Week 8 Birds

Cordilleran Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Goshawk

Western Wood-Pewee

Bird Code: WEWP

Identify this bird by…

• Medium sized flycatcher

• Peaked crown gives their head a triangular shape

• Grayish brown overall with 2 pale wingbars

• Underparts are whitish with smudgy gray on the breast and sides (kind of looks like they’re wearing a vest)

Tell it apart by…

• Long wings

• Face is darkish gray with almost no eyering

• Bill is mostly dark with yellow at the base of the lower mandible

Look for…

• Behavior - Often perches upright in the canopy and repeatedly returns to the same nearby perch

Listen for…

Song: A raspy, downward “pee-wee” Sometimes the dawn song will have a few notes that lead up to the pewee phrase

Call: A burry bzew

Resources:

• All About Birds - Western Wood-Pewee

• More songs and calls

golden eagle

Bird Code: GOEA

Identify this bird by…

• One of the largest birds in North America

• Long wings

• Golden nape can be seen from some angles

• Strongly hooked bill

Tell it apart by…

•  Adults: dark brown with a golden sheen on the back of the head and neck

• Juveniles: For their first several years of life, young birds have neatly defined white patches at the base of the tail and in the wings

Look for…

• Behavior - Usually found alone or in pairs, Golden Eagles typically soar or glide with wings lifted into a slight “V” and the wingtip feathers spread like fingers

Listen for…

Call: You are much more likely to see one than hear it, but just in case: the call is high, weak, and whistled

Resources:

• All About Birds - Golden Eagle

• More songs and calls

peregrine falcon

Bird Code: PEFA

Identify this bird by…

• Largest falcon over most of the continent, with long, pointed wings and a long tail

• Blackish helmet with yellow eyering

• Underparts pale white with fine dark barring on flanks

• Bill is small and strongly hooked

• Males smaller than females

Tell it apart by…

• Adults are blue-gray above with barred underparts and a dark head with thick sideburns

• Juveniles are heavily marked, with vertical streaks instead of horizontal bars on the breast

Look for…

• Behavior - Peregrine Falcons catch medium-sized birds in the air with swift, spectacular dives, called stoops. In cities they are masterful at catching pigeons

Listen for…

Call: A loud series of harsh “kak, kak, kak.”

Resources:

• All About Birds - Peregrine Falcon

• More songs and calls

RED-TAILED HAWK

Bird Code: RTHA

Identify this bird by

• Can be tricky!

• Large hawks with very broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail

Tell apart from other hawks by…

• Light morphs: Rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly; on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist

• The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it’s brown and banded

• Dark morphs: Similar to light but…are chocolate-brown with a warm, red tail

Variation and regional differences…

• Extremely variable plumage - some is regional

• In western North America, we most often see light-morphs but dark-morphs can occur anywhere

• Eastern birds tend to be less streaky on underparts than western birds

Look for…

• Behavior - See them soaring in wide circles high over a field. When flapping, their wing beats are heavy

Listen for…

Calls: A screaming kee-eeeee-arr. It lasts 2-3 seconds and is usually given while soaring. During courtship, they also make a shrill chwirk

Resources:

• All About Birds - Red-tailed Hawk

• More songs and calls

Northern Goshawk

Bird Code: NOGO

Identify this bird by…

• Large with broad, rounded wings and long tails

• Females are larger than males

• Slaty gray cap and white eyebrow

Tell it apart by…

• Adults: Dark slate gray above with pale gray barred underparts. Dark head with a wide white stripe over the eye; the eye is orange to red

• Immature: Brown and streaky, with narrow dark bands in the tail. They have an indistinct pale eyebrow stripe and yellow eyes

Look for…

• Behavior - Stealthy predators that watch for prey on high perches and then attack with quick, agile flight, even through dense trees or cluttered understory

Listen for…

Call: A repeating “ki-ki-ki-ki” or a drawn-out and slower “kreey-a” call

Resources:

• All About Birds - Northern Goshawk

• More songs and calls