Birds

1. Birds • Feathers – if it has feathers, it’s a bird • Feathers are really just modified scales • Birds are also known for their beaks (they lack teeth but have a beak), most fly, have hollow bones.

2. American Robin Turdusmigratorius -10-11 inches -likes to eat fruits and berries along with a variety of inverts including earthworms and insects -year round resident of the SMESL -female tends to be duller than the male

3. Northern Cardinal Cardinaliscardinalis -smaller than a robin -eats seeds, insects, fruits and berries -year round resident of the SMESL -sexual dimorphism as seen in the picture to the right (male is bright red)

4. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura -large bird -primarily eat carrion -summer resident of Kansas -females are slightly larger than males

5. Northern Mockingbird Mimuspolyglottos -about same size as a robin -eat insects, berries and seeds -found in SMESL year round except for winter -distinct white bars on wings seen while in flight -males tend to be slightly larger than females

6. American Goldfinch Carduelistristis -smaller than a robin -loves to eat seeds – especially thistle -year round SMESL resident, male plumage become dull (like female) outside of breeding season - male female

7. Mallard Anasplatyrhynchos -Omnivore, eats a wide variety of food -male is shown on the right, female on the left -can be found year round in the SMESL but most commonly seen in the Spring around the pond

8. Red Winged Blackbird Agelaiusphoeniceus -slightly smaller than a robin -omnivorous -besides the obvious sexual dimorphism, male is larger than the female -Can be found in the SMESL year round but most often found in the Spring around the pond

9. Black Capped Chickadee Poecileatricapillus -smaller than a robin -loves to eat insects and seeds -year round resident of the SMESL -males are slightly larger than females

10. Brown Thrasher Toxostomarufum -slightly bibber than a robin -eats insects, berries, seeds, earthworms, snails and even small lizards -summer resident of the SMESL

11. Red Tail Hawk Buteojamaicensis -likes to eat a variety of small mammals but will also eat birds, and reptiles -”gets” it’s red tail at age 2 when it reaches sexual maturity -visits the SMESL year round -males are smaller than females

12. Cooper’s Hawk -much smaller than the red tail hawk -likes to eat birds, especially song birds -visits the SMESL year round

13. Barred Owl Strixvaria -likes to eat small mammals xush as mice and voles but will eat a wide variety of vertebrates and even insects and slugs -visitor to the SMESL year round

14. American Crow Corvusbrachyrhynchos -omnivorous, eating a wide variety of food. They even will use tools to acquire food -larger than a robin -year round resident of the SMESL

15. Mourning Dove Zenaidamacroura -about the size of a robin -mostly eats seeds -found year round in the SMESL -wings make a whistling as they take to flight

16. Northern Flicker Colaptesauratus -about the same size as a robin -year round resident of the SMESL -as far as woodpeckers go it feeds on the ground very often – mostly eating insects (especially likes to eat ants) but will also eat fruits, berries, seeds and nuts -yellow shafted (most often found in the SMESL) and red shafted varieties occur in U.S.

17. Red Bellied Woodpecker -about the same size as a robin -eats large numbers of wood boring beetles as well as other insects. Also eats acorns, beechnuts and wild fruits -year round resident of the SMESL

18. Downy Woodpecker -smaller than a robin -resembles the less common and slightly larger Hairy Woodpecker -Year round resident of the SMESL

19. Turkey -easy bird to distinguish -not found in the SMESL from the at least the 1970’s-2000. We now have turkey sightings every year in the SMESL

20. Grackle -slightly larger than a robin -often passes through the SMESL in large, noisy groups in the fall and spring but individuals can be found year round