1 / 58

Passeriformes IV

Passeriformes IV. Emberizidae Icteridae Fringillidae Passeridae. Passeriformes: Passerine or perching birds. Field Marks: Range in size from tiny Bushtit to the Common Raven Feet anisodactyl and neither lobed, webbed, nor semipalmate

kiandra
Download Presentation

Passeriformes IV

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Passeriformes IV Emberizidae Icteridae Fringillidae Passeridae

  2. Passeriformes: Passerine or perching birds • Field Marks: • Range in size from tiny Bushtit to the Common Raven • Feet anisodactyl and neither lobed, webbed, nor semipalmate • Hallux usually incumbent and equal to or longer than rest of toes • Foot structure referred to as “perching foot,” unique to this group • Wings have either 9 or 10 primaries • Life History: • Includes insectivores, granivores, frugivores, carnivores, and omnivores • Young are altricial, naked and reared in the nest • Roughly 60% of all birds belong to this order, the world’s largest order of birds • Divided into two suborders: suboscines and oscines • Distribution: • Present everywhere, except Antarctica and the oceans

  3. Emberizidae: New World Sparrows • Field Marks: • Brown, streaked appearance • Rounded wings • Conical bills • Sex: Mostly monomorphic • Habitat: • Ranges from desert to grassland to mature coniferous forest • Life History: • Most eat insects in breeding season, and seeds at other times • Glean food from surface of ground or low vegetation • Most migrate short distances or are permanent residents • Many form large winter flocks • Belong to the large group of New World nine-primaried oscines • Among oldest on record: 13 yrs, 4 mos • Distribution: • 319 species in 72 genera, mostly in the Americas • 50 species in 18 genera in North America

  4. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette California TowheePipilo crissalis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Gray-brown overall with cinnamon undertail coverts • Long tail • Stout bill • Large size • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Chaparral, riparian woodlands • Life History: • Nonmigratory; occurs year round in CA • Relatively tolerant of urban and suburban areas • Conservation: • CA Endangered Species and Federal Threatened species – Inyo subspecies eremophilus only, an isolated population of fewer than 150 • Causes include habitat degradation from development, fire, grazing, non-native plants, and OHVs

  5. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette California TowheePipilo crissalis • Accelerating series of high teek notes, • often lower at end • teek teek teek eek eekeekeekeek t-t-t-t-teek.

  6. Male ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Male ©Photo by Bob Steele Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish-gray to black upperparts with white spots and streaks • Underparts white with rufous flanks • Long tail • Stout bill • Large size • Sex: • Sexes similar, but females tend to be paler, with more brown or gray than black plumage • Habitat: • Scrub and woodland habitats, associated with dense brush • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA; some populations migratory • Forage on the ground using a “double-scratch” maneuver

  7. Male ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Male ©Photo by Bob Steele Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus • Varies; several introductory notes • followed by a harsh or buzzy trill • Call a harsh, rising, whiny • zhree

  8. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Kent Keller Green-tailed TowheePipilo chlorurus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Olive-green upperparts with bright greenish-yellow wings and tail • Gray head and breast with contrasting rufous crown and white throat • Long tail • Stout bill • Large size • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Scrub and woodland habitats • Life History: • Short-distance neotropical migrant • Secretive, and poorly studied

  9. ©Photos by Bob Steele Black-throated SparrowAmphispiza bilineata • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Smooth grayish-brown back and pale underparts • Black, triangular throat patch • White supercilium and malar • Blackish tail with white tips on outermost rectrices • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Desert scrub • Life History: • Some subspecies migratory; primarily occurs in CA in breeding season, year round in extreme southeastern CA

  10. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Bob Steele Sage SparrowAmphispiza belli • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Grayish-brown upperparts with grayer head, darker tail • White underparts with a dark breast spot • Buffy-gray flanks with dusky streaks • White eye ring and supraloral spot • White malar stripe bordered by dark lateral throat stripe • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Chaparral, sagebrush shrub-steppe • Life History: • Some subspecies migratory; occurs year-round in CA • Tends to run on the ground from shrub to shrub • Conservation: • CA Species of Special Concern – Bell’s subspecies belli only • Federal Threatened Species – San Clemente subspecies clementeae only • Causes include loss of habitat due to livestock, fire, & fire suppression

  11. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brown streaked wings and back • Gray nape, rump, and unstreaked breast • Two pale wing bars • Brown to rufous crown, with pale supercilium and dark eye line • In alternate plumage, crown becomes brighter rufous with white supercilium and black eye line • Short, sharp-pointed, pinkish bill • Long, notched tail • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forests, especially near edges • Life History: • Neotropical migrant • May molt head feathers up to six times a year

  12. ©Photos by Bob Steele Black-chinned SparrowSpizella atrogularis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brown streaked wings and back • Gray head, rump, and unstreaked underparts • Short, sharp-pointed pinkish bill • Long, notched tail • Sex: • In alternate plumage, males have black lores, chin, and throat • Habitat: Chaparral, sagebrush shrub-steppe • Life History: • Neotropical migrant

  13. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Steve Messick Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Grayish-brown streaked upperparts and white streaked underparts • Whitish eye ring and malar, extending around cheek • Pale center of cheek patch with dark edges • Indistinct gray supercilium • White outer tail rectrices • Rufous lesser coverts (rarely visible) • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands • Life History: • Partially migratory; occurs in CA in winter • Named for its habit of singing into the evening (Vespers refer to evening prayers)

  14. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Bob Steele Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish or grayish streaked upperparts • Whitish underparts streaked with brown • Whitish median crown stripe and beige to yellow supercilium • Short, notched tail • Outer rectrices may be paler than rest, but not white • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands and marshes • Life History: • Most populations migratory; occurs year-round in CA • Conservation: • CA Endangered Species – Belding’s subspecies beldingi only • CA Species of Special Concern – Large-billed subspecies rostratus only • Causes include loss of wetland habitat

  15. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish gray streaked upperparts • Plain whitish underparts with bold central spot • Harlequin face pattern • Two pale wing bars • White outer rectrices • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • In courtship, males perform a turkey-like strutting, with tail upright, flashing white outer tail feathers

  16. ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Steve Messick Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Grayish-brown back with intricate pattern of rufous and black spots • Grayish streaked nape • Cream-buff unstreaked breast • White median crown-stripe, buffy face, and yellow supraloral spot • Short tail with very pointed rectrices • Large bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands • Life History: • Neotropical migrant • Named for its grasshopper-like song

  17. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brown to gray upperparts with slightly redder wings and tail • White underparts with large triangular spots • No wing bars • Usually yellow bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Riparian woodland, chaparral • Life History: • All populations migrate to varying degrees • Both breeding and wintering populations occur in different parts of CA • Much geographic variation in plumage • Some ornithologists propose splitting it into as many as four species

  18. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Bob Steele Song SparrowMelospiza melodia • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish gray streaked upperparts, with varying amounts of rufous • Coarse dark streaks on whitish underparts converge in central spot • Broad gray supercilium and brown lateral throat stripe • Long, rounded, brownish-gray tail • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Marshes, scrub, brushy woodlands • Life History: • Some populations migratory; occurs year-round in CA • One of the most diverse and widespread songbirds in North America • 24 diagnosable subspecies • Conservation: • CA Species of Special Concern – several subspecies: Suisun (maxillaris), Alameda (pusillula), and San Pablo (samuelis) • Causes include loss of tidal marsh habitat around SF Bay • San Clemente and Santa Barbara populations (graminea) extirpated due to loss of habitat by fire and introduction of hares

  19. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Bob Steele Song SparrowMelospiza melodia • Several sharp notes with one long trill • seet seet seet zeeeeeee tipo zeet zeet brrr • call a distinctive • jimp

  20. ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Jack Binch Lincoln’s SparrowMelospiza lincolnii • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish-gray, finely streaked upperparts • Buffy breast band with fine streaks • White abdomen • Broad gray supercilium and buffy malar • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Riparian woodlands, especially with dense brushy areas • Life History: • All populations migrate • Both breeding and wintering populations occur in different parts of CA • Secretive and poorly studied

  21. Female ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Male ©Photo by Steve Messick Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Plain, unstreaked gray to reddish-brown upperparts • Gray to black hood contrasting with white abdomen • Flanks reddish brown to gray • Pink bill • White outer rectrices • Sex: Females tend to have paler hoods and flanks • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Most populations migratory • Primarily occurs in CA in winter • Previously divided into 5 species, now 1 species with several “groups” • Conservation: • CA Species of Special Concern – Gray-headed subspecies caniceps • Little information, but small population size in southeastern CA

  22. Female ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Male ©Photo by Steve Messick Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis • Simple trill, not changing in pitch • call a high, hard, smacking • stip • Compare Orange-crowned Warbler

  23. Adult ©Photo by Steve Messick 1st Winter Adult ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish-gray streaked back with pale gray-brown rump and nape • Dingy grayish-brown, unstreaked underparts • Black and white crown stripes (brown and gray in young birds) • Pinkish, orange, to yellow bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands, scrub, brushy woodlands • Life History: • Most subspecies migratory, wintering in CA; some populations resident • May be the best studied songbird • Forms flocks in winter, sometimes mixing with Golden-crowned Sparrow

  24. Adult ©Photo by Steve Messick 1st Winter Adult ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys • Clear whistles followed by a series of • buzzes or trills on different pitches • seeee sitli-sitli te-te-zrrrrr • Call a sharp • pink

  25. Adult ©Photo by Bob Steele 1st Winter ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Golden-crowned SparrowZonotrichia atricapilla • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Emberizidae • Field Marks: • Brownish-gray streaked back with pale gray-brown rump and nape • Dingy grayish-brown, unstreaked underparts • Gold forecrown bordered by black (yellow and brown in young birds) • Gray and yellow bicolored bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Riparian woodlands • Life History: • Nearctic migrant • Forms flocks in winter, sometimes mixing with White-crowned Sparrow • Little known about its breeding biology

  26. Adult ©Photo by Bob Steele 1st Winter ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Golden-crowned SparrowZonotrichia atricapilla • Usually 3 clear, descending, mournful whistles: • “Oh dear me!”or “No gold here!” • Call a sharp • pink

  27. Icteridae: Blackbirds, Orioles, and Allies • Field Marks: • Most species entirely black with iridescence • Some with bright red or yellow markings • Strong, straight, pointed bill • Sex: Most are dimorphic • Habitat: Open areas, grasslands, marshes, and open forest • Life History: • Eat mostly insects in breeding season, fruits and grains otherwise • Some entirely insectivorous, and others eat nectar • Complex bill musculature for prying open the bill while probing in the ground (called gaping), similar to European Starling • Well adapted to human-altered habitats • North American species migratory • Belong to the large group of New World nine-primaried oscines • Among oldest on record: 20 yrs, 11 mos • Distribution: • 103 species in 24 genera, only in the Americas • 23 species in 8 genera in North America

  28. Female Male ©Photos by Bob Steele Hooded OrioleIcterus cucullatus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Two white wing bars, upper one broader • Long, graduated tail • Long, curved bill • Sex: • Male has brighter yellow plumage, black wings, tail and bib • Female has greenish-yellow plumage overalll, gray wings, no bib • Habitat: • Woodlands, associated with fan palms in southern CA • Life History: • Short distance neotropical migrant • Able to take nectar from tubular flowers by slitting corolla open

  29. Female Male ©Photos by Bob Steele Bullock’s OrioleIcterus bullocki • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Two white wing bars (or wing panel) • Relatively short, square tail • Straight bill • Sex: • Male has black back and wings, nape, crown, and throat, and black tail tips and central rectrices, with orange underparts • Female is greenish-yellow with pale gray abdomen, gray wings, and no black on head or tail • Habitat: Riparian and oak woodlands • Life History: • Neotropical migrant, with one resident population in southwestern CA • Hybridizes with Baltimore Oriole, and formerly considered 1 species

  30. Female Male ©Photos by Bob Steele Bullock’s OrioleIcterus bullocki • Whistled with short notes • and sharp pitch changes: • goo gidoo goo peeka peeka • calls a dry, husky chatter

  31. Male Female ©Photos by Ed Johnson Scott’s OrioleIcterus parisorum • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Tail moderate in length and graduation • Long, decurved, finely pointed bill • Sex: • Male has glossy black upperparts and bright yellow underparts and rump; tail black with yellow base; wings black with yellow lesser coverts • Female is greenish yellow with a streaked or mottled black back, head, and breast, gray wings, and white-tipped outer rectrices • Habitat: • Desert scrub, sagebrush shrub-steppe, associated with yuccas • Life History: • Neotropical migrant • Named for General Winfield Scott, a.k.a. “Old Fuss and Feathers”

  32. ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Upperparts a cryptic pattern of gray, buff, and black • Underparts bright yellow with a dark V on breast • Dark crown and eye line • Pale median crown stripe and supercilium • Short tail with white outer rectrices • In alternate plumage, crown pattern brighter, supercilium yellow in front of eye, and V on breast bolder and black • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Very similar looking to Eastern Meadowlark, but only rarely hybridize • The state bird of six states (KS, NE, ND, WY, MT, OR)

  33. ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta • Slow, whistled, descending warble, • ending in a gurgle • sleep loo lidi lidijuvi • call a low pluk or dull rattle

  34. Male Male ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Bob Steele Female Female Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Rounded wings • Moderately thick bill • Graduated, rounded tail • Sex: • Males dull black overall with red lesser coverts, and yellow or black median coverts • Females dark brown upperparts, and heavily streaked underparts, with pale supercilium • Habitat: Freshwater marshes and grasslands • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Polygynous, with up to 15 females nesting in one male’s territory • Forms huge, mixed-species flocks when not nesting, and can severely damage crops

  35. Male ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Bob Steele Female Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus • Several liquid introductory notes • followed by harsh gurgling trill: • kon-ka-reeeeee

  36. Male Female ©Photos by Bob Steele Tricolored BlackbirdAgelaius tricolor • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Pointed wings • Relatively longer, narrower bill • Sex: • Males glossy black overall with dark red lesser coverts, and white median coverts • Females very dark with grayish streaks and paler throat, and small reddish shoulder patch • Habitat: Freshwater marshes • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Nest in colonies, with males defending small territories, and up to 4 nesting females per territory • Conservation: • CA Species of Special Concern -- Population greatly reduced, and vulnerable to disturbance at nesting colonies

  37. Male Female ©Photos by Bob Steele Tricolored BlackbirdAgelaius tricolor • Harsh, nasal, descending: • oo-grreee drdodrp • Lower-pitched, more nasal, • and less musical than Red-winged Blackbird

  38. Female ©Photo by Steve Messick Male Yellow-headed BlackbirdXanthocephalus xanthocephalus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Dark brown or black upperparts, abdomen, wings, and tail • Yellow breast, throat, at least parts of face, and ringing cloaca • Sex: • Male has black body plumage with bright yellow head and breast, black lores, and white wing patch • Female has brown body plumage with yellow throat, breast, and supercilium • Habitat: • Freshwater wetlands in breeding season • Highly disturbed grasslands, such as plowed fields, in winter • Life History: • Migratory, but may occur year-round in different parts of CA • Forms huge flocks in winter of either adult males or adult females and young males, often mixing with other black bird flocks

  39. Male Female ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Brewer’s BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Plumage grayish brown to black overall • Violet iridescence on head, greenish iridescence on rest of plumage • Sex: • Males glossy black with strong iridescence and yellow to white eye • Females grayish brown with slight iridescence and usually a dark eye • Habitat: • Grasslands, preferring human-modified habitats, such as lawns, golf courses, and urban parks • Life History: • Partial migrant, but occurs year-round in CA • Prior to 1914, range did not extend beyond western MN, but began rapidly expanding eastward in response to forest clearing and conversion of land to agriculture

  40. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photos by Giuliano Gerra and Silvio Sommazzi Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Dark brown to black plumage overall • Very long, keel-shaped tail • Pale eye • Sex: • Males larger with purple-blue iridescence all over and very long tail • Females brown with some iridescence on upperparts, darker wings and tail, and paler throat and underparts • Habitat: • Open woodlands, grasslands, agricultural fields • Life History: • Partial migrant, but occurs year-round in CA • Range has extended northward in response to irrigation and planting trees in arid areas • Polygynous mating system; fewer male nestlings survive, and adult male survival may be lower, resulting in female-biased sex ratio

  41. Female Male ©Photos by Bob Steele Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Icteridae • Field Marks: • Brown to glossy black plumage • Short conical bill • Pointed wings • Sex: • Males have greenish glossy black plumage and dark brown head • Females gray brown overall with whitish throat and usually finely streaked breast • Habitat: Woodlands, especially near edges • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Brood parasites, laying eggs in other species’ nests, reducing host species’ ability to raise their own chicks • Originally limited to short-grass prairies where they followed buffalo herds, but range expanded with conversion of forests to agriculture, exposing species poorly adapted to defending against nest parasites

  42. Fringillidae: Finches and Allies • Field Marks: • Forked, relatively short tails • Generally short, conical bills, but a wide variety of shapes • Sex: Dimorphic • Habitat: • Forests, forest edges, shrublands (some desert and tundra species) • Life History: • Eat mainly seeds and buds plucked from trees and shrubs • Primarily arboreal, but desert and tundra species are terrestrial • Strong seasonal movements in many species, often irregular • Usually placed in or close to the large group of New World nine-primaried oscines, but are primarily Old World species and taxonomy is unclear • Among oldest on record: 17 yrs, 6 mos • Distribution: • 150 species in 32 genera, with greatest diversity in central Asia and Hawaiian islands • 17 species in 7 genera in North America

  43. ©Photo by Jerry Ligouri Gray-crowned Rosy-FinchLeucosticte tephrocotis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Dark brown overall with pinkish abdomen and wing coverts • Dark forecrown and gray hindcrown • Cheeks may be gray or brown • Bill is yellow in winter, and black in breeding season • Long, notched tail and long wings • Sex: • Females average less pink on abdomen and wing coverts, and less black in forecrown • Habitat: • Alpine meadows • Life History: • Some populations migratory, but occurs year-round in CA • Possibly the highest altitude breeding bird in North America • Difficult to study

  44. Male Male ©Photos by Steve Messick Female ©Photo by Shimpei Watanabe Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Greenish-yellow to brick red overall • Dark wings and short, deeply-notched tail • Mandibles curved and crossed at the tip • Sex: • Males typically brick red to reddish-yellow • Females typically olive to greenish-yellow • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Wanders nomadically in search of cone crops • Much morphological variation in bill shape – adaptations to cone types • Individual nomadic populations can be identified by flight calls, and may be reproductively isolated (in effect separate species) • Groups breed when an adequate cone crop is found

  45. Female ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Male ©Photo by Steve Messick Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Black wings with white or gray wing panel on secondaries • Short, slightly notched, black tail • Massive, pale greenish-yellow, conical bill • Sex: • Male has dark head with yellow supercilium, scapulars, rump and underparts • Female mostly grayish brown with white spots on upper tail coverts, white undertail coverts, and additional white patch at base of primaries • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Well known for irruptions in fall and winter in search of food, often in large flocks • Poorly studied, in part because highly secretive when nesting, and nests are placed high in trees

  46. Female Male ©Photo by Steve Messick House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Drab gray-brown overall with heavy blurry grayish streaking • Short bill with curved culmen • No pattern on head • Relatively long, slightly notched tail • Sex: • Males with reddish forehead, rump, and breast (sometimes yellow) • Habitat: Habitat generalist • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Native to western North America, but spread across the east from a small number released on Long Island in 1940 • Red pigment obtained from food, and females choose to mate with brightest red males

  47. Female Male ©Photo by Steve Messick House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus • Varied warble, beginning with • whistled notes and ending with • lower burry notes • call a soft • fillp or fiidlp

  48. Male ©Photo by Mike Danzenbaker Female ©Photo by Bob Steele Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Relatively large with short, notched tail • Culmen shallowly curved • Dark cheek patch bordered with paler supercilium and malar • Sex: • Males extensively red overall, especially head and back; lower abdomen and undertail coverts usually unmarked and white • Females brownish with bold brown and white head pattern and short dark streaks on underparts • Habitat: • Coniferous forests, oak and riparian woodlands • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Known for somewhat cyclical irruptions across parts of its winter range, probably related to cone crops

  49. Male ©Photo by Mike Danzenbaker Female ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Cassin’s FinchCarpodacus cassinii • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Large with short, notched tail • Long, pointed, mostly straight culmen • Weak face pattern • Sex: • Males with red pigmentation concentrated on cap, paler on back, breast, and flanks; undertail coverts and often flanks finely streaked • Females with clean white, finely streaked breast and flanks; less distinct face pattern • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Excellent mimics of other bird songs

  50. Female Male ©Photos by Bob Steele Lesser GoldfinchCarduelis psaltria • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Fringillidae • Field Marks: • Greenish upperparts with yellow underparts, including undertail • Short-tailed with short, rounded wings • Dark wing and underwing, with white at base of primaries • Stout, dark gray bill • Sex: • Males with black cap, larger white patch at base of primaries, and white patches on rectrices • Female has entirely black rectrices • Habitat: Oak and riparian woodlands • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Usually seen in flocks

More Related