Bird watching is a great way to get closer to nature. What better way than watching birds from the comfort of your backyard!
California is home to a variety of bird species. A number of these birds live in California 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 California, read on to find out how to attract and identify these beautiful birds to your backyard.
California Towhee
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 8.3-9.8 in (21-25 cm)
Weight: 1.3-2.4 Oz (37-67 g)
Wingspan: 11.4 in (29 cm)
Description
The California Towhee is a bird that belongs to the family of Passerellidae, and it originates from the US. Its scientific name is the Melozone crisis.
The California Towhees is essentially a large sparrow with a sparrow’s short, rounded wings. Long and a thick seed for seed cracking. However, these birds are larger and bulkier. The long tail and short wings can give the bird an ungainly look in flight.
The bird is uniformly pale brown except for the rusty patch under the tail and around the bill. Both the males and females look similar.
The average weight of the California Towhee is 37 to 67 grams with a length of 21 to 25 cm. The wingspan average is 29 cm.
Habitat
The California Towhees live in chaparral and other tangled, shrubby, and dry habitats. They can also be found in homes in the small backyards and neighborhood parks.
Food
If you want to attract the California Towhees, the ideal feeders are the platform and ground. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as hulled sunflower seeds, millet, milo, cracked corn, peanut hearts, and black oil sunflower seeds.
These birds also feed on grasses and herbs, which are supplemented with the insects such as grasshoppers and beetles. They also eat berries such as elderberry, coffeeberry, poison oak, plums, acorns, etc.
Nesting
The California Towhees lay a clutch of 2 to 5 eggs and incubate them for 11 to 14 days. The eggs are pale blue-white, sparsely spotted. The chicks hatched are naked except for the sparse, wispy down feathers, and the eyes are usually closed.
California Scrub-Jay
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 11.0-11.8 in (28-30 cm)
Weight: 2.5-3.5 Oz (70-100 g)
Wingspan: 15.3 in (39 cm)
Description
The California Scrub-jay is a scrub jay species that originate from the US. The Scientific name of this bird is the Aphelocoma, California.
This is a fairly large songbird that has lanky dimensional. It has a long and floppy tail, and it often adopts a hunched-over posture. It has a straight and stout bill that has a hook at the tip.
The color of the California Scrub-jay is rich azure blue and grey above, pale on the underside broken up by a blue necklace. In birds, the color blue depends on the lighting, and this means this bird can at times look simply dark.
The average weight of the bird is between 70 to 1000 grams with a length of 28 to 30 cm. The wingspan average is 39 cm.
Habitat
If you want to find the California Scrub-jay, you can look for them in open areas, woodlands, and chaparral along the west coast and pastures, backyards, and orchards.
Food
If you want to attract the California Scrub-jay, the ideal feeder are the large tube feeder, platform, ground, suet cage, and large hopper. You can put food types such as the suet, cracked corn, peanuts, millet, milo, peanut hearts, hulled sunflower, and black oil sunflower seeds inside the feeders. During the summer, these birds also feed on insects and fruits. They also eat small animals such as lizards and nesting birds.
Nesting
The California Scrub-jay lays a clutch of between 1 to 5 eggs and takes 17 to 19 days to incubate them. The eggs are usually pale green blotched with olive or pale grey with some brown spots. The average length of the eggs’ is 2.4 to 3.4 cm and has a width of 1.9 to 2 cm. The hatched chick is usually helpless, naked, and eyes are closed.
Orange-crowned Warbler
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4.3-5.5 in (11-14 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (7-11 g)
Wingspan: 7.5 in (19 cm)
The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small songbird that belongs to the family of new world warblers. The scientific name of this bird is the Leiothlypis celata.
Description
The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small songbird. They have noticeably thin, sharply pointed bills compared to other warblers. They have short wings and short square tails.
These birds are fairly yellowish or olive. They are more yellow on the pacific coast and greyer, particularly on the head farther east. They also have a thin white or yellow stripe over the eye and a pale partial eye-ring.
The average weight of the bird is 7 to 11 grams with a length of 11 to 14 cm. The average wingspan is 19 cm.
Habitat
The Orange-crowned Warblers mainly live in dense areas of deciduous scrubs, usually within or adjacent to the forest. They can also be seen from the low elevation oak scrub to stunted forest near timberline. During the migration, you may find them in nearly any habitat though they still prefer the dense, low vegetation.
Food
The Orange-crowned Warblers mainly feed on invertebrates which include ants, caterpillars, flies, and spiders. They supplement their insect diet with fruits, berries, seeds, and plant galls. They are also known to be regular visitors at the sap wells drilled by sapsuckers and some other woodpeckers. They also get nectar from the flowers.
If you want to attract these birds, you need to have a garden with fruits and berries or some vegetation that will attract the insects.
Nesting
The Orange-crowned Woodpeckers lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs. The eggs are usually white to cream, finely speckled with reddish-brown or chestnut. The hatched chicks have their eyes closed, skin covered in sparse, and have a dark grey down.
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
Weight: 1.1-1.6 oz (30-45 g)
Wingspan: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm)
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is a species of Woodpecker that is named after naturalist Thomas Nuttall in 1843. The scientific name of the bird is the Dryobates nuttallii.
Description
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is a small woodpecker that has a chisel-shaped bill. It has a small rounded head, a flat back and an elongated appearance. These birds are black and white striped. Both the genders have white stripes across their cheeks, while on the back of the males’ heads, they have a red patch. The cack side has narrow bars that are black and white with a solid black patch at the upper back.
The underparts are whitish with sporting and barring on the flanks. Chicks have more greyish or buffy underparts than adults. The average weight of the bird is 30 to 45 grams and has a length of 16 to 18 cm. The wingspan ranges from 33 to 41 cm.
Habitat
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker lives in oak woodlands all year round. They also use wooded suburban areas and the woodlands near the streams with cottonwoods, willows, and sycamores.
Food
These birds spend most of their time in the woodlands, but they do not eat acorns. They feed on insects such as beetles, termites, ants, beetle larvae, and millipedes found in oaks, willows, and cottonwoods. They hunt for these insects from the bark of trees or vegetation. They also feed on fruit and berries such as poison oak, elderberries, and blackberries.
Nesting
The Nuttall’s Woodpeckers lay a clutch of 3 to 6 eggs. The eggs are whitish and unmarked. The average length of the eggs is 1.9 to 2.5 cm and a width of 1.5 to 1.7 cm. The hatched chicks are naked and helpless.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 3.9-4.7 in (10-12 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (7-12 g)
Wingspan: 7.5 in (19 cm)
Description
Chestnut-backed Chickadee is the smallest Chickadee. The scientific name of the bird is Poecile rufescens. The birds have large heads and small bills. They have a long narrow tail and short rounded wings. The bird is bold black and white on the head, similar to other Chickadee, but their back and sides are chestnuts instead of the typical slaty gray color of Chickadee’s backs. Their flanks are either dull gray or rich brown.
The birds are active, sociable, noisy and match the rich brown bark of the coastal trees. They make a conspicuous chick-a-dee call note.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee weighs between 7 to 12 grams and is 10 to 12 centimeters long. The wingspan of the birds is approximately 19 centimeters.
Habitat
Chestnut-backed Chickadees are mostly found in dense wet coniferous forests, including Monterey, ponderosa, sugar pines, incense-cedar, and redwoods. They can also be found in some deciduous forests in willows, along streams, eucalyptus groves, and along edges of oak woodlands. The birds also inhabit the urban and rural areas.
Food
The ideal feeder types to attract Chestnut-backed Chickadee are large tube feeders, small tube feeders, large hoppers, suet cage, small hoppers, and platform feeders. In these feeders, you can put black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, Nyjer, suet, peanuts, peanut hearts, and mealworms. The birds also feed on insects and arthropods like caterpillars, leafhoppers, and spiders.
Nesting
Chestnut-backed Chickadees lay 1 to 11 eggs and have 1 to 2 broods in a year. Their eggs are white with reddish to light-brown spots and are 1.4 -1.7 cm long and 1.1-1.3 cm wide. Incubation takes 12 to 18 days, and the nestlings are hatched naked and eyes closed. The nesting period is 18 to 21 days.
Wrentit
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.5-5.9 in (14-15 cm)
Weight: 0.5-0.6 oz (13-16 g)
Wingspan: 6.9-7.1 in (17.5-18 cm)
The Wren-tit is a small bird that lives in the US. It is the only species in the genus of the Chamaea. The scientific name of this bird is Chamaea fasciata.
Description
The Wren-tits are small birds that have fairly large and rounded heads and short, rounded wing that gives them an overall plumb appearance. They have long tails and long legs, which they often hold up and away from their body at different angles. They have short and slightly curved bills.
These birds are plain brownish-gray with paler, slightly streaked, pale pinkish bellies. They have unique pale eyes. The average weight of the bird is 13 to 16 grams with an average length of 14 to 15 cm. The wingspan ranges from 17.5 to 18 cm.
Habitat
These birds mainly live in coastal scrubs and chaparral along with the west cist, including the parks with shrubs and yards. They also live in thickets along the creeks, oak woodlands, mixed evergreen forests, and dense shrublands with blackberry, California lilac, coyote bush, and manzanita.
Food
The Wren-tits mainly feed in insects such as beetles, caterpillars, ants, and spiders from the barks and twigs. They also stretch their necks to reach fruits and berries. Some of the berries they feed on include coffee berry, twinberry, snowberry, blackberry, elderberry, and others.
Nesting
Then Wren-tits lay a clutch of one to 5 eggs and incubate them for 11 to 18 days. The eggs are uniform with some greenish-blue. The hatched chicks are usually naked with closed eyes and are helpless.
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.
Allen’s Hummingbird
Length: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.1 Oz (2-4 g)
Wingspan: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Allens Hummingbird, whose scientific name is Selasphorus sasin is a small, compact and stocky hummingbird found in the western united states.
Description
Male Allen Hummingbirds have a greenback and forehead, rufous loins and tail, and an orange-red throat. The female and immature Allen’s Hummingbirds are similar in appearance. They have the same color as the adult male Allen’s Hummingbirds, except they lack the throat patch. The females and immature Allen’s Hummingbirds have a dull metallic green back and pale copper flanks.
The bill of the birds is long and straight. The tail extends past the wings when the bird is at rest, and the outer feather is narrower than the other feathers.
The birds weigh approximately 2 – 4 grams, and their length is approximately 6 centimeters. Allen’s Hummingbirds have a wingspan of approximately 11 centimeters.
Habitat
Allens breed mostly in coastal forests, scrubs, and meadows. Male and female Allen’s Hummingbirds have different habitats during the breeding season whereby the male sets up a territory on exposed branches whereas the female builds a nest deep into the thickets of forest.
Food
Allen’s Hummingbirds love sugary food, especially nectar. They sip nectar from flowers like the Indian paintbrush, columbine, gooseberry, twinflower, bush monkeyflower sage, manzanita, and eucalyptus. They also eat small insects like spiders, caterpillars, and mosquitoes.
Nesting
Allen’s Hummingbirds have 1 – 3 broods every year. Their eggs are white in color and measure approximately 1.2 by o.8 centimeters. The incubation period is between 17 to 22 days.
Baby Hummingbirds stay in the nest for 22 to 25 days and then fly out to forage by themselves.
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.
American Goldfinch
Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-14 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.7 oz (11-20 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-8.7 in (19-22 cm)
The American Goldfinch is a migratory bird widely distributed in North America. The scientific name of the American Goldfinch is Spinus tristis. There are four subspecies of the American Goldfinch, namely, the Eastern Goldfinch, the Pale Goldfinch, the NorthWestern Goldfinch, and the Willow Goldfinch.
The American Goldfinch is the only Finch in its subfamily that undergoes complete sloughing twice a year. The bird sheds all its feathers apart from the wing and the tail feathers in the autumn and spring seasons of the year.
Description
The adult male American Goldfinch is vibrant yellow with a black forehead and black wings with white marks in summer and olive in color during the winter season. The female American Goldfinch is dull yellow with two distinct wing bars in the summer and buffy brown during winter.
The birds have a short conical bill, long wings, a small head, and a small tail with notches.
The American Goldfinch weighs between 11 to 20 grams and has a length of between 11 to 14 centimeters. The birds have a wingspan of 19 to 22 centimeters.
Habitat
The birds are mostly found in weedy fields, cultivated areas, roadsides, backyards, floodplains, gardens, and orchards where thistles and asters are common.
Feeding
American Goldfinches are attracted by almost all bird feeders, including tube, platform, hanging, ground, and hopper feeders. To be able to attract these birds, feed them on sunflower seeds that have bee hulled, Nyjer, and black oil sunflower seeds. American Goldfinches are strict vegetarians and feed on a vegetable diet only, and swallow insects occasionally only by accident.
Nesting
The birds build their nests on branches of trees or shrubs at a height of up to 10 meters. The female American Goldfinch lays 4 to 6 bluish-white peanut size oval eggs. Incubation takes 12 to 14 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.
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.
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.
Acorn Woodpecker
Oak Titmouse
MEASUREMENTS
Weight: 0.3-0.7 oz (10-21 g)
The Oak Titmouse is a passerine bird that belongs to the Tit family Paridae. The plain Titmouse eas split into Oak Titmouse and the Juniper Titmouse in 1996. The scientific name of this bird is the Baeolophus inornatus.
Description
The Oak Titmouse is a tiny sunbird that has a shorty, stubby bill, a short crest, and a medium ling tail. These birds are plain grey-brown. They are slightly darker above than below and may show a slight buffy wash on the flanks.
The average weight of the Oak Titmouse is between 10 to 21 grams.
Habitat
The Oak Titmouse is strongly tied to the oak trees, although they also live in areas of open pine or mixed oak-pine forest. These birds are almost entirely restricted to dry slopes in some parts of the US, but they are also found in other areas too.
Food
If you want to attract the Oak Titmouse, the ideal feeders are the suet cage, platform, small and large hopper, and the small and larger tube, feeders. Inside these feeders, you can put food such as safflower, peanut hearts, peanuts, suet, black oil sunflower seeds, and hulled sunflower seeds.
These birds also feed on insects and small invertebrates, mostly during the warmer months. Some of the invertebrates it feeds on include aphids, beetles, caterpillars, treehoppers, leafhoppers, wasp, flies, and many more.
Nesting
The Oak Titmouse lay a clutch of 3 to 9 eggs and incubate them for a period of 14 to 16 days. The eggs are usually white, sometimes speckled with a faint reddish-brown. They experience one to two broods in a year. The hatched chicks are usually helpless.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tree Swallow
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)
Weight: 0.6-0.9 Oz (16-25 g)
Wingspan: 11.8-13.8 in (30-35 cm)
The Tree Swallow is a migratory bird that belongs to the family of Hurundinidae. The scientific name of this bird is the Tachycineta bicolor.
Description
The Tree Swallows are tiny songbirds that are usually streamlined and have both a squared or notched tail and long, pointed wings. They have very short and flat bills.
The adult male species of this bird are blue-green above and white below with blackish flight feathers and a thin black eye mask. The females are duller with more brown in their upper parts, while the young ones are completely brown above. The young ones and some females can show a weak, blurry grey-brown breast band.
Habitat
The Tree Swallows breed in open habitats such as the wetlands, usually adjacent to the water. They nest in artificial nest boxes as well as in tree cavities. Foraging flocks can be seen frequently over wetlands, water, and agricultural fields.
Food
The Tree Swallows live on a diet of insects, but they occasionally catch other small animals and may also eat plant food during the bad weather when the preys are scarce. In the east, all kinds of insects, including sawflies, bees, ants, wasps, beetles, stoneflies, mayflies, and more.
During the breeding season, they eat high calcium items such as fish bones, clamshells, and others.
Nesting
The Tree Swallows lay a clutch of 4 to 7 eggs and incubate them for 11 to 20 days. The eggs are pale pink, turning to pure white within four days. They experience one or two broods every year. The hatched chicks are helpless, with closed eyes and pink skin sparsely covered with down.
American Kestrel
Length: 8.7-12.2 in (22-31 cm)
Weight: 2.8-5.8 oz (80-165 g)
Wingspan: 20.1-24.0 in (51-61 cm)
Description
The American Kestrel, whose scientific name is Falco sparverius, is the smallest and one of the most beautiful falcons in North America. It is also the most common falcon in North America. There are seventeen subspecies of the American Kestrel.
The feathers of the American Kestrel, also known as the sparrow hawk, have patterns of blue, red, grey, brown, and black, making the bird very attractive. Male Kestrels have slate-blue wings, while female Kestrels have reddish-brown wings. The birds have a pair of black mustaches on the sides of their pale faces.
The bird is roughly the size and shape of a Mourning Dove. It has a large head, long and narrow wings, and a long square-tipped tail. American Kestrels have a short, hooked bill and white cheeks.
The American Kestrel weighs between 3 to 6 ounces and has a length of 8 to 12 inches. The American kestrel wingspan is between 20 to 24 inches. The American Kestrel is leaner and less muscular than larger falcons.
Habitat
The American Kestrel is mostly found in tropical lowlands, deserts, cities, farmland, open country, alpine meadows, or wood edges. The birds are mostly spotted perched on power lines or hovering over an open field, waiting for the right time to descend upon their prey.
Feeding
The American kestrel feed on insects, grasshoppers, small birds like sparrows or bats. Individual sparrow hawks specialize in specific prey—the bird hunts by perching and scanning the ground for prey and then ambushing the prey.
Nesting
The American Kestrel lays 2 to 7 eggs which are white to pale brown with gray and brown spots. Incubation is by both the male and the female Kestrels and takes 28 to 31 days. The male feeds the female American Kestrel while she incubates the eggs.
Steller’s Jay
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 11.8-13.4 in (30-34 cm)
Weight: 3.5-4.9 oz (100-140 g)
Wingspan: 17.3 in (44 cm)
The Steller’s Jay is a North American bird closely related to the Blue Jay but with a black head and upper body. The bird is also referred to as the Long-crested Jay, Pine Jay, or the Mountain Jay. The scientific name for Steller’s Jay is Cyanocitta stelleri.
Description
Steller’s Jay is a large songbird with a chunky body and a large head. The birds have round wings and long full tails. Steller’s Jays have long, straight, slightly hooked, and powerful bills. The birds have a projecting triangular crest that stands nearly straight up from their head.
Steller’s Jays appear very dark from a distance and lack the white underparts of most species of Jays. The head of the bird is charcoal black, and the body is blue with almost sparkling light blue on the wings. The birds have conspicuous white markings above their eyes.
Steller’s Jay weighs 100 to 140 grams and is 30 to 34 cm long. The wingspan of the birds is approximately 44 cm. Steller’s Jays are about the size of the Western Scrub-Jay.
Habitat
Steller’s Jays are mostly found in coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. The birds are also found in arid pine-oak woodlands and lower evergreen forests and in deserts during winter. The birds are also a familiar sight in campgrounds, picnic areas, parks, and backyards.
Food
Steller’s Jays are attracted by feeders like the large tube feeder, large hopper, suet cage, platform, and ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put foods such as black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, peanuts, peanut hearts, milo, millet, or suet. The birds also feed on insects, small animals, eggs, and nestlings.
Nesting
Steller’s Jays lay 2 to 6 eggs and incubate them for 16 days. The eggs are bluish-green with dark brown, purplish, or olive spots. The birds experience only one brood in a year. Hatched chicks stay in the nest for 16 days while being fed by their parents.
Common Yellowthroat
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-13 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.3 oz (9-10 g)
Wingspan: 5.9-7.5 in (15-19 cm)
Description
The Common Yellowthroat is a new world warbler. In the US, it is commonly known as the Yellow Bandit. Its scientific name is the Geothlypis trichas.
The Common Yellowthroat is a small songbird that has a chunky, rounded head and medium length, slightly rounded tails. The adult males are bright yellow below with a sharp black face mask and olive underparts. A thin whitish line sets of the black mask from the head and neck.
The young males show traces of the full mask of the adult males. The females are plain olive-brown with a yellow brightening the throat and the undertail. They have no black masks.
The average weight of this bird is 9 to 10 grams with a length of 11 to 13 cm. The wingspan ranges from 15 to 19 cm.
Habitat
The Yellowthroats live in open areas with thick, low vegetation ranging from marsh to grassland to open pine forest. They use even a wider suite of habitats during the migration.
Food
The Yellowthroats mainly eat from the ground, eating spiders, insects from the leaves, barks, branches, flowers, or fruits. Some of these insects include grasshoppers, bees, wasps, beetles, flies, and bugs. If you want to attract these birds, the ideal thing is to ensure there are shrubs and some ground vegetation on the compound, and they will come hunting for food.
Nesting
The Common Yellowthroats lay a clutch of between 1 to 6 eggs, and they incubate them for 12 days. The eggs are white with markings of grey, lilac, reddish-brown or black. They experience one or two broods a year. The hatched chicks are usually helpless with dark orange skin and a wisp of greyish down.
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.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
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.
Western Bluebird
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.3-7.5 in (16-19 cm)
Weight: 0.8-1.1 oz. (24-31 g)
Wingspan: 11.4-13.4 in (29-34 cm)
The Western Bluebird is a small thrush that lives in the United States. Its scientific name is the Sialia Mexicana
Description
Western Bluebird is a small thrush that usually perches upright. They are stocky with thin, straight bills and fairly short tails. The male birds are usually shiny blue above with rust-orange extending from a vest on the breast onto the upper back. The females are grey buff with a pale orange wash on the breast and blue tints to the wings and tail.
The throat is blue in males and grey-buff in females, and the lower belly is whitish. The average weight of this bird is 24 to 31 grams with a length of 16 to 19 cm. The wingspan ranges from 29 to 34 cm.
Habitat
The Western bluebirds are mainly found in open woodlands, both coniferous and deciduous. They also live in backyards, burned areas, farmlands from sea level far up into the mountains.
Food
The Western Bluebirds mainly eat insects during the summer, while during the winter, they feed on fruits and seeds. They mainly catch ground-dwelling insects such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, wasp, and caterpillars. They also feed on small invertebrates on beaches.
If you want to attract these birds, the ideal feeders are the platform and ground, and inside these feeders, you can put foods such as dried worms, hulled sunflower seeds, and black oil sunflower seeds.
Nesting
The Western Bluebirds lay a clutch of 2 to 8 eggs and incubate them for 12 to 17 days. The eggs are pale blue and unmarked. They experience one to three broods in a year. The young ones are hatched bare, with pink skin, and the eyes are closed.
Brewer’s Blackbird
Male measurements
Length: 8.3-9.8 in (21-25 cm)
Weight: 2.1-3.0 oz (60-86 g)
Wingspan: 14.6 in (37 cm)
Female measurements
Length: 7.9-8.7 in (20-22 cm)
Weight: 1.8-2.4 oz (50-67 g)
Wingspan: 14.6 in (37 cm)
Description
Brewer’s Blackbird is a small, long-legged songbird that looks like many blackbirds. The scientific name of this bird is Euphagus cyanocephalus. They have a long tail which is balanced by a full-body, round head, and long thick based beak. The tail of a male Brewer’s Blackbird, when it’s perched, appears widened and rounded toward the tip.
Male Brewer’s Blackbirds are black all over with a staring yellow eye and blue sheen on the head. The females are plain brown, have dark wings and tails, and have dark eyes. Immature Brewer’s Blackbirds look like washed-out light brown versions of the female Brewer’s Blackbirds.
Male Brewer’s Blackbirds weigh between 60 to 86 grams and are 21 to 25 cm long. They have a wingspan of 37cm. Female Brewer’s Blackbirds are 20 to 22 cm long and weigh 50 to 67 grams. The females have a wingspan averaging 37 cm. the birds are about the size of Red-winged Blackbirds.
Habitat
Brewer’s Blackbirds are common in towns and open habitats. The birds feed on open ground or underfoot in parks and busy streets. Their natural habitats include grasslands, meadows, woodlands, sagebrush, and marshes.
Food
The ideal feeder type to attract Brewer’s Blackbird is platform and ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and millet. Brewer’s Blackbirds also eat insects, small frogs, young voles, and some nesting birds like Brewer’s Sparrows.
Nesting
The Brewer’s Blackbird lay 3 to 7 eggs and have 1 to 2 brood in a year. The eggs are pale gray to greenish-white, clouded or spotted with brown, pink, violet, yellow and gray. The incubation period is 11 to 17 days. Nesting takes 12 to 16 days, after which the nestling fly out to forage by themselves.
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.
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.
Bushtit
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 2.8-3.1 in (7-8 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.2 Oz (4-6 g)
Description
The Bushtit, also known as the American Bushtit, is the only species in the Aegithalidae family found in the new world. The scientific name of this bird is the Psaltriparus minimus.
The Bushtits are tiny, kinglet-size birds. They are plumb and longheaded with long tails and a short, stubby bill. This bird is a fairly plain brown and gray bird. The upper part is slightly darker than the underpart. The head is brown-gray, gray wings, and a tan-gray underpart.
The average weight of these birds is 4 to 6 grams with a length of 7 to 8 cm.
Habitat
The Bushtits are mainly found in the oak forest, evergreen woodlands, dry scrublands, streamsides, and suburbs. You can easily find them at an elevation of over 10000 feet.
Food
If you want to attract the Bushtit, the ideal feeders are the platform, suet cage, large and small hoppers, and small and large tube feeders. Inside these feeders, you can put foods such as peanuts, suet, peanut hearts, black oil sunflower seeds, and hulled sunflower seeds.
The bird can also feed on spiders and insects, including the very tiny ones that appear on the leaves and twigs. They eat insects such as beetles, wasps, ants, and caterpillars.
Nesting
The Bushtits lay a clutch of 4 to 8 eggs and take 12 to 13 days to incubate. The eggs are white and smooth. The average length of the eggs is 1.3 to 1.4 cm, with a width of 1 cm. They usually have one to two broods a year. The hatched chicks are usually 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.
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.
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.
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.
Golden-crowned Sparrow
MEASUREMENTS
Length: 5.9-7.1 in (15-18 cm)
Weight: 1.1-1.2 oz (30-33 g)
Wingspan: 9.74 in (24.75cm)
The Golden-crowned Sparrow is one of the five species of large American Sparrows. It belongs in the genus Zonotrichia and has no subspecies. The scientific name of Golden-crowned Sparrow is Zonotrichia atricapilla.
Description
Golden-crowned Sparrows are large sparrows with long tails and small heads. The bill of the bird is short and firm, suitable for seed-eating. The bills of the birds are grayish.
During summer, adult Golden-crowned Sparrows have streaked brown upperparts and a smooth gray to brown underparts. The birds have a black crown and a bright yellow forehead. Immature and winter Gold-crowned Sparrows are duller, with the brown color replacing the black on the head. The birds have a smaller and dull yellow crown stripe.
Golden-crowned Sparrow’s average weight is 30 to 33 grams and is 15 to 18 cm long. The birds have an average wingspan of 24.75 cm.
Habitat
Golden-crowned Sparrows are breeds mostly in shrubby tundra habitats near the coast or in the mountains. The birds live near willows, alders, and short conifers. The Gold-crowned Sparrows live in riparian thickets, chaparral, gardens, and the brush during the winter season or when in-migration.
Food
To attract Golden-crowned Sparrows, the ideal feeders to use our platform and ground feeders. In these feeders, you can put millets, cracked corn, safflower, hulled sunflower seeds, milo, and black oil sunflower seeds. The birds also feed on fruits like apples, grapes, apples, and olives and insects like ants, bees, moths, and termites.
Nesting
Golden-crowned Sparrow lay 3 to 5 eggs and incubate 11 to 13 days. The eggs are smooth, pale blue to greenish-blue with reddish-brown and pale gray speckles. The birds have 1 to 2 broods in the year, and they nest their nestlings for9 11 days. The chicks are hatched feeble and uncoordinated with their eyes closed.
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.
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.
