Week 6: Advanced Low Elevation

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Week 6 Birds

American Robin, Black-headed Grosbeak, House Finch, Warbling Vireo, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow Warbler

 

Black-headed grosbeak

Bird Code: BHGR

Identify this bird by…

  • Hefty songbird with large head

  • Large, conical bill that’s thick at its base

  • Short tail gives it a compact look

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Deep orange breast, collar, and underparts. Black head and upperparts. White under the tail, and white spots on their black tail. Also has white wing bars and wing patches

  • Females: Black and white crown stripes. Buffy underparts with streaking at the sides. Dark grey upperparts

Look for…

  • Behavior - Often hidden as they hop about in dense foliage gleaning insects and seeds

Listen for…

Song: Song rises and falls like an AMRO’s, but it’s longer, sweeter, more varied, and less choppy in its phrases

Call: Typical call is a sharp spik uttered frequently to keep contact with mates while foraging. They utter an upslurring wheet upon taking flight.

Resources:

american Robin

Bird Code: AMRO

Identify this bird by…

  • Fairly large songbird with round body and long legs

  • Gray-brown on their back with rusty orange underparts

  • White eyering and yellow bill

  • In flight, a white patch on the lower belly and under the tail

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Dark, almost black head. With bolder colors, they have black streaks on the throat and a rusty orange belly

  • Females: Often paler, lacking a dark head. They often have more white on their belly and throat

Note! - some individuals are not easily distinguishable by sex

Look for …

  • Behavior - Often seen on lawns searching for earthworms or eating berries and insects

Listen for…

Song: A series of ~10 whistles  that rise and fall in pitch and are delivered at a steady rhythm. Described as “cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up”

Call: A mumbled cuck or tuk to communicate with each other or a sharp yeep or peek as an alarm call. They also make a repeated chirr that rises in volume and can sound like a laugh

Resources:


House finch

Bird Code: HOFI

Identify this bird by…

  • Small finch with a conical seed-eating bill

  • Shallow notched tail

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Rosy red around the face and upper breast, with streaky brown back, belly, and tail

  • Females: Not at all red, but plain grayish-brown with thick, blurry streaks and an indistinctly marked face

Interesting note…

  • Male house finches’ plumage coloration can vary greatly from one another. They can range from yellow to bright red depending on the amount of carotenoid rich foods they eat!

Listen for…

Song: A long, jumbled warbling composed of short notes. The song often ends with an upward or downward slur, and lasts about 3 seconds. The phrasing is similar to an American Robins, but is quicker and more excited

Call: Their characteristic call sounds like the squeak of shoes on the gym floor

Resources:

warbling vireo

Bird Code: WAVI

Identify this bird by…

  • Small songbird with a thicker bill

  • Brownish upperparts that lack wing bars

  • Subdued face pattern with brownish line through the eye (strongest behind the eye)

  • Pale line over the eye

  • Males and females look alike!

Regional differences…

  • Individuals in the Rocky Mountains and west have darker gray-brown heads and sing a different song than those in the east

Look for…

  • Behavior - They forage “sluggishly,” intently peering at leaf surfaces from a single perch before pouncing or moving on

Listen for…

Song: a rapid, undulating song that usually concludes with an accented high note. It might sound like “higglety-pigglety- pigglety-pigglety-PIK!

Call: Many calls, but particularly a raspy, descending, scold call

Resources:

All About Birds - Warbling Vireo

More songs and calls

lazuli Bunting

Bird Code: LAZB

Identify this bird by…

  • Small, stocky, and finchlike

  • Cone shaped bills and a gently sloping forehead

  • Tail is notched or slightly forked

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Breeding males are brilliant blue above with a pumpkin colored breast and a white belly. They also have a white should patch. Non-breeding males and juveniles have a pumpkin colored breast, but their backs and heads are mottled blue and tan

  • Females: Warm grayish brown above, with a blue tinge to wings and tail, two buffy wingbars, and an unstreaked pale tan breast

Look for…

  • Perch upright and sing from exposed perches

Listen for…

Song: A high series of warbled phrases. Listen for the buzzy quality to the notes at the end of the song, which will help to distinguish it from the Yellow Warbler

Call: Sharp, metallic pik

Resources:

Yellow warbler

Bird Code: YEWA

Identify this bird by…

  • Small, evenly proportioned songbirds

  • Straight, thin, bill is relatively large

  • Both males and females flash yellow patches in the tail

  • Unmarked face that accentuates black eye

  • Yellow-green back

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Bright, egg-yolk yellow with reddish streaks on underparts

  • Females: Yellow overall with unstreaked yellow underparts

Look for…

  • Behavior - Look for them near the tops of tall shrubs and small trees. They forage restlessly, with quick hops along small branches and twigs to glean

Listen for…

Song: Song has a very sweet tone. It is a series of 6-10 whistled notes that accelerate over the course of the song and often end on a rising note. A mneumonic to help remember the rhythm and sweet tone is “sweet-sweet-I’m-so-sweet!

Call: a variety of short chip notes, some with a metallic sound and some with a lisping or buzzing quality.

Resources:

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