Week 3: Advanced Mid Elevation

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Week 3 Birds

Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, House Sparrow, European Starling

 

Fox sparrow

Bird Code: FOSP

Identify this bird by…

  • Head and back are gray. Base of bill is yellowish orange in winter, darker and more grayish in summer

  • Wings and tail are bright rufous

  • Males and females look the same

Tell it apart by …

Look for…

  • Behavior — They spend a lot of time on the ground, using their sturdy legs to kick away leaf litter in search of insects and seeds. They rarely venture far from cover!

Listen for…

Song: A sequence of rich, whistled, and burry notes.

They can be thought of as sounding like “drunk” song sparrows, because their song is more haphazard and varied

Call: A “tewk” that is slightly downslurred

Resources:

SONG SPARROW

Bird Code: SOSP

Identify this bird by…

  • Streaky and brown with thick streaks on a white chest and flanks

  • Head is an mix of warm red-brown and a slaty gray eyebrow

  • Males and females look the same

Tell it apart by …

Look for…

  • Behavior — Male Song Sparrows sing from exposed perches such as small trees

Listen for…

Call: The call note is a warm, rounded “Chimp!”

Song: ~3 very bouncy introductory syllables which are followed by a complex series of notes (some say sounding like “tow-wee,”) and then a trill

Resources:

Lincoln’s sparrow

Bird Code: LISP

Identify this bird by…

  • Streaky brown, buffy, and gray overall with rusty edges to its wings and tail

  • Gray face with pale eye ring

  • Males and females look the same

Tell it apart by…

  • Distinguished from juvenile Song Sparrow by shorter tail, slimmer bill, and thinner malar “mustache” stripe

  • Neat appearance with fine crisp streaks, while Song Sparrows have coarser streaks

Look for …

Behavior - Very secretive birds that forage on or near the ground, rarely straying far from dense cover. During breeding, males sing from exposed perches or tucked inside a shrub

Listen for…

Call: Two call notes: a flat “tschup” repeated in a series as an alarm and a sharp buzzy “zeee.”

Song: Rich, warbling, continuous jumble of chirping trills with several pitch changes. Usually start out at lower pitches, then burst into higher, and then drop back to lower.

Resources:

House Sparrow

Bird Code: HOSP

Identify this bird by…

  • Chunky, full-breasted bird

  • Round head and stout bill

  • Males and females do not look the same

Tell it apart by…

  • Males: Gray crown, white cheeks, black bib, chestnut neck, black bill

  • Females: Plain buffy brown overall, and buffy “eyebrow.” Backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown

Look for …

Behavior - They are noisy sparrows that flutter down from eaves and fencerows to hop and peck at crumbs or birdseed. Look for them flying in and out of nest holes hidden behind shop signs or in traffic lights, or hanging around parking lots waiting for crumbs and picking insects off car grills.

Listen for…

Call: The HOSP sings a series of nearly identical chirps. Listen to the toneless quality, and the downward inflection of these chirps. They also rattle and chatter.

Resources:


European starling

Bird Code: EUST

Identify this bird by…

  • Chunky and blackbird sized. Short tail, long slender bill

  • In flight, wings are short and pointed

  • Males and females look alike

Tell it apart by …

  • Breeding birds are dark overall with purplish green iridescent and yellow bills

  • Non-breeding birds have spots on their back and underparts. Their bill is black, but turns yellow as breeding season approaches

Look for …

Behavior - Starlings are boisterous, loud, and they travel in large group. They race across fields, beak down and probing the grass for food; or they sit high on wires or trees making a constant stream of rattles, whirrs, and whistles.

Listen for…

Song: EUST can make all sorts of different noises, and they often imitate other birds. Be careful when you are out in the field to make sure the bird you are hearing isn’t a just a EUST doing some mimicry! Their song is mainly harsh rattling and high, thin, slurred whistles. Listen especially for the, high, squeaky or wheezy notes, and the characteristic “wolf whistle”

Resources:

 

Feeling ready? Take the quiz!

Feeling ready? Take the Quiz!