Feeds by hopping along tree trunks and branches often hanging upside down
Eats insects and sunflower seeds
Canada Goose Branta Canadensis
Identification Tips:
Length: 16-25 inches Wingspan: 50-68 inches
Sexes similar
Large long-necked goose
Black bill
Black head and neck
White throat patch extends up to cheek
Brown back, upper wing and flanks
Brownish-white breast and belly
White upper tail coverts contrast with black tail
White undertail coverts
Great size variation, with some northern subspecies duck-sized
Immature similar to adult
Eats water plants and grass seeds
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes Carolinus
Identification Tips:
Length: 8.5 inches
Medium-sized woodpecker
Pale gray face, throat, breast, and belly
Back strongly barred with black and white
Black wings barred and spotted with white
White bases to the primaries appear as white crescent in the hand in flight
White rump and upper tail coverts with sparse dark markings
Dark tail with black and white barring on the central retricies
Adult male:
Red cap extending from bill to nape
Adult female:
Red nape patch, gray crown, and red spot above bill
Downy Woodpecker Picoides Pubescens
Identification Tips:
Length: 5.75 inches
Very small black and white woodpecker
Very short bill
Mostly black head set off by broad white supercilium and lower border to auriculars
Black nape
White back
Black wings with white spotting on coverts and flight feathers
White under parts and black rump
Black tail with white outer tail feathers barred with black
Adult male:
Red spot at rear of head
Northern Mockingbird Mimus Polyglottos
Identification Tips:
Length: 9 inches
Slender bill
Gray head and upperparts
Yellow eye
White under parts
Long black tail with white outer tail feathers
White wing bars
White patch in wing, especially visible in flight
Black legs
Sexes similar
Juvenile has spotted breast
Most often found in scrubby habitats and in urban areas
Eats worms and berries
European Starling Sturnus Vulgaris
Identification Tips:
Length: 6 inches
Pointed bill-yellow for most of year, dark in fall
Black plumage with green and purple iridescence
White spots scattered about head and body-largest in fall
Dark wings and tail
Pointed wings
Short tail
Juvenile gray-brown with faint streaking below
Very common-frequently seen in large flocks
American Robin Turdus migratorius
Identification Tips:
Length: 8.5 inches
Black to dark gray head
Broken eye ring
Dull red breast and belly
White under tail coverts
Gray upperparts
Streaked throat
Thin yellow bill
Sexes similar-female somewhat paler
Winter plumage is somewhat paler than Summer plumage
Juveniles have spotted, whiter breasts
Common in residential areas where it often forages on lawns
Often sings very early in morning
Often found in large flocks outside of breeding season
Eats worms and insects
Carolina Wren Thryothorus Ludovicianus
Identification Tips:
Length: 4.75 inches
Long, thin, slightly decurved bill
Bold white supercilium
Rusty upperparts
White throat and buffy under parts
Wings and tail barred with black
Thin white wing bars
Long tail frequently held upright
Pink legs
Sexes similar
Usually very vocal and loud
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis
Identification Tips:
Length: 7.75 inches
Large, conical bill
Crest
Long tail
Adult male:
Bright red plumage, dullest on back and wings
Black around base of bill
Red bill
Adult female:
Reddish crest, wings and tail
Brownish-gray upperparts
Buffy underparts
Red bill
Juvenile like adult female but has dark bill and crest
Eats berries and sunflower seeds
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus Bicolor
Identification Tips:
Length: 4.5-5.5 inches
Short bill
Gray crest
Dark forehead
Pale gray upperparts
White under parts
Rusty flanks
Birds from central and southern Texas (formerly a separate species, Black-crested Titmouse) have black crests and pale foreheads
Sexes similar
Often found in small flocks
Eastern Bluebird Sialia Sialis
Identification Tips:
Length: 5.5 inches
Thin bill
Most often seen in open habitats: agricultural areas, wood edges, et al
Southwestern United States birds are paler
Adult male:
Bright blue upperparts
Orange-red throat, breast and sides
White belly and under tail coverts
Female:
Blue wings and tail-duller than male
Gray crown and back
White eye ring
Brownish throat, breast and sides
White belly and under tail coverts
Eats insects and berries
Blue Jay Cyanocitta Cristata
Identification Tips:
Length: 10 inches
Black sturdy bill
Blue crest and upperparts
Black eye line and breast band
Grayish-white throat and under parts
Bright blue wings with black bars and white patches
Long blue tail with black bars and white corners
Dark legs
Migrates during the day in small flocks
Eats insects, nuts, and sunflower seeds
Mourning Dove Zenaida Macroura
Identification Tips:
Length: 10.5 inches
Sexes similar
Medium-sized, somewhat slender dove with very thin neck
Black bill
Adult: Pale buff-brown head, neck, breast, and belly
Purple and green iridescence on neck
Small black mark on lower neck
Medium brown back and upper wings, with large black spots on coverts and long tail pointed at tip
Dark brown tail with white tips to outer four tail feathers
Juvenile: Dark brown mottled head neck and breast
Scaly neck and upper wings with numerous black spots on coverts and scapulars
Pale belly
Medium length tail is pointed at tip
Eats corn and millet seeds
Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo Jamaicensis
Identification Tips:
Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 48 inches
Sexes similar - Short, dark, hooked beak
Large, broad-winged, broad-tailed hawk
Dark patagial mark on under wing, present on all ages and races, is unique
Blocky translucent area in outer primaries
Flies with a dihedral
Adult: Brown head, nape, back, and upper wings
White chin, throat, breast, and belly
Dark belly band formed by vertical streaks in band across belly
White under wings have dark carpal bar on leading edge, dark outer primary tips and a dark trailing edge and are otherwise pale with dark bars on the flight feathers on all but the outermost primaries
Tail appears brick red above and pink below
Breast and back pattern vary with geography, with some birds being intermediate between light and dark morphs
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Archilochus Colubris
Identification Tips:
Length: 3 inches
Long, straight, thin bill
Small hummingbird
Bright green back and crown
White under parts with greenish flanks
Adult male:
Iridescent scarlet gorget
Black face and chin
Entirely dark forked tail
Female/Immature:
White chin and throat with variable amounts of thin dark streaking
Dark, shallowly-forked tail with white tips on outer tail feathers
House Finch Carpodacus Mexicanus
Identification Tips:
Length: 5.25 inches
Conical bill
Long tail
Distinctive call note often given in flight
Male:
Red forehead, supercilium, breast and rump
Streaked belly and under tail coverts
Brown wings and tail
Immature male resembles female
Female:
Plainer face than Purple and Cassin's Finch
Heavily streaked under parts
Brown upperparts
American Goldfinch Carduelis Tristis
Identification Tips:
Length: 4.25 inches
Small, seed-eating bird
Short, conical bill
Short, forked tail
Male alternate:
Plumage held in Spring and Summer
Black forehead
Yellow head, back, breast and belly
Black wings and tail
White wing bars and tertial edges
White rump and under tail coverts
Pale bill and legs
Female alternate:
Greenish upperparts
Yellow under parts
Pale bill and legs
Great Blue Heron Ardea Herodias
Identification Tips:
Length: 38 inches Wingspan: 70 inches
Sexes similar
Huge long-legged long-necked wader
Usually holds neck in an "S" curve at rest and in flight
Long, thick, yellow bill
Adult:
White crown and face
Black plume extending from above and behind eye to beyond back of head
Brownish-buff neck with black-bordered white stripe down center of foreneck
Blue-gray back, wings and belly
Black shoulder
Shaggy neck and back plumes in alternate plumage
Carolina Chickadee Poecile Carolinensis
Identification Tips:
Length: 4.25 inches
Short bill
Black crown and throat
White face
Pale gray upperparts
Gray edges to wing coverts
Grayish-white under parts
Rusty flanks
Sexes similar
Often found in small flocks
Eats insects and sunflower seeds
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Identification Tips:
Length: 15-16 inches Wingspan: 36 inches
Large dabbling duck
Most males have blue speculum with white bar
Silvery-white wing linings
Juvenile similar to adult female
Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer
Gray back
Yellow bill
Green head
White ring around neck
Chestnut breast
Gray flanks and upper wing coverts
Black under tail coverts contrast with white tail
Female have orange bill with black central patch, and
mottled brown and tan plumage
