Bird Watching

Under Construction Raptors (Hawks, Falcons, Eagles, Owls) \| Perching Birds - Songbirds \| Shore birds \| Ducks & Geese \| Bird Orders (These categories are somewhat arbitrary. I couldn't find a good bird classification list.) Of the 27 orders of living birds, with over 9,000 species. 20 (including 75 families and 2,055 species * ) are found in North America. The largest order, Passeriformes (perching birds), includes 27 families with over 300 species. This page is inconsistent; In some cases, hawks, it lists species and in others, woodpeckers (family:Picidae) with at least 17 species of woodpecker plus several species of flicker and sapsucker, it only lists the 3 generic names. We've only listed about 125 of the more common names here. See: Bird Orders \| Birds of the World Raptors (Birds of Prey) Butos: (Genus: Buto) Broad wings and broad rounded tails; Often seen soaring in circles high in the air.
broad wing hawk	red tail hawk
Accipiters: (Genus: Accipiter) Short, Wide, Rounded wings; Long Tails: Flap, flap, flap-sail Flight.
Coopers Hawk	Sharp-shinned Hawk
Falcons: (Genus: Falco) Streamlined-Long pointed wings; Longish compressed tapered tails; Strong rowing wing beats; Lose some of their pointed wing & tapered tail look when not in direct flight.
Kestrel	Paregrine Falcon
Harriers and Ospreys: Sometimes included with Falcons, but they are a different Genus
osprey	Northern Harrier
Eagles and Vultures:
bald eagle	bald eagle
golden eagle
turkey vulture	black vulture
Other Raptors: Owls (Genus: Tyto, Athene, Otus, Bubo, Asio, ...) Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared owl, Short-Eared Owl, Barn Owl, Snowy Owl, Barred Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Hawk Owl, ... Kites See Also: Carolina Raptor Center - Raptor Species Silhouette Hawk ID Guide (pdf) at hmana.org (local copy) Hawk ID Chart (pdf) Links: Kites, Hawks, Eagles, and Allies, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Falcons Texas Raptor Photographic Identification Section Perching birds (Songbirds) Order: Passeriformes (I couldn't find a good list of songbirds, so some of these may belong in other categories.) Blackbird, Blue Bird, Blue Jay, Bushtits, Canaries, Cardinal, Chickadee, Crows, Finch, Flycatcher, Goldfinch, Grosbeak, House Finch, Hummingbirds , Juncos, Kingbirds, Kinglet, Larkes, Magpie, Martin, Mockingbirds, Oriole, Purple Finch, Ravin, Robin, Scrub Jays, Siskin, Sparrows, Stellar's Jay, Starlings, Swallow, Swift, Tanager, Thrushes, Titmouse, Towhees, Warbler, Waxwings, Wren Tree Climbing birds Creepers, Flicker, Nuthatch, Woodpecker, Sapsucker Gallinaceous Birds Grouse, Chicken, Chukar, Quail , Turkey , Partrige, Pheasant Pigeons and Doves Band-tailed pigeon, Passenger pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ground Dove, White-winged dove Wading birds - Water and Shore birds order: Charadriiformes Bitterns, Black Skimmer, Crane, Dunlin Red Knot, Egret, Gull, Ibis, Heron, Marsh Wren, Oyster Catcher, Pelican, Phalarope, Plover, Rail, Ruddy, Ruff, Turnstone, Sanderling , Sandpiper, Seagull, Stilt, Tern, Woodcock Diving Birds: Grebe, Loon, Murres, Puffin Shore birds: Avocet, Kildeer, Snipe, Curlew, Willet, Ducks & Geese like birds Canada Geese, Cormorant, Duck, Eider, Mallard Duck, Mandarin Duck, Merganser, Pintail Duck, Shoveler, Snow Geese, Swans, Teal, Wigeon, Wood Duck. World Geese Species at goose.org Others Cuckoos, Roadrunner Parrot Kingfisher Bird (Class: Aves) Orders in North America: Gaviiformes: loons Podicipediformes: grebes Procellariiformes: Tubenoses (albatross, fulmars,) Pelecaniformes: pelicans and allies Ciconiiformes: storks, herons and allies Phoenicopteriformes: flamingos Anseriformes: waterfowl Falconiformes: falcons, eagles, hawks, vultures and allies Galliformes: fowl (turkeys, grouse, quail, pheasant) Gruiformes: cranes and allies Charadriiformes: shorebirds, gulls, button-quails, plovers and allies Columbiformes: doves and pigeons Psittaciformes: parrots and allies Cuculiformes: cuckoos, roadrunners and turacos Strigiformes: owls Caprimulgiformes: nightjars, goatsuckers and allies Apodiformes: swifts and hummingbirds Trogoniformes: trogons Coraciiformes: kingfishers and allies Piciformes: woodpeckers and allies Passeriformes: passerines, perching birds, songbirds * There are 2,055 species on the 2008 The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Check-list of North American Birds. However the American Birding Association (ABA) 1998 list has 914 species; The 2007 Annual Report of the ABA lists additions to bring the total to 947 The differences between AOU and ABA are the area covered: ABA: Continental United States, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon, and adjacent waters to a distance of 200 miles from land. A.O.U. includes Mexico, Central America, Hawaii, Bahamas, Greenland, ... Books: Hawks in flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors, by Dunne, Sibley and Sutton "Birds of North America", Chandler S. Robbins, 1966 "Birds of America", T. Gilbert Pearson (editor), 1936 Links: Birds of America, by John James Audubon Listed by family at audubon.org Bird Orders \| Birds of the World The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Check-list of North American Birds The 914 wild bird species of North America (as of 1998) at the American Birding Association (ABA) ABA Recording Rules And Interpretations American Bird Guide \| Bird Watching and Birding Information Backyard Bird Identification Guide at birdWatchersDigest.com Bird feeders All About Birds - Bird Guide at Cornell Birds in the Tahoe-Donner Area Silhouette Hawk ID Guide at hmana.org Bird Species Index Ohio Birds: A Photo Collection Chimney Rock Hawk Watch Identifycation cards at compleatnaturalist.com Large Hawks and Falcons and Woodland Hawks at Fish & Wildlife in Alberta Canada last updated 15 Sep 2009