Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

 
                                                                    (Photos by BarrytheBirder)

The Northern Shrike summers in the far north, in spruces or thickets on the edge of the tundra, while it winters on farmland and open countryside farther south as far as the northern United States.   The southern range limit and numbers on the wintering grounds very unpredictably from year to year.   It breeds from Alaska east to Labrador, 

The adult Northern Shrike is like the Loggerhead Shrike but larger, with its narrower mask quite reduced in front of its eye and does not extend above the eye.   It has faint grey barring on underparts and the base of of its lower mandible is often paler. Its bill is long with a distinct hook.

This bird's song is unexpectedly musical, and can include imitations of other birds.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

How many warbler species in Canada and the U.S.A.?

                                                                         Canada Warbler

                                                                   (Photos by BarrytheBirder)

There are approximately 50 to 56 species of wood-warblers (family Parulidae) that regularly inhabit or breed in Canada and the United States.   While there are over 115 species of warblers in the Americas, the smaller estimated numbers represent those that regularly  migrate to or reside in North America during the breeding season.

                                                            Yellow Warbler

                                                                            Wilson's Warbler

                                                       Orange-crowned Warbler

                                                              Tennessee Warbler

                                                           Common Yellowthroat

A more dashing bird you won't find

than the Warbler, the Yellow-rumped kind

He's so lively and quick

He could pass for St. Nick

If it weren't for his buttery behind.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Top 10 'Feederwatch' birds in Canada...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Black-capped Chickadee

The top 10 'Feederwatch' birds in Canada, by percentage of sections,  in December 2024 / January2025 season were...

Last winter, the only bird species that showed up at Feederwatch sites in every region across Canada was the Black-capped Chickadee (at 91% of stations).

Dark-eyed Junco - 84%

Downy Woodpecker 81%

Northern Cardinal - 73%

Blue Jay - 73%

American Goldfinch - 64%

White-breasted Nuthatch - 63%

Mourning Dove - 57%

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 55%

Hairy Woodpecker - 54%

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

     Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Mute Swan is an Old World species introduced and breeding along the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts to Virginia and the Great Lakes Region.  The Audubon Handbook of Eastern Birds states that the Mute Swan is: "A very large, long-necked swan of freshwater or brackish areas; easily recognized by its 'sailing' posture on water".   It goes on to say: "now commonly seen in ponds of public parks and gardens as well as in the wild...can be aggressive, especially in defence of its nest". 

Mute Swans have a prominent black knob at base of orange bill.   They hold their necks in a graceful S-curve, with bill pointed down.   They also often swim with wings arched over their back.   

The Mute Swan's voice is usually silent, while occasionally grunting or hissing, while its wingbeats are noisy in flight.

                                                                      

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

Photo: British Wildlife Federation

Barnacle Geese nest in Greenland and winter in Europe, but they may very rarely stray to northeastern North America.   However most seen on the North America continent are likely aviary escapees and these are likely to associate with wild Canada Geese or other waterfowl.

The Barnacle Goose is the 4th largest wild goose in Canada after the Canada Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose and the Bean Goose.

Barnacle Geese have a very distinctive white pattern face and stubby bill.

Please comment if you will.

BarrytheBirder 

How many woodpecker species in the world?

 
Photo - Ttomasz Cofta

The woodpecker pictured above is the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.   Its existence in the natural world is now extremely questionable.  Last thought to have been seen in Cuba in the 1980s.

1. Woodpecker species in North America - 22 to 23 ... depending on existence  of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (pictured above).

2. Woodpecker species in South America - estimates of 70 to over 80.

3. Woodpecker species in the world - 200 to 250 (roughly)

Woodpeckers inhabit most continents, but are not found in Australia, New guinea or New Zealand.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

                                                                          Photos by Barry Wallace

The Downy Woodpecker (L 6 1/4" -17 cm.) is the smallest of the 16 woodpeckers found in North America (the number of 16 woodpeckers includes what may be the possibly extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, which would be the largest of North America's woodpeckers at (L 19 1/2' or 50 cm!)  .   It is found to be abundant and widespread across the southern half of Canada and most of the U.S.A.   It is found everywhere there are trees (except in the dry southwest of the U.S), even suburbs and city parks.   They are generally somewhat unwary. 

They have a white back, striped face, and very short bill.   The male has a red nape spot.

They forage on dried weed stalks and tree trunks, and come to feeders for suet.  Ornithologist Kenn Kaufman says the Downy: "Drums with bill on resounding dead branches like other woodpeckers".

Northern birds move south in winter. 

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis)

 

Photo: Henry E. Hooper

This large woodpecker (10 3/4" / 27 cm.) is one of 18 woodpeckers (including 4 sapsucker species) in North America.   It is the 2nd largest woodpecker on the continent.

It is quite different in appearance than other North American woodpeckers because of its overall green colouring.   Its head and back and wings are greenish-black, with grey collar and breast, a dark red face and pinkish belly.

My National Geographic Field Guide (2nd edition) says this about the Lewis's: "In flight, its darkness, large size, and slow, steady wingbeats give it a crow-like appearance".  

It inhabits the western side of North America and is common in open woodlands of interior foothills and valleys, less common on coast.   It sometimes forms large flocks in fall and winter.

Its main food is insects, mostly caught in the air; but also eats fruit, acorns and other nuts.   It stores acorns, which it first shells, in tree bark crevices.

The Lewis's woodpecker is generally silent.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Clark's Nutcrcker (Nucifraga columbiana)

Wikipedia photos

Clark's Nutcracker, a.k.a. Clark's Crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to the mountains of western North America. 

The 'Nutcracker' is an omnivore, buts subsists mainly on pine nuts, burying thousands of seeds in the ground in summer and then incredibly retrieving them in the winter by memory.

This bird was described by the Lewis & Clark Exhibition, with William Clark first seeing it in 1805 along the banks of Oregon's Salmon River, a tributary of the  Columbia River.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Trumpeter Swans - Vancouver Island

Photos by Dave Kemp

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)

                                                                             Photo by Ina Rodina

This photo of nor just one, but two, Harlequin Ducks was taken recently on the Toronto waterfront of Lake Ontario.

Harlequin Ducks are small ducks with rounded heads and stubby bills found on rocky coasts and shorelines, and inland along swift streams when nesting.   They are found along both eastern and western coasts in Canada.   They are rare south to the Carolinas and in the Great Lakes...casual in the interior.

The Harlequin is mostly silent, except during the breeding season.   It makes various squeaks and whistles and according to ornithologist Kenn Kaufman is sometimes called the"sea mouse". 

Please comment if you wish. 

BarrytheBirder                            

Killdear (Charadrius vociferus)

      Photos BarrytheBirder

The Killdeer is a plover that ranges from Alaska, across mid-to-lower Canada, the U.S.A. and upper Mexico.      Technically a "shorebird", it is common in grassy fields and on shores.   They nest on open ground, usually on gravel, even on flat rooftops. 

  

They may form loose flocks and linger into early winter in their summer range.   Killdeers winter throughout the southern United States and north along coasts to British Columbia and New Jersey.

They forage day or night.

They are vociferous.   Kenn Kaufman says are "...very vocal, calling at any disturbance" with a "clear plaintive kil-deeah and dee-dee-dee".

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are found in lower southern Ontario and in the eastern United States.   They are noisy and fairly aggressive and frequent open deciduous woodlands, suburbs and parks.  They regularly come to feeders, particularly suet.

They are rare in Maine and the Maritimes, but their breeding range appears to be extending northward.   Northern birds move south in the winter.

'Red-bellies" have black-and-white barred backs, white upper-tail covers and barred central tail feathers.   The crowns and napes are red in males.   Females  have red nape only, with a small reddish patch or tinge on belly, usually difficult to see (notes photos above).  

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Further to yesterday's blog about world's most common birds...

 
Photos by BarrytheBirder

The most-common wild bird in Canada and the United States is generally considered to be the American Robin, with population estimates of around 300-370 million, found across both countries and known for their adaptable nature in urban locales and forests.   The European Starling and House Sparrow are also very abundant and other highly numerous species include Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds and Dark-eyed Juncos.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Most common wildbird species in the world...

                                                                              Photo: Modomolle

Red-billed Quelea

Apart from the domestic chicken, the most common bird species in the world is the sparrow-like Red-billed Quelea, found in sub-Sahara Africa right down to the bottom of South Africa.   

There are estimated 1.5 billion Red-billed Queleas on planet Earth.

Perhaps, surprisingly, the Mourning Dove is the third most populous bird species in the world at 475 million birds.

The Red-billed Quelea does not appear to be threatened.   Nor does the Mourning Dove, for that matter.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Females (above and below)

The browned-headed Cowbird is a relatively small (7 1/2") black bird with rounded proportions and a small conical bill.   Its bill shape and and squared tail distinguish it from blackbirds.

The Audubon Handbook of Eastern Birds says: "Often flocks with blackbirds and starlings in residential areas.   in mixed-species flocks on the ground, note habit of sticking its tail straight up when feeding".

They are found across lower Canada, the U.S. and upper Mexico and inhabit woodlands, suburbs and farmlands.

All cowbirds lay eggs in nests of other species!

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Rerest birds in the world

                                                                   Photos from CHAT GPT

Spix's Maca

Kakapo

                                                                     Madagascar Pochard

According to CHAT GPT, the rarest birds in the world include several species with critically low populations.   The Spix's Macaw is extinct in the wild with only captive populations remaining.   Other extremely rare species include the Kakapo of New Zealand with about 250 individuals, and the Madagascar Pochard with fewer than 100 individuals in the wild.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Merlin (Falco Columbarius)

 
Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Merlin is a small (12") low-flying falcon that feeds primarily on small birds (up to the size of flickers).   It swiftly overtakes prey, catching birds in flight and rarely stoops.

It breeds from Alaska across Canada to the northern United States, usually near open country.   It is rarely found in several southernly eastern states in the U.S.  It winters from southern parts of its breeding range down to South America.

Its tail is prominently banded and its facial pattern is less distinct than that of most falcons.   Its plumage varies geographically and can vary from blue-gray, to brown and buff.

The Merlin's voice is mostly silent, except from its nest site.

Overall, this falcon is generally uncommon (one of the reason I have only one picture of this bird) and is seen usually as scattered singles, but occasionally seen in fair numbers, as along coastlines in migration.

Please comment if you wish.

   Barry the Birder 

Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

     Photos by Cornell Lab All About Birds

Ruffed Grouse males and females are difficult to tell apart

Male Ruffed Grouse in courtship display

The Ruffed Grouse is one of five grouse found in Canada and the U.S.A.  The Ruffed Grouse and the Spruce Grouse (see Jan.25th blog) are both found across Canada and the upper U.S.A., whereas the Blue Grouse, the Greater Sage Grouse and the Sharp-tailed Grouse are more western and central North American species.

The Ruffed Grouse is rather common in mixed and deciduous woods.   They are usually seen on the ground, but also perch high in trees. 

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America says there are two colour morphs, red and gray, and are most apparent by tail colour.   Red morphs predominate in the Appalachian  region, gray morphs in the north.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Photos by Barry Wallace 

Ornithologist Kenn Kaufman in his 'Birds of North America' says Eastern Kingbirds are "Common in summer in open country, forest edges, farms, orchards and roadsides, and perching on fences or treetops.   Conspicuous for its bold behaviour, attacking and chasing crows, hawks or other large birds that come too near the kingbird's nest".

Eastern Kingbirds are a large (8 1/2"), distinctive and rather handsome flycatcher.  They have a black head and gray back. They are white below below, with a gray wash across the breast.   They have a broad white band at the tip of tail which is diagnostic.

A narrow strip of red-orange feathers on the crown is usually hidden.

These birds are found across southern Canada and throughout the central and eastern United States.   They winter in South America.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder