<em>Birds Living </em>by Richard Stade

American Robin chicks Turdus migratorius May – Texas L=10"......WS=17".....WT=2.7oz......(mature) Order: Passeriformes (Passerine birds) Family:Turdidae (Thrushes)

Green Heron – Foraging Butorides virescens July – Texas L=18” ...... WS=26” ....... WT=7 oz Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Green Herons are shy birds that inhabit wetland thickets over a broad range in North America. When foraging they will stalk prey while moving slowly through the water or wait patiently on branches over the water. They are one of the few birds that use tools or bait, such as twigs or leaves, to attract prey.

Green Heron – Foraging Butorides virescens July – Texas L=18” ...... WS=26” ...... WT=7 oz Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Young Green Herons are dependent on their parents for an estimated 30 days. During this time they stay near the nest hopping or flying from branch to branch and practicing foraging.

Black-crowned Night-Heron – Inner city Houston,Texas Nycticox nycticox June – Texas L=25”...... WS=44”...... WT=1.9 lb Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Black-crowned Night-Herons feed on a variety of aquatic organisms, especially fish. They prefer shallow vegetated creeks, ponds, marshes and wetlands and, as their name implies, they prefer to feed at night. However, they do extend their feeding period into daylight hours when raising their young which occurs simultaneously with short days in North America. The bird pictured here was feeding during mid-morning and was found far from its normal habitat.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Drinking DewPolioptila caerulea June – Texas L=4.5” ...... WS=6” ...... WT=0.2 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Sylviidae (Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers) Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have the broadest range of their genus in North America. Compared to other gnatcatchers (Polioptila) their range extends farther north into cold temperate areas. They prefer moist areas with broadleafed trees.

Red-bellied Woodpecke – Male probing for foodMelanerpes carolinus December – Texas L=9.25” ...... WS=16” ....... WT=2.2 oz Order: Piciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies) Family: Picidae (Woodpeckers and Allies) Red-bellied Woodpeckers are a common and familiar bird in the Eastern U.S. They seldom excavate wood for insects but, rather, forage for arthropods, seeds, berries and small fruit. Also, they will visit bird feeders. While foraging this bird may perch upright, hang upside-down or hover briefly. The Red-bellied Woodpecker has a particularly long tongue, even for a woodpecker, that aids in capturing prey without excavating. Additionally, its tongue is highly modified being cylindrical, pointed, and with a barbed sticky tip to aid in extracting food from crevices.

Sandhill Crane – Flying out in early morningGrus canadensis January – New Mexico L=41-46” ...... WS=73-77” ...... WT=7.3-10.6 lb ....... m>f Order: Gruiformes (Rails, Cranes, Allies) Family: Gruidae (Cranes) Sandhill Cranes are one of two types of crane commonly found in North America, the other being the endangered Whooping Crane. They are among the oldest living birds and are long lived, with some individuals surviving for 20 or more years. Prior to migration large numbers of Sandhill Cranes gather on the Platte River in Nebraska and then migrate en masse. At their wintering grounds large flocks remain together roosting at night and flying out to feeding grounds during the day. One favored place for wintering is Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

Sandhill Crane – Returning to roost at sunsetGrus canadensis January – New Mexico L=41-46” ...... WS=73-77” ...... WT=7.3-10.6 lb ....... m>f Order: Gruiformes (Rails, Cranes, Allies) Family: Gruidae (Cranes)

Red-winged Blackbird – Feeding in a rice field Agelaius phoenicens December – Texas L=8.75” ...... WS=13” ....... WT=1.8 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Icteridae (Blackbirds, Orioles, Allies) The Red-winged Blackbird is probably the most abundant bird in North America with a U.S. population estimated at over 200 million. Migration occurs from the northern portion of the breeding range to the southern portion. Accordingly, populations in the southern U.S. increase substantially during the winter months. This blackbird is well known for having huge roosting groups, which can exceed 1 million birds in the non-breeding season, and for damaging important food crops such as corn, sunflowers, and rice. In the accompanying photograph a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds were feeding in rice fields, some of which had already been harvested and some of which had not. The local farmers take no extraordinary actions against these flocks but use a simple two-part strategy - (i) all farmers in the area plant concurrently and (ii) harvests are timed to occur before the onslaught of migrating birds. When this strategy is employed the farmers claim losses to blackbirds of 25% of the crop. When a isolated field is harvested late, as was the case in this situation, losses generally run in excess of 90%.

Cattle Egret – Male in breeding plumage foragingBubulcus ibis April – Texas L=20” ...... WS=36” ....... WT= 12 oz Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: ,em>Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Cattle Egrets are unique among North American herons, bitterns and egrets in that they commonly forage alongside grazing cattle or behind farm equipment, both of which stir up insects. They are frequently seen standing on the backs of the grazing animals, which display little hostility to the egrets.

Savannah Sparrow – ForagingPasserculus sandwichensis April – Texas L=5.5” ...... WS=6.75”....... WT=0.7 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Emberizidae (New World Sparrows) Savannah Sparrows, like many sparrows, forage on the ground in grassy areas. Because of this and their skulking behavior, they can be hard to observe closely. Like most sparrows, they can be hard to identify due to their small size, tendency to flush rapidly, and very similar appearance to other sparrows. One behavior that aids in identifying Savannah Sparrows is their tendency to flush when humans are relatively far away and fly to nearby trees, shrubs or other elevated objects before continuing to forage. Most other sparrows wait until almost stepped on to flush and then fly a long distance and resume foraging.

Great Egret – In early morningArdea alba October – Texas L=39” ...... WS=51” ...... WT=1.9 lb Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns

Great Egrets inhabit diverse wetland settings, including small ponds, large lakes, estuaries, and tidal basins. They feed by foraging, primarily by walking slowly through the water and quickly striking with their bill. They also will regularly stand near or over the water and wait for prey. Occasionally, they will, as seen here grab prey from flight.

Great Egret – Grabbing a fish from flight Ardea alba October – Texas L=39” ...... WS=51” ...... WT=1.9 lb Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns)

Osprey – Emerging from water after an unsuccessful divePandion haliaetus December – Texas L=23” ...... WS=63” ...... WT=3.5 lb Order: Falconiformes (Diurnal birds of prey) Family: Accipitridae (Hawks and allies) Osprey, or as they are sometimes called “fish hawks”, are unique among North American raptors in that they eat live fish almost exclusively. To capture prey they dive into the water from a long glide or a hovering position. The dive ends with drama as both the head and feet of the Osprey enter the water. Since they can only penetrate the upper three feet of the water they must hunt for top feeding fish or in shallows.

Forster's Tern – Diving for fishSterna forsteri January – Texas L=13” ...... WS=31” ...... WT=6 oz Order: Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, Auks, Allies) Family: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Allies) Forster’s Terns forage by flying over water and then either plunging directly into the water or hovering briefly before plunging. Typically only their bill and head goes into the water but sometimes their entire body will be submerged. So long as the fish caught is small it will be eaten as soon as the bird regains foraging height, about 25 feet above the water.

Forster's Tern – Diving for fishSterna forsteri January – Texas L=13” ...... WS=31” ...... WT=6 oz Order: Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, Auks, Allies) Family: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Allies) Forster’s Terns forage by flying over water and then either plunging directly into the water or hovering briefly before plunging. Typically only their bill and head goes into the water but sometimes their entire body will be submerged. So long as the fish caught is small it will be eaten as soon as the bird regains foraging height, about 25 feet above the water.

Ring-billed Gull – Ring-billed Gull (left) chasing Forster's Tern for fishLarus delawarensis November – Texas L=17.5”...... WS=48”...... WT=1.1 lb Order: Charadriiformes (Shorebirds, Gulls, Auks, Allies) Family: Laridae (Gulls, Terns, Allies) Some birds, such as jaegers, regularly practice kleptoparasitism, a foraging strategy that consists of stealing food from other birds. Typically the aggressor will chase the victim until the victim drops the prey. In this case a Ring-billed Gull (left) was chasing a Forster’s Tern. The chase lasted 1 to 2 minutes at which time the Ring-billed Gull gave up and let the Forster’s Tern eat its catch.

Steller's Jay – At a picnic siteCyanocitta stelleri January – Colorado L=11.5”....... WS=19” ....... WT= 3.7 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Covidae (Crows and Jays) Steller’s Jays are loud, conspicuous regulars where humans are present such as campsites, picnic areas and bird feeders. Besides human generated foods such as cookies, crackers, meat, cheese, bread and chips they eat a wide range of naturally occuring arthropods and seeds.

Northern Cardinal – Taking flightCardinalis cardinalis December – Texas L=8.75” ...... WS=12” ...... WT= 1.6 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Cardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies) Northern Cardinals are familiar and popular birds in the Eastern U.S. due in large part to the male’s brilliant red. While not as readily recognized, the female is equally beautiful with buff tans and muted reds. A sign of the popularity of this bird is that it has been chosen as the state bird in 7 states. New research has correlated the brilliance of the male with higher reproductive success and to territories with higher vegetation density. Also, both male and female plumage brightness positively correlates with superior parental care. (Reference: Halkin, Sylvia L. and Susan U. Linvale. 1999. Northern Cardinal, The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.) Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Orinthology; Retreived from Birds of North America Online.)

Northern Cardinal – FemaleCardinalis cardinalis April – Texas L=8.75” ...... WS=12” ...... WT= 1.6 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Cardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)

Eastern Phoebe – LandingSayornis phoebe February – Texas L=7”...... WS=10.5” ....... WT=0.7 oz Order: Passeriformes (Passerine Birds) Family: Tyannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) Eastern Phoebes are flycatchers with dull coloration and unobtrusive behavior. Their breeding range is expanding apparently because of their willingness to nest on human dwellings and under bridges. Even so, Eastern Phoebes have a strong site attachment – a fact first observed by James Audubon in 1804. Eastern Phoebes move from place to place almost exclusively by flying - they rarely walk, hop or even pivot when on a perch. They are also loners who usually fail to even acknowledge other species, except predators.

Tricolored Heron – ForagingEgretta tricolor February – Texas L=26” ...... WS=36”...... WT=13 oz Order: Ciconiiformes (Herons, Ibises, Storks, New World Vultures, Allies) Family: Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, Bitterns) Tricolored Herons, formerly known as Louisiana Herons, are a day-heron found only in the New World. This bird probably did not suffer as greatly as other egrets and herons at the hand of the plume trade early in the 20th century and was the most numerous of the species until the Cattle Egret population expanded during the last half of the 20th century.

Mississippi Kite – Feeding on the wingIctinia mississippiensis May – Texas L=14” ...... WS=31” ...... WT= 10 oz Order: Falconiformes (Diurnal Birds of prey) Family: Accipitridae (Hawks and Allies) Mississippi Kites are acrobatic flyers who catch insects from a perch or on the wing. They are highly migratory wintering in South America and migrate in large flocks. The individuals on the next two pages were feeding on insects high in the air.