and have a wingspan of 45 cm.
Habitat
Mountain Doves live in the open country, scattered trees, and woodland edges. You will rarely find these birds in the deep woods. The birds feed on the ground in grasslands, agricultural fields, roadsides, and backyards.
Food
To attract Mourning Dove, you can use a large hopper, platform, and ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put milo, oats, Nyjer, cracked corn, millet, peanut hearts, black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, and safflower. The birds sometimes eat snails, weeds, herbs, and berries.
Nesting
Mourning Doves lay two white eggs and incubate them for 14 days. The birds have 1 to 6 broods in a year. The chicks are hatched with their eyes closed, helpless, sparsely covered in cream-colored down, and dependent on the adults for warmth. The young doves stay in the nest for 12 to 15 days.
House Finch
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
Weight: 0.6-0.9 oz (16-27 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-9.8 in (20-25 cm)
The House Finch is a small bird in the finch family, which is common in the US. The scientific name of the bird is the Haemorhous mexicanus.
Description
These birds are small in body size, and they too have a fairly large beak and a long flat head. The wings are short, making their tail seem long by comparison. The majority of the finches have uniquely notched tails, but the house finch has a relatively shallow notch in its tail.
On the face side and upper breasts, the male Finches are rosy with streaky brown back, belly, and tail. During the flight, the red rump is conspicuous. The adult females are not red, and they are grayish-brown with thick, blurry streaks and an indistinctly marked face.
The average weight of the bird is 16 to 27 grams and has a length of 3 to 14 cm. Its wingspan ranges from 20 to 25 cm.
Habitat
The House Finches are mainly found in the city parks, backyards, urban centers, farms, and forest edges across the US. They are also found in their native habitats of deserts, grasslands, chaparral, and open woods.
Food
If you want to attract the House Finches, the ideal feeders to use are the small and large hoppers, large and smaller tube feeders, and the platform. The ideal food to put inside these feeders includes the black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, Nyjer, and safflower.
They also feed in insects, buds, and fruits. Some of the wild foods they feed on are mulberry, cherries, peaches, pears, blackberries, plums, strawberries, and figs.
Nesting
The House Finches lay a clutch of 2 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 13 to 14 days. The eggs are pale blue to white, speckled with fine, black, and pale purple. Within a year, they experience 1 to 6 broods. The chicks are hatched naked except for the sparse white down along feather tracts with the eyes closed.
Gila Woodpecker
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 8.7-9.4 in (22-24 cm)
Weight: 1.8-2.8 oz (51-79 g)
Wingspan: 15.8-16.5 in (40-42 cm)
Description
Gila Woodpeckers are desert birds in the family of Picidae. The scientific name of Gila Woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis.
Gila Woodpeckers are medium-sized Woodpeckers and have a long-pointed bill. Gila Woodpeckers are grayish brown and have brilliant black and white barring on the wings, back, and on their tails.
The outer wings of the birds are black with a crescent-shaped white patch at the base of the primary feathers when flying. Male Gila Woodpeckers have a red patch in the center of their crown. Females and immature Gila Woodpeckers lack the red cap on their crowns.
Gila Woodpeckers have an average weight of 51 to 79 grams and a length of 22 to 24 cm. the wingspan of the birds ranges from 40 to 42 cm.
Habitat
Gila Woodpeckers are be found in arid environments, more so the deserts and in dry forests. The birds are among the most dominant bird species in the desert environment. They nest in stands of saguaro cactus, desert scrub, arroyos, and washes, as well as in small towns.
Food
The ideal feeders to attract Gila Woodpeckers are platform, tube, and suet feeders. In these feeders, you can put corn, suet, fruits, and nuts like pecans. Gila Woodpeckers also eat small vertebrates and insects. The birds forage mostly in dead vegetation on trunk bark or large branches.
Nesting
Gila Woodpeckers lay a clutch of 3 to 6 white eggs and incubate them for 13 to 14 days. The birds have 1 to 3 broods in a year. The eggs are 2.29 to 2.74 cm long and 1.66 to 2.01 cm wide. The nestlings are naked and helpless when they are hatched.
Lesser Goldfinch
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (8-11.5 g)
Wingspan: 5.9-7.9 in (15-20 cm)
Lesser Goldfinch is small songbirds forming the American Goldfinches together with the American Goldfinch and Lawrence’s Goldfinch. The scientific name of Lesser Goldfinch is Spinus psaltria.
Description
Lesser Goldfinch is tiny and has stub-bills. The birds have long pointed wings and short tails with notches.
The male Lesser Goldfinch is bright yellow below with a glossy black cap and white patches in the wings. The backs of the birds can be glossy black or dull green. Males also have a black tail with large white corners. Female and immature Lesser Goldfinches have olive backs, dull yellow underparts, and black wings marked by two whitish wing bars.
Lesser Goldfinch has an average weight of 8 to 11.5 grams and are 9 to 11 cm long. The birds have a wingspan of 15 to 20 cm.
Habitat
Lesser Goldfinch mostly feeds in weedy fields, budding treetops, and brush of open areas and edges. They also live in mountain canyons, desert oases, and the suburbs. The common habitats include pinyon-juniper, cottonwood, cedar, pine woodlands, oak, chaparral, and willows.
Food
To attract Lesser Goldfinch, the ideal feeders to use are large tube feeders, small tube feeders, large and small hoppers, and platform feeders. In these feeders, you can put black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, and Nyjer. The birds occasionally supplement their diet with insects such as plant lice.
Nesting
Lesser Goldfinches lay 3 to 6 pale blue-white and unmarked eggs and incubate them for 12 to 13 days. The birds have only one brood in a year. The nestlings are hatched naked, blind, and totally dependent on their parents for food. The nesting period is 12 to 14 days.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Length: 3.9 in (10 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.2 oz (3-6 g)
Wingspan: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Anna’s Hummingbird is a medium-sized bird from the Trochilidae family. This bird was named after French courtier Anna Massena. Its scientific name is the Calypte anna.
Description
This bird is among the tiniest Hummingbirds. It has a straight, shortish bill and a tail that is fairly broad, but whenever the bird is perched, the tail extends beyond the wingtips. Both the male and female Anna’s Hummingbirds have an average weight of between 3 to 6 grams and a length of 10 cm. The average wingspan is 12 cm.
Mostly, Anna’s Hummingbirds are green and gray in color. The males have their heads and throats covered in reddish-pink feathers. These feathers can look dull brown or gray without direct sunlight.
Habitat
If you want to observe these birds, you are likely to find them in yards, residential streets, riverside woods, coastal scrub, and savannas. These birds also move readily where there are Hummingbird feeders and flowering plants and also in cultivated species in gardens.
Foods
Whenever you want to attract Anna’s Hummingbirds, you can use the feeder nectar. They eat nectar from a variety of plants which includes the current, gooseberry, manzanita, and many introduced species such as the eucalyptus. They also feed on some insects from streambanks, taken from flowers, crevices, and some caught in spider webs. Mostly they target small insects such as leafhoppers, midgets, and whiteflies.
Nesting
The Anna’s Hummingbirds clutch has two eggs which it then incubates for a period of 16 days. The eggs are white in color, and they have an average length of 1.2 to1.4 cm and a width of 0.8 to 0.9 cm.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
Weight: 0.7-1.7 oz (21-48 g)
Wingspan: 13.0 in (33 cm)
The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is a species that is found in the Us. The scientific name of this bird is the Dryobates scalaris.
Description
The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is a small woodpecker with a square head, short neck, and a stiff tail that they lean against for support. The bill is small but straight and chisel-like. Above the meat stripes, the Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are black and white like the ladder rungs on its backside, and it has a more checkered pattern on its wings.
The underparts are buffy white or grayish, stripped with black. The buffy white face is broken by black lines that extend from the bill and eye and join at the neck. The males have red crowns while the females have blackish crowns.
The average weight of these birds is 21 to 48 grams with a length of 16 to 18 cm. The wingspan average is 33 cm.
Habitat
The Ladder-backed Woodpeckers live in very dry areas such as the deserts, desert scrubs, thorn forests, and pinyon-juniper woodlands.
Food
The Ladder-backed Woodpeckers mostly feed on the insect larvae and big insects. Some of these insects include beetles, leafworms, ants, caterpillars, and they occasionally eat the cactus fruits. They rarely feed on the ground.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of 2 to 7 eggs. These eggs are white in color and unmarked. The average length of the egg is 1.7 to 2.3 cm and has a width of 1.4 to 1.7 cm. They experience one brood in a year. The chicks are hatched naked and helpless.
Black Phoebe
Length: 6.3 in (16 cm)
Weight: 0.5-0.8 oz (15-22 g)
Wingspan: 27-28 cm
Description
The scientific name of Black Phoebe is Sayornis nigricans. Black Phoebe are small plump songbirds widely distributed in the Western United States.
They have a sooty black body, a darker black large head, and a crisp white belly. The wing feathers’ edges are pale gray. The birds have medium-long squared tails and straight thin bills. Black phoebes often show a slight peak at the rear of the crown.
The birds are known for their distinct tail pumping. The birds call out with a shrill scratchy chip.
The birds weigh between 15 to 22 grams and are averagely 16 centimeters long. Their wingspan ranges between 27 to 28 cm.
Habitat
Black Phoebes are mostly found near water sources ranging from small streams to suburbs and rocks and cliffs of oceans. They can also be found in ephemeral ponds, parks, backyards, and cattle tanks. The birds use mud to build cup-shaped nests against bridges, overhangs, culverts, and walls.
Food
To attract Black Phoebes, platform feeders are the ideal type of feeders. In them, you can keep small berries and fruits. You can also include insects like grasshoppers, moths, termites, wasps, dragonflies, beetles, and spiders. Black phoebes also feed on minnows and arthropods.
Nesting
Black Phoebe nests are usually 3 to 10 feet up over the water or ground. They lay 1 to 6 eggs and have 1 to 3 broods per year. Black Phoebe eggs are pure white and glossy, sometimes with light spots around the large end. Incubation takes 15 to 18 days and the nesting period is between 18 to 21 days.
Say’s Phoebe
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.7 in (17 cm)
Weight: 0.7-0.8 oz (21-22 g)
The Say’s Phoebe is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family that is commonly found in the United States. The scientific name of the bird is Sayornis says.
Description
The Say’s Phoebe is a slender, long-tailed flycatcher that appears large-headed for a bird of its size. The head of this bird often looks flat at the top, but they sometimes raise their head feathers into a small peak at the back.
These birds are pale brownish-gray above with a cinnamon belly, a blackish tail, and a gray breast. The chicks look the same as the adults but browner, and they may have buffy wing bars.
The average weight of these birds is 21 to 22 grams, with an average length of 17 cm.
Habitat
The Say’s Phoebes prefer living in an open country, sage bush, foothills, dry barrens, badlands, canyons, and borders of the deserts. They avoid forests. They often gravitate to buildings that are not closely tied to watercourses like other phoebes.
Food
The diet of the Say’s Phoebes entirely consists of insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, bees, crickets, and flies. They sally from low perches to catch the insects, midair or pounce on them on the ground.
Nesting
The Say’s Phoebes lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 18 days. The eggs are pure white and unmarked and may sometimes contain reddish spots. These birds experience one or two broods a year. The chicks are hatched with closed eyes and naked.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz (5-10 g)
Wingspan: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny passerine bird that is spread in most parts of the US. It belongs to the family of a kinglet. The scientific name of this bird is the Corthylio calendula.
Description
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a small songbird with a relatively large head, almost no neck, and thin tails. They have a bill that is very small, thin, and straight. These birds are olive green with an outstanding white eye-ring and white wing bars.
The average weight of this bird is 5 to 10 grams with an average length of 9 to 11 cm. The wingspan ranges from 16 to 18 cm.
Habitat
The Ruby-crowned Kinglets mainly inhabit tall, dense conifers forests such as spruce, fir, and tamarack. You can also easily find them in shrubby places, deciduous forests, suburbs, and parks.
Food
To attract t the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the ideal feeders include the suet cage and platform. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, and suet.
These birds also feed on spiders. Pseudoscorpions and other types of insects such as wasps, aphids, ants, and bark beetles. They also feed on fruits and berries such as the poison-oak berries and the dogwood berries.
Nesting
The Ruby-crowned Kinglets lay a clutch of 5 to 12 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 14 days. The eggs are drab white spotted with red-brown. These birds experience one brood a year. The egg usually has a length of 1.3 to 1.5 cm and a width of 1 to 1.2 cm. The hatched chicks are usually helpless and completely naked without any down.
White-winged Dove
MEASUREMENTS
Weight: 4.4-6.6 oz (125-187 g)
Wingspan: 18.9-22.8 in (48-58 cm)
The White-winged Dove is a dove that originated from the United States. The scientific name of this bird is Zenaida Asiatica.
Description
The White-winged Doves are plumb, Square-tailed doves with relatively long, thin bills and small heads. These birds are brown overall with a dark line on the cheek. A white stripe at the edge of the folded wing becomes, as the bird takes a flight, a bright flash in the middle of a dark wing.
The tail of this dove is tipped in white and set off with black stripes from the gray underside. Their faces are ornately marked with a black streak on the cheek and blue skin around the red eyes.
The average weight of this bird is 125 to 187 grams, with an average wingspan of 48 to 58 cm.
Habitat
The ideal place to get the White-winged Doves is in the deserts, in the cities, the suburbs, and the coastal areas. They occasionally visit the backyards and feeders.
Food
If you want to attract the White-winged Dove, the ideal feeders include the large hopper, ground, and platform. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as oats, milo, hulled sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, and black oil sunflower seeds.
Just like any other bird, this bird feeds on small stones to help them pulverize plant materials in the gizzard, and they also feed in snails and bone fragments as their source of calcium.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of one or two eggs and incubate them for 14 to 20 days. The eggs are creamy-white or buff with a dull texture. They experience one or two broods in a year. The hatched chicks have closed eyes and dark skin coated with long off-white down feathers.
Curve-billed Thrasher
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 10.6-11.0 in (27-28 cm)
Weight: 2.1-3.3 oz (60.8-93.6 g)
Wingspan: 13.4-13.6 in (34-34.5 cm)
Description
The Curve-billed Thrasher is a nonmigratory medium-sized mimid that originated from some parts of the United States. The scientific name of this bird is the Toxostoma curvirostre.
The Curve-billed Thrasher is a lanky songbird with a long, curved bill, long tail, and thick legs, resembling a mockingbird but bigger with a different bill. The bird is grayish-brown above, paler off-white below mottled with indistinct gray-brown speckling. The eyes are orange-yellow.
The average weight of these birds is 60.8 to 93.6 grams, with an average length of 27 to 28 cm. The wingspan ranges from 34 to 34.5 cm.
Habitat
The Curve-billed Thrasher lives mainly in deserts, brushlands, thorn scrub, arid canyons, and pinyon-oak scrub.
Food
If you want to attract the Curve-billed Thrasher, the ideal feeders are the Platform and ground. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as the suet, hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, milo, and millet. These birds also feed on a number of insects, spiders, and snails, along with fruits. They forage on the ground using the bill to sweep back and forth through leaf litter and soil.
Nesting
The Curve-billed Thrashers lay a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 15 days. The eggs are light bluish-green to pale yellow with reddish-brown speckling. They experience one or two broods a year. The hatched chicks are nearly naked and helpless with a sparse long gray down.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.9-6.3 in (15-16 cm)
Weight: 0.9-1.0 oz (25-28 g)
Wingspan: 8.3-9.4 in (21-24 cm)
The White-crowned Sparrow is a medium-sized bird that is a member of the new world sparrow family. It is a species of the passerine. The scientific name of this bird is the Zonotrichia leucophrys.
Description
This is a large sparrow that has a long tail and a small bill. The head can look smooth and flat, depending on the bird’s altitude. The first impression of this bird tends to be a plain, pale gray bird; next, your eye is drawn to the very bold black and white stripes on the head and pale pink or yellow bill.
Then you’d birds of this species have a brown marking on the head. The average weight of this bird is 25 to 28 grams with an average length of 15 to 16 cm. The wingspan ranges from 21 to 24 cm.
Habitat
The White-crowned Sparrows are mainly found in places where safe tangles of brush mix with the open or grassy ground for foraging.
Food
If you want to attract the White-crowned Sparrow, the ideal feeders include the platform and ground. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, millet, milo, and the black oil sunflower seeds.
These birds also feed on weeds, grasses, and insects such as beetles, wasp, caterpillars, and others.
Nesting
The White-crowned Sparrows lay a clutch of 3 to 7 eggs and incubate them for 10 to 14 days. The eggs are greenish, greenish-blue, or bluish spotted with reddish-brown. They experience one top three broods in a year. The hatched chicks are born with sparse down feathers with their eyes closed.
Great-tailed Grackle
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 15.0-18.1 in (38-46 cm)
Weight: 3.7-6.7 oz (105-190 g)
Wingspan: 18.9-22.8 in (48-58 cm)
The Great-tailed Grackle, also known as the Mexican Grackle, is a medium-sized and highly social passerine that is common in the US. It is a member of the Icteridae family. The scientific name of this bird is the Quiscalus mexicanus.
Description
The male Great-tailed Grackles are usually long-legged, slender black birds with a flat-headed profile and stout, straight bill. The male tapered tail is nearly as long as its body, and it folds into a unique V or keel shape. The females are half the size of the males with long, slender tails.
The male Grackles are black with piercing yellow eyes and black bills and legs. The female is dark brown above, paler below with a buff-colored throat and stripe above the eye. The young chicks have dark brown plumage with streaked underparts and a dark eye.
The average weight is 105 to 190 grams with a length of 38 to 46 cm. The wingspan ranges from 48 to 58 cm.
Habitat
The Great-tailed Grackles are mainly found in rural and developed areas, foraging on agricultural fields and feedlots and in the suburbs, including the golf courses, cemeteries, parks, and neighborhood lawns. They roost in large trees, vegetation sedge marshes, lakes, and lagoons.
Food
If you want to attract Great-tailed Grackles, the ideal feeders are the large hopper, platform, and Ground. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as millets, cracked corn, safflower, hulled sunflower seeds, and black oil sunflower seeds.
They also feed on small animals, and they include grasshoppers, spiders, wasps, worms, beetles, tadpoles, snails, frogs, and lizards.
Nesting
The Great-tailed Grackles lay a clutch of 1 to 5 eggs and incubate them for 13 to 14 days. The eggs are bright blue to pale bluish gray marked with a dark brown to black sirs and splotches. They experience one to two broods a year. The chicks are hatched blind and mostly naked with salmon-colored skin.
House Sparrow
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.9-6.7 in (15-17 cm)
Weight: 0.9-1.1 oz (27-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-9.8 in (19-25 cm)
The House Sparrow is a small bird from the sparrow family Passalidae, and it is widespread through most parts of the world. The scientific name of the bird is Passer domesticus.
Description
The House Sparrows are chunkier compared to the North American Sparrows and fuller in the chest with a larger rounded head, shorter tail, and stouter bill than most American Sparrows.
The male Sparrows are bright-colored birds with gray heads, white cheeks, a black bib, and ferrous neck, although, in the urban areas, you may see some that are dull and grubby. The females are plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black and brown.
The average weight of this bird is 27 to 30 grams with a length of 15 to 17 cm. The wingspan ranges from 19 to 25 cm.
Habitat
The House Sparrows are known to love living around people. They are mainly found in the city streets, taking handouts in parks and zoos, or cheeping from a perch on your roof or trees in your yard. They are also in the countryside around the farmsteads.
Food
If you want to attract the House Sparrows, the ideal feeders are the platform, ground, large hoppers, and large tube feeders. In these feeders, you can put foods such as millet, milo, cracked corn, hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, and the black oil sunflower seeds.
During the summer, they also feed on insects and also feed them to their chicks.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of v1 to 8 eggs and incubate them for 10 to 14 days. The eggs are light white to grayish-white or bluish-white with some gray or brown spots. They experience 1 to 4 broods a year. The hatched chicks are usually naked with bright pink skin and closed eyes.
Abert’s Towhee
Northern Mockingbird
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 8.3-10.2 in (21-26 cm)
Weight: 1.6-2.0 oz (45-58 g)
Wingspan: 12.2-13.8 in (31-35 cm)
The Northern Mockingbird is a Mockingbird in North America known for its mimicking ability. The scientific name of the Northern Mockingbird is Mimus polyglottos.
Description
Northern Mockingbirds are medium-sized mockingbirds, leaner than a thrush and with a long tail. The birds have small heads and long thin bills with hints of a downward curve. They have long legs and short, round and broad wings that make the tail appear long when they fly.
Northern Mockingbirds are grey-brown with paler breasts and bellies. The birds have two white wing bars on each wing. Perched birds have a visible white patch in each wing that becomes large white flashes when the birds fly. The white outer tail feathers of the mockingbirds are flashy when they are flying.
Northern Mockingbirds weigh 45 to 58 grams and are 21 to 26 cm long. The wingspan of the birds is 31 to 35 cm.
Habitat
Northern Mockingbirds are common in areas with open ground and shrubby vegetation like hedges, fruiting bushes, and thickets. The birds prefer grassy areas to bare spots when foraging on the ground. You can find the birds in parks, cultivated land, suburban areas and backyards.
Food
To attract Northern Mockingbirds, you can use platform or ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put peanut hearts, mealworms, fruits, hulled sunflower seeds, or suet. During summer, the birds mostly feed on insects such as beetles, moths, butterflies, earthworms, grasshoppers, and wasps.
Nesting
Northern Mockingbirds lay 2 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 13 days. The eggs are pale blue or greenish-white with red or brown spots. The birds experience 2 to 3 broods in a year. Chicks are hatched naked, blind, helpless, and with a light grey down.
Eurasian Collared-Dove
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 11.4-11.8 in (29-30 cm)
Weight: 4.9-6.3 oz (140-180 g)
Wingspan: 13.8 in (35 cm)
Description
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a species of doves that are found in parts of the US. Its scientific name is the Streptopelia decaocto. It is not listed as an endangered species due to an increase in its population.
The Eurasian Collared-Doves have a plumb body, a small head, and a long tail. Compared to the Morning Doves, they are larger but slimmer and larger tailed than the rock pigeon. They have broad and slightly rounded. The tail is squared off the tip.
The birds are chalky light brown to gray buff birds with broad white patches at the tail. The collar of the bird is a narrow black crescent around the nape of the neck. Whenever the bird is perched, or it is on flight, the wingtip is darker than the rest of the wing.
The average weight of the bird is 140 to 180 grams with a length of 29 to 30 cm. The average wingspan is 35 cm.
Habitat
The Eurasian Collared Doves mainly live in the urban and suburban areas in many parts of the US. In the rural areas, you will easily find them on the farms and in livestock yards where grains are available. During the cold seasons, the flocks might roost together in large trees.
Food
If you want to attract these birds, the appropriate feeders are the platform, ground, and large hopper. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as milo, millets, black oil sunflower seeds, cracked corns, peanut hearts, and hulled sunflower seeds.
They also eat some berries and green plants as well as small invertebrates.
Nesting
The Eurasian Collared Doves lay a clutch of 1 to 2 eggs and incubate them for 14 to 19 days. The eggs are smooth, white, and slightly glossy. They experience 3 to 6 broods in a year. The hatched chicks are covered in down.
Cactus Wren
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 7.1-8.7 in (18-22 cm)
Weight: 1.1-1.7 Oz (32-47 g)
Description
The Cactus Wren is a species that belongs to the Wren and is found mainly in the desert parts of the US. Its scientific name is the Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus. It is the largest Wren in the United States.
The Cactus Wren is a large wren that has a long and heavy bill, a tail that is long and rounded, and wings that are short and rounded. It is the largest species of the Wrens, and it is the same size as the Spotted Towhee. This bird is speckled brown with bright white eyebrows that extend from the bill across and above the eyes to the neck side.
They have a white chest with dark speckles. The backside is brown with heavy white streaks, while the tail is barred white and black and can notice from below. Both the males and females look similar, but the chicks are paler and have brown eyes.
The average weight of this bird is 32 to 47 grams and length of 18 to 22 cm.
Habitat
The Cactus Wren mainly live in the desert, arid foothills, coastal sage scrub, and urban areas throughout the desert areas, especially areas with thorny shrubs, cholla, and prickly pear.
Food
If you want to attract a Cactus Wren, the most appropriate feeders are small and large hoppers, platform, ground suet cage, and large tube cage. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as suet, peanuts, and hulled sunflower seeds. These birds also feed on spiders and insects such as ants, needless, grasshoppers, wasp, and butterflies.
Nesting
They lay a clutch of 2 to 7 eggs and incubate them for 16 to 17 days. The eggs are usually pinkish to buff with some reddish-brown spots. They have one to 3 brooms in a year. The chicks are hatched naked.
Bewick’s Wren
Northern Flicker
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 11.0-12.2 in (28-31 cm)
Weight: 3.9-5.6 oz (110-160 g)
Wingspan: 16.5-20.1 in (42-51 cm)
The Northern Flicker, also known as the Common Flicker, is a medium-sized bird in the Woodpecker family. It is one of the few migratory Woodpeckers. The scientific name for Northern Flicker is Colaptes auratus.
Description
Northern Flickers are slim, fairly large Woodpeckers with rounded heads and slightly downcurved bills. They have a long-flared tail that tapers to a point.
Northern Flickers appear brownish with a white rump patch which is conspicuous when the birds are flying and also visible when perched. The birds have a black bib and a spotted berry. The undersides of the tail feathers and wings are usually bright yellow or red for the eastern birds and western birds, respectively. The plumage is usually brown and patterned with some black spots, bars, and crescents. Female yellow-shafted Northern Flickers lack the black mustache found in the male Flickers.
Northern Flickers weigh 110 to 160 grams and are 28 to 31 cm long. The birds have a wingspan of 42 to 51 cm.
Habitat
Northern Flickers have habitats in woodlands, forest edges, open fields with scattered trees, city parks, and the suburbs. The birds can also be found in wet areas such as streamside woods, flooded swamps, and marsh edges.
Food
Ideal feeders to attract Northern Flickers are a large hopper, platform feeder, or a suet cage. In these feeders, you can put black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, millet, peanut hearts, safflower, peanuts, or suet. Northern Flickers also eat insects, especially ants and beetles.
Nesting
Northern Flickers lay 5 to 8 white eggs and incubate them for 11 to 13 days. The birds experience only one brood in a year. The chicks are hatched naked, pink in color, eyes closed, with clumsy movements, and with a sharp egg tooth at the tip of their bills. Nestling takes 24 to 27 days.
Northern Cardinal
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 8.3-9.1 in (21-23 cm)
Weight: 1.5-1.7 oz (42-48 g)
Wingspan: 9.8-12.2 in (25-31 cm)
The Northern Cardinal, also known as the Redbird, Red Cardinal, or the Common Cardinal. It is a medium-sized songbird in the genus Cardinalis. The scientific name for Northern Cardinal is Cardinalis cardinalis.
Description
The Northern Cardinal has a long tail, short thick bill, and a prominent crest. The birds usually sit with a hunched-over posture with the tail pointing straight down.
Northern Cardinals have a black face and red-orange bill. Male Northern Cardinals are brilliant red with a reddish bill, black throat, and a black face around the bill. Female cardinals are pale brown with warm reddish tinges in the tail, wings, and crest.
Northern Cardinals weigh 42 to 48 grams and are 21 to 23 cm long. The birds have a wingspan of 25 to 31 cm.
Habitat
Northern Cardinals are found in dense shrubby areas such as forest edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows, marshy thickets, regrowing forests, mesquite, backyards, and ornamental landscaping. The birds usually nest in dense foliage and look for conspicuous high perches for singing.
Food
The ideal feeders to attract Northern Cardinals are ground, platform, large hopper, and large tube feeders. In these feeders, you can put milo, black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, millet, safflower, and cracked corn. Northern Cardinals also eat beetles, flies, centipedes, spiders, moths, butterflies, leafhoppers, cicadas, and crickets.
Nesting
Northern Cardinals lay 2 to 5 eggs and incubate them for 11 to 13 days. The eggs are greyish-white, buffy white, or greenish-white with pale grey to brown speckles. The birds have 1 to 2 broods in a year. The chicks are hatched clumsy, eyes closed and naked except for the sparse tufts of greyish down.
European Starling
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 7.9-9.1 in (20-23 cm)
Weight: 2.1-3.4 oz (60-96 g)
Wingspan: 12.2-15.8 in (31-40 cm)
Description
The Common Starling, also known as the European Starling, is a medium-sized bird that belongs to the family of Sturnidae. In Great Britain, it is simply known as the Starling. Its scientific name is the Sturnus vulgaris.
The Starlings are chunky and blackbird-sized but with short tails and long slender beaks. During the flights, their wings are short and pointed, which makes them look like small, four-pointed stars.
The Starlings look black when viewed from a distance. They are purplish-green during the summer with yellow beaks. While In winter, they are brown covered in brilliant white spots. The average weight of these birds is 60 to 96 grams and an average length of 10 to 23 cm. The wingspan ranges from 31 to 40 cm.
Habitat
The Starlings are mainly found in the urban areas, suburbs, and countryside near human settlements. They feed on the ground on lawns, fields, sidewalks, and parking lots. They perch and roost high on wires, trees, and buildings.
Food
If you want to attract the Starlings, the ideal feeders include the large hopper, suet cage, platform, ground, and large tube feeder. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as oats, milo, peanuts, cracked corn, suet, millet, black oil sunflower seeds, and hulled sunflower seeds.
The Starlings eat almost everything, but mainly they eat the insects, invertebrates when they are available. The common preys include grasshoppers, flies, spiders, millipedes, snails, earthworms, and beetles. They also feed on fruits and wild berries.
Nesting
The Starlings lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 days. The eggs are bluish or greenish-white. They experience 1 to 2 broods a year. The hatched chicks are usually helpless with sparse grayish down.
White-breasted Nuthatch
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-10.6 in (20-27 cm)
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird that belongs to the family of nuthatch, and it is mostly found in the US. Its scientific name is the Sitta carolinensis.
Description
The White-breasted Nuthatch is the largest among the nuthatches but still a small bird with a large head and almost no neck. The tail is very short, and the long, narrow bill is straight or slightly upturned. This bird is gray-blue on the back.
The cap and neck frame the face, and it ends up looking like this bird is wearing a hood. The lower belly and under the tail are often chestnut. The average weight of the bird is 18 to 30 grams and has a length of 13 to 14 cm. The wingspan length ranges from 20 to 27 cm.
Habitat
These birds are agile, and they inhabit along large branches and trunks as they probe into bark furrows using their bills that are straight and pointed.
Food
If you want to attract the White-breasted Nuthatch, the ideal feeders are the suet cage, large and small hoppers, platform, large and small tube feeders. Inside these feeders, you can put food such as safflower, suet, peanut hearts, and peanuts.
These birds also feed on insects such as the weevil larvae, beetles, treehoppers, and beetle larvae.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of five to nine eggs and proceed to incubate them for 13 to 14 days. The eggs are creamy-white to pinkish-white speckled with reddish-brown, gray, or purple. These birds experience one brood in a year. The hatched chicks are usually helpless and naked except for some down.
Phainopepla
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 7.1-8.3 in (18-21 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.0 oz (17.9-28.1 g)
Wingspan: 10.6-11.4 in (27-29 cm)
The Phainopepla, also known as the Northern Phainopepla, is a silky flycatcher bird in the family Ptiliogonatidae. The name Phainopepla is a Greek name meaning ‘shining robe’ named after the male’s plumage. The scientific name of Phainopepla is Phainopepla nitens.
Description
Phainopepla is a lean songbird with long tails and distinct shaggy crests. The birds are usually larger than a Juniper Titmouse but smaller than a Northern Cardinal.
Adult male Phainopepla is glossy black with red eyes and large white patches in the wings. The patches are only visible when the bird is in flight. Adult female Phainopepla is mousy greyish brown with red eyes. The females have white edgings on their wing feathers. Immature Phainopepla has brownish eyes.
Phainopepla weighs 17.9 to 28.1 grams and is 18 to 21 cm. The wingspan of the birds is 27 to 29 cm.
Habitat
Phainopeplas mostly occur in desert washes with mesquite, Palo Verde, ironwood, smoke tree, and acacia. The birds nest on these same desert trees and feed heavily on berries of the desert mistletoe. The birds are also found in open oak-sycamore woodlands, boxthorn scrub, Joshua tree desert, and chaparral.
Food
The ideal feeder to attract Phainopeplas is a platform feeder. In the feeder, you can put fruits and mealworms. The birds also eat mistletoe berries, boxthorn, elderberry, redberry, juniper, and sumac fruits. They feed flying insects like beetles, caterpillars, and bugs as well. Nesting birds feed their chicks with protein-rich insects.
Nesting
Phainopeplas lay 2 to 4 eggs and incubate them for 14 to 16 days. The eggs are round, light greyish, and with small dark spots. The birds experience only one brood in a year. The chicks hatched are helpless with sparse white down and greyish-black skin. Nesting takes 14 to 20 days.
Vermilion Flycatcher
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4.8-5.4 in (12.3-13.8 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (11.3-14.8 g)
The Vermilion Flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family that is found in most parts of the US. The scientific name of the bird is Pyrocephalus obscurus.
Description
The Vermilion Flycatcher is a small, stocky flycatcher with an upright posture. It has a flat head, a slender tail, a barrel-chested with a slender tail, and a broad straight bill. The adult males are brilliant orange-red with a dark brown mask through the eyes and a brown back, wings, and tail.
The females and the young ones are grey-brown with faint streaks on the breast and a salmon-red blush on the underparts. The bill is black in color.
The average weight of the bird is 11.3 to 14.8 grams, with a length of 12.3 to 13.8 cm.
Habitat
The Vermilion Flycatcher is mainly found inhabiting shrubby habitats, including scrubby desert, the lands that are lightly cultivated, and riverine woodlands and shrubby tropical lowlands.
Food
The Vermilion Flycatchers mainly feed on flying insects. They capture these insects on the wing by suddenly flying out from an exposed perch. They typically feed within 10 feet of the ground. Some of the insects they feed on include grasshoppers, bees, beetles, crickets, and more.
If you want to attract these birds, you should allow some shrubs around the compound so as to provide the habitat for the insects and the birds consequently.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of two to four eggs and incubate them for 13 to 15 days. The eggs are usually white or creamy with bold dark blotches and a small light spot. They experience one or two broods in a year. The hatched chicks are usually helpless with sparse whitish down, back skin blackish.
Red-winged Blackbird
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.7-9.1 in (17-23 cm)
Weight: 1.1-2.7 oz (32-77 g)
Wingspan: 12.2-15.8 in (31-40 cm)
Red-winged Blackbirds are passerine birds of the Icteridae family. The scientific name for Red-winged Blackbird is Agelaius phoeniceus.
Description
Red-winged Blackbirds have broad shoulders and slender conical bills. The birds have a medium-length tail. The birds usually show a hump-backed silhouette while perched. The male Blackbirds sit with their tail slightly flared.
Male species of this bird are glossy black with shoulder badges that are red and yellow in color. The females are crispy-streaked and dark brownish with paler breasts. The birds have a whitish eyebrow and a yellowish wash around the bill.
Red-winged Blackbirds weigh 32 to 77 grams and are 17 to 23 cm long. The wingspan of the birds is 31 to 40 cm.
Habitat
Red-winged Blackbirds usually breed in wet places like fresh or saltwater marshes and rice paddies. They also breed in dry places such as the sedge meadows, fallow fields, and alfalfa fields. The birds occasionally nest in wooded areas along waterways. During winter, the birds can be found in feedlots, pastures, grasslands, and agricultural fields.
Food
To attract red-winged Blackbirds, you can use large tube feeders, large hopper, platform, and ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put foods such as oats, millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, and milo. Red-winged Blackbirds also feed on insects.
Nesting
Red-winged Blackbirds lay 2 to 4 eggs and incubate them for 11 to 14 days. The eggs are pale blue-green to gray speckled with black or brown. The birds experience 1 or 2 broods in a year. The chicks are hatched blind, clumsy, and naked with scant buffy or grayish down. The nesting period is 11 to 14 days.
Dark-eyed Junco
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.5-6.3 in (14-16 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.8 in (18-25 cm)
Description
The Dark-eyed Junco is a species of the junco, a group of small, grayish new world sparrows. This bird is common in some parts of the United States. The scientific name of this bird is the Junco hyemalis.
The Dark-eyed Junco is a medium-sized sparrow that has a rounded head, a short, stout bill, and a fairly long tail. The Juncos vary according to regions, but in general, they are dark gray or brown birds with a pink bill and outer tail feathers that are white and periodically flash open, on flight.
The average weight of the bird is 18 to 30 grams with an average length of 14 to 16 cm. The wingspan ranges from 18 to 25 cm.
Habitat
The Dark-eyed Juncos bred in coniferous or mixed coniferous forests in Most parts of America. You can likely find these birds in woodlands, fields, parks, and roadsides.
Food
If you want to attract the Dark-eyed Junco, the ideal feeders are the Platform, ground, and the large hopper. Some of the foods you can put inside these feeders are milo, oats, millets, safflower, Nyjer, peanut hearts, hulled sunflower seeds, and black oil sunflower seeds.
During the breeding season, these also eat insects, including butterflies, beetles, caterpillars, ants, wasps, and flies.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 13 days. The eggs are white, gray, pale bluish-white, or pale greenish-white with brown, gray, and green speckles. They experience 1 to 3 broods a year. The chicks are hatched naked except for the dark gray down on the back, and their eyes are closed.
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-13 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.2 oz (5.1-6 g)
Wingspan: 5.5-5.9 in (14-15 cm)
Description
The Black-tailed Gnatcatcher is a small insectivorous bird that is found in the US. Its scientific name is the Polioptila melanura. This bird is non-migratory, and it is mostly found in desert areas all year round.
This is a small slim songbird that has a thin, straight bill with a small body and a long tail. The Black-tailed Gnatcatcher is grey in color overall. It has a fine white eye-ring and a black tail that has some white flashes underside. They have a dark grey upper side and a pale gray on the underparts. Breeding males usually have a black cap.
The average weight of this bird is between 5.1 to 6 grams with a length of 11 to 13 cm. The wingspan ranges between 14 to 15 cm.
Habitat
If you want to inf the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, you will mainly get them in the desert scrub, including the washes that are densely lined with creosote and saltbush.
Food
If you want to attract these birds, you can use feeders such as the ground, platform, small and large hopper. Inside these feeders, you can pot seeds such as millets, peanuts, and Nyjer. They also feed insects and fruits. Some of the insects include caterpillars, beetles, ants, spiders, and flies.
They sometimes overcome the large prey by beating them against a branch.
Nesting
The Black-tailed Gnatcatchers have a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs that are incubated for a period of between 14 to 15 birds. The eggs are pale white to pale blue in color with variably speckled red. They experience one or two broods in a year. The hatched chicks are born naked, blind, and helpless.
The average length of the eggs is 12 to 15 cm with a width of 10 to 12 cm.
American Robin
Length: 7.9-11.0 in (20-28 cm)
Weight: 2.7-3.0 oz (77-85 g)
Wingspan: 12.2-15.8 in (31-40 cm)
Description
The American Robin is a migratory songbird named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast. The scientific name of the American Robin is Turdus migratorius. The bird is largely distributed in the north.
There are seven subspecies of the American Robin, namely, the eastern Robin, the Newfoundland Robin, the Southern Robin, the Western Robin, the Northwestern Robin, the Mexican Robin, and the San Lucas Robin.
The American Robins are large songbirds with a round body, long legs, and a long tail. They are the largest North American thrushes. They are gray-brown in color with warm orange underparts. A white patch on the lower belly and under the tail is conspicuous when they are flying. They have pointed, thin beaks. Female American Robins have paler heads than the male.
The birds weigh between 72 to 94 grams for the male and females 59 to 91 grams. They are 20 to 28 centimeters long and have a wingspan ranging from 31 to 40 cm.
Feeding
American Robins are attracted by platform and ground feeders. They love feeding on peanut hearts, suet, sunflower seeds that have been hulled, fruits, and mealworms. The Robins feed mainly on fruit during the fall and winter. They sometimes become intoxicated when they feed exclusively on berries such as the honeysuckle.
Habitat
The birds usually breed in woodlands, open farmlands, and urban areas. The birds prefer large shade trees on lawns. During winter, they inhabit more open areas.
Nesting
American Robins construct their nests 1.5 to 4.5 meters above the ground in the dense bush. The female Robin lays a clutch of 3 to 5 light blue eggs and incubates them for 14 days.
Spotted Towhee
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.7-8.3 in (17-21 cm)
Weight: 1.2-1.7 oz (33-49 g)
Wingspan: 11.0 in (28 cm)
Spotted Towhee are large New World Sparrows in the Passerellidae family. The scientific name for Spotted Towhee is Pipilo maculatus.
Description
Spotted Towhees are large sparrows with heavily built bodies. The birds have thick pointed bills, short necks, and long rounded tails.
Male Spotted Towhees have jet-black on the head, upperparts, and throat with bright white spots on the wings and back. The birds have warm rufous flanks and a white belly. Female Spotted Towhees are grayish-brown on the head, throat, and upperparts with the same patterns as the male. White corners in their black tails are visible when the birds fly.
Spotted Towhees weigh 33 to 49 grams and are 17 to 21 cm long. The birds have a wingspan of 28 cm.
Habitat
Spotted Towhees occur in dry thickets, forest edges, old fields, brushy tangles, chappal, shrubby backyards, canyon bottoms, and coulees. The birds feel at home in areas with dense shrub cover and plenty of leaf litter where they can scratch around.
Food
To attract Spotted Towhees, the ideal feeders are ground and platform feeders. In these feeders, you can put foods such as milo, millet, peanut hearts, cracked corn, hulled sunflower seeds, and black oil sunflower seeds. The birds also feed on insects and leaf-litter arthropods like sowbugs, millipedes, and spiders.
Nesting
Spotted Towhees lay 2 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 13 days. The eggs are white, gray, green, or pinkish with reddish, brown, gray, or purple speckles. The birds experience 1 to 3 broods in a year. Chicks are hatched blind, clumsy, and naked except for the sparse tufts of grayish down and are nestled for 10 to 12 days.
Brown-headed Cowbird
Male
Length: 7.5-8.7 in (19-22 cm)
Weight: 1.5-1.8 oz. (42-50 g)
Wingspan: 14.2 in (36 cm)
Female
Length: 6.3-7.9 in (16-20 cm)
Weight: 1.3-1.6 Oz (38-45 g)
Wingspan: 12.6-15.0 in (32-38 cm)
The brown-headed Cowbird is a small parasitic bird that originates from the US. Its scientific name is the Molothrus later.
Description
The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small blackbird that has a shorter tail and a thicker head than most blackbirds. The bill has a unique shape, and it is much shorter and thicker as compared to other blackbirds, almost finch-like at first sight. In-flight, look for a shorter tail.
The male birds have black plumage and a thick brown head that sometimes look dark when there is not enough lighting or in a distance. The females are plain brown birds, lightest on the head and underparts, with the fine streaking on the belly and a dark eye.
The average weight of a male Cowbird is 42 to 50 grams, while the female is 38 to 45 grams. The average length is 16 to 20 cm for a female, while the male is 19 to 22 cm. The wingspan average is 36 cm.
Habitat
They mostly live in open areas such as the fields, pastures, meadows, forest edges, and lawns.
Food
If you want to attract the Brown-headed Cowbirds, the ideal feeders are platform, ground, and large hopper. Inside these feeders, you can put food such as cracked corn, milo, millet, oats, hulled sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, and black oil sunflower seeds.
These birds also feed on grasses and weeds. They also eat insects such as grasshoppers and beetles.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of 1 to 7 eggs and incubate them for 10 to 12 days. The eggs are white to grayish-white with brown or gray spots. The chicks are hatched naked with eyes closed.
Lucy’s Warbler
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 3.5-4.7 in (9-12 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz (5-8 g)
Wingspan: 1.9-2.4 in (4.9 to 6.1 cm)
Lucy’s Warblers are small new world Warblers widely distributed in North America. The bird is one of the only two Warblers to nest in cavities. The scientific name of Lucy’s Warbler is Leiothlypis luciae.
Description
Lucy’s Warbler is small, compact, and delicately built. They have short tails and short, thin bills. The tail is 33 to 41 mm long, and the bill averages 7.8 9 mm long.
Adult male Lucy’s Warblers are grayish with a cinnamon rump and a crown patch. They have a small rusty patch on their crown. Female and immature Lucy’s Warblers are duller with rump and yellowish-brown or reddish yellow crown. They have a plain face and a faint buffy wash on the flanks.
Lucy’s Warblers have an average weight of 5 to 8 grams and are 9 to 12 cm long. The wingspan of the birds ranges between 4.9 to 6.1 centimeters.
Habitat
Lucy’s Warblers nests in deserts stand of mesquite, acacia, willows, tamarisk, and hackberries. They also have habitats in cottonwood and at higher elevations in dry open forests with walnut, sycamore, and oak. Lucy’s Warblers move to wetter habitats after breeding, thus utilizing both the grasslands and the riparian areas.
Food
Making your backyard insect-friendly will attract Lucy’s Warblers. The birds can be attracted by suet and platform feeders. In the feeders, you can put suet, peanut butter, oranges, and jelly. The birds mostly feed on insects like caterpillars, leafhoppers, bees, wasps, spiders, bugs, and small beetles.
Nesting
Lucy’s Warblers lay 3 to 7 eggs and incubate them for approximately 12 days. The eggs are white with fine reddish spots concentrated at the large end. The chicks are hatched naked and helpless.
Canyon Towhee
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 8.3-9.8 in (21-25 cm)
Weight: 1.3-1.9 oz (37-53 g)
Wingspan: 11.5 in (29.21 cm)
The Canyon Towhee is a bird that belongs to the family of Passserellidae. Its scientific name is the Melozone fusca.
Description
The Canyon Towhees are large sparrows that have a fairly long tail, chunky bodies, and short rounded wings. They also have a short bill that is thick at the base, and the longs are long. These birds are generally plain brown as they come. They have a warm rusty undertail covert, a buffy throat, and a hint of the reddish crown.
The average weight of these birds is 37 to 53 grams and has a length of between 21 to 25 cm. The average wingspan is usually 29.21 cm.
Habitat
The Canyon Towhees are mainly found in desert grassland with scattered dense shrubs, rocky terrain, dry watercourses with mesquite, and other dry shrubby places. These birds shy away from the suburban neighborhoods, favoring areas that are remote and sparsely populated.
Food
If you want t to attract the Canyon Towhee, the ideal feeders are the platform and ground. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as millet, milo, cracked corn, peanut hearts, black oil sunflower seeds, and hulled sunflower seeds. These birds also feed on plants such as chickweeds, pigweed, and lupines. They also eat berries and small invertebrates such as insects, spiders, snails, and millipedes.
Nesting
These birds lay a clutch of between 2 to 6 eggs. The eggs are bluish-white to pearl gray with some brown, black, or purple spots. The length of the eggs is about 2.1 to 2.7 cm, and the width is 1.5 to2 cm.
Song Sparrow
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4.7-6.7 in (12-17 cm)
Weight: 0.4-1.9 oz (12-53 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.4 in (18-24 cm)
Song sparrows are medium-sized New World Sparrow. The name Song Sparrow is derived from its colorful collection of songs. The scientific name of Song Sparrow is Melospiza melodia.
Description
A song sparrow is a bulky, medium-sized sparrow with a long round tail. The birds have a heavily built bill that is considered short for a Sparrow and a round head. The birds have broad wings.
Song sparrows are brown and heavily streaked on their white chest and flanks. The birds have an attractive mix of warm red-brown and slaty gray on their head. The shade of the colors and the amount of streaking varies extensively across North America. The coarse streaks on the breast of the birds converge into a central spot. The birds have russet stripes on the crown and through their eyes and broad mustache stripe.
Song Sparrows weigh 12 to 53 grams and are 12 to 17 cm long. The wingspan of the birds is 18 to 24 cm.
Habitat
Song Sparrows occur in an enormous variety of open habitats like tidal marshes, desert scrub, pinyon pine, arctic grasslands, prairie shelterbelts, pacific rain forests, aspen parklands, chapparal, agricultural fields, overgrown pastures, forest edges, freshwater marsh, lake edges, and the suburbs. The birds can also be found in mixed woodlands of deciduous woodlands.
Food
Song Sparrows are attracted by ground and platform feeders. In these feeders, you can put foods such as milo, peanut hearts, cracked corn, millet, Nyjer, safflower, black oil sunflower seeds, or hulled sunflower seeds. The birds also feed on weevils, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, snails, earthworms, and midges, among others.
Nesting
Song Sparrows lay 1 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 15 days. The eggs are blue, blue-green, or gray-green with brown, red-brown, or lilac speckles. The birds experience 1 to 7 broods in a year. The chicks are hatched blind, clumsy, and naked with sparse blackish down and are nestled for 9 to 12 days.
Acorn Woodpecker
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Length: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.2 oz (2.3-4.9 g)
Wingspan: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Description
The Black-chinned Hummingbird is a small migratory bird that is distributed in a wide range of habitats. Its scientific name is Archilochus alexandri.
This is a small and fairly sledder hummingbird with a straight bill. The bird is dull metallic green on the upper side while it is grayish-white on the lower side. The male Black-Chinned Hummingbirds have a velvety black throat with a thin iridescent purple on the base. The females have pale throats. The three outer tails of the female have broad white tips, and for both, the bills are black.
The average weight of this bird is 2.3 to 4.9 grams, with a length of about 9 cm. The average wingspan is 11 cm.
Habitat
The Black-chinned Hummingbirds are mostly seen at the feeders or perched on the dead branches of tall trees. This bird is viewed as a habitat generalist since it can be found in lowland deserts, urban areas, mountainous forests, and in natural habitats as long as there are flowering shrubs, vines, and ta trees.
Food
If you want to attract a Black-chinned Hummingbird, the idea feeder is the nectar feeder. In this feeder, you can put the sugar water. These birds mainly feed on the nectar from the flowers and sometimes can supplement with insects and spiders.
Nesting
This bird lays a clutch of 2 eggs which are incubated for a period of between 12 to 16 days. The eggs are white in color, and they have an average length of 1.2 to 1.4 cm and a width of 0.8 cm. They have up to 3 broods in a year.
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Weight: 0.1-0.1 oz (3-4 g
Length: 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in)
Wingspan: 13 cm (5.1 in)
Description
The scientific name of the Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris. It is a small Hummingbird with a long straight bill and a long tail with notches in the center. Male Broad-billed Hummingbirds have fuller tails with round corners, while the females have square-cornered tails. Adult males are rich green in color with a shiny blue throat. Their bills are red with a black tip. Immature and female Broad-billed Hummingbirds are golden-green on top and gray below with a white line behind their eyes.
Broad-billed Hummingbirds weigh between 3 to 4 grams and are between 8 to 10 cm long. They have a wingspan of approximately 13 centimeters. The male bird weighs slightly more than the female.
Habitat
Broad-billed Hummingbirds are mostly found along streams in canyons, lowland thorn forests, wet tropical deciduous forests, and mountain meadows. They nest in places with sycamores, willows, and cottonwoods. The birds are also found in flower-filled ravines and residential gardens.
Food
The ideal feeder type to attract Broad-billed Hummingbirds is a nectar feeder. In it, you can put sugar water made from 4 parts of water and 1 part sugar. You can also plant native flowers in your garden where the birds can sip nectar. The birds also fed on insects by flycatching them and gleaning them from plants.
Nesting
Female Broad-billed Hummingbirds build their nests 10 to 40 feet above the ground on slender descending branches of deciduous trees like pine, oak, poplar, hackberry, birch, and hornbeam. Lay 2 to 3 white eggs. The incubation period is between 16 to 19 days and is done by females only.
Black-throated Sparrow
Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (11-15 g)
Wingspan: 7.7 in (19.5 cm)
Description
The Black-throated Sparrow is a small new world sparrow that is found in most parts of the US. The scientific name of this bird is the Amphispiza bilineata. This bird is the only member of the five-striped Sparrow.
This bird is medium-sized with a large round head, a conical bill for seed-eating, and a tail that is medium in length. The most striking characteristic is the face pattern. The face is neat gray bordered by two strong white stripes and a black triangular throat patch. The upperparts are grayish-brown, while the below body is a pale mix of cream and white. The tail is dark, with some white spots on the corners.
Both the chicks and the adults look the same, but the chicks lack the black throat patch, and they have faint streaks above and below.
The average length of this bird is 12 to 14 cm with a weight of 11 to 15 grams. The wingspan average is 19.5 grams.
Habitat
These birds are mainly found in scrubby areas, desert scrub. Canyons and washes.
Food
If you want to attract the Black-throated Sparrow, the ideal feeders are the ground and platform, and you can put some seeds such as the sunflower seeds and millets. However, these birds also feed on insects, especially during the breeding season. They feed on the seeds during the winter season.
Some of the insects include butterflies, robber flies, dragonflies, mantids, and moth flies.
Nesting
The Black-throated Sparrows lay a clutch of between 2 to 5 eggs and incubate them for a period of 11 to 13 days. The eggs are whitish to blue-white, and they have a length of between 1.5 to 2 cm and a width of 1.2 to 1.5 cm. They usually have 1 to 5 broods a year. The hatched chicks are naked with a sparse cover of down with the eyes closed.
HUMMINGBIRDS FOUND IN arizona
- Rivoli’s hummingbird
- Plain-capped starthroat
- Blue-throated mountain-gem
- Lucifer hummingbird
- Ruby-throated hummingbird
- Black-chinned hummingbird
- Anna’s hummingbird
- Costa’s hummingbird
- Bumblebee hummingbird
- Calliope hummingbird
- Rufous hummingbird
- Allen’s hummingbird
- Broad-tailed hummingbird
- Broad-billed hummingbird
- White-eared hummingbird
- Violet-crowned hummingbird
- Berylline hummingbird
- Cinnamon hummingbird
HAWKS FOUND IN arizona
- Sharp-shinned hawk
- Cooper’s hawk
- Common black hawk
- Harris’s hawk
- White-tailed hawk
- Gray hawk
- Red-shouldered hawk
- Broad-winged hawk
- Short-tailed hawk
- Swainson’s hawk
- Zone-tailed hawk
- Red-tailed hawk,
- Rough-legged hawk
- Ferruginous hawk
