Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

                                                                   Photo: Animal Alliance of Canada

Photo above and below by BarrytheBirder

The Double-crested Cormorant is a very widespread bird found in both marine (Canada and the U.S.) and freshwater habitats.   It is the only cormorant regularly seen in interior wetlands and other inland areas.   It is a excellent swimmer and diver and feeds chiefly on fish.    It'd kinked snakey-neck easily distinguishes it from other cormorants. 

Double-crested Cormorant numbers have greatly increased since the 1970s.

Many observers feel they are destructive to trees near water (seen two photos above).   Breeding populations in the North-American interior are local and irregular but increasing.

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BarrytheBirder

 

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

This flycatcher is common in summer perching in fences or treetops in open country, forest edges, farms and roadsides.   It is very conspicuous for its bold behaviour in chasing away other birds such as crows or hawks, that get to close its nest.

It is found in western and south-central Canada, plus all of the American states, except for four or five southwest states.

They pursue flying insects and also feed on wild berries, which they can deftly pluck while airborne.

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BarrytheBirder

Black-capped Ckickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

 
Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Black-capped Chickadee is common coast-to-coast in lower Canada and Upper U.S.A. (including Alaska).   They are common in deciduous and mixed forests, open woodlands, suburbs, and clearings.   They usually forage in small roving flocks in low branches of trees, thickets, and at backyard feeders (where they look for sunflower seeds and suet).

My Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds says Chickadees "...form the nucleus of mixed flocks of woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers and kinglets that move through the winter woods".   

Audubon further states: "Occasionally they move south in very large numbers.   In spring chickadees disband  and move into the woods to nest.  They often feed upside down clinging to the underside of twigs and branches in their search for insect eggs and larvae.   They are easily tamed and they soon learn to feed from the hand."

The Blackcap's call is low, slow chick-a-dee-dee-dee and its typical song a clear, whistled fee-bee or fee-bee-ee.

They are small, very active and a favourite of feeder-watchers.

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BarrytheBirder

Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

 

                                                                                             Photos by BarrytheBirder

This species, named after the red robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, is found in southern Canada, the eastern U.S.A. and north-eastern Mexico   They are aggressive birds and occupy their territories throughout the year.  They are accomplished songsters and may heard at any time year around.

Seeds for the main part of their diet, although insects are frequently taken in the breeding season.   As many birders know, these red eye-catchers frequent bird feeders in the wintertime, to east sunflower and other seeds.

Their normal habitats are woodland edges, thickets, brushy swamps and residential backyards and gardens.   They are one of Canada's and America's favourite backyard birds.   Their song is a series of bright, clear whistles.

They are noted for their overall red colour and conspicuous crests.

Female

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BarrytheBirder

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

                                                                                                   All photos by BarrytheBirder

Jays are thought to be among the most intelligent of birds.   Bright and flashy, the Blue Jay is common in woods, parks, and yards throughout eastern North America.

According to Kenn Kaufman in his Birds of North America, "they are often noisy, but can slip quietly through treetops".   Kaufman goes on to say "Most are permanent residents, but some move south in fall, and big flocks may pass some points on coasts or lakeshores".

My observations are that they are voracious at feeders.

They are generally very noisy and bold, with the most common of their varied calls a piercing 'JAY, JAY, JAY'.   They also have a musical 'weedle-eedle' sound.

They have an intense dislike of predators and their loud screaming makes it easy to locate a nearby hawk or owl.

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BarrytheBirder

National bird species - items of note

                                                                                              Photo by BarrytheBirder

 Bald Eagle - national bird of the U.S.A.

The most widely cited number of countries in the world is 195, and approximately 114 to 120 countries have designated a national bird, whether officially or not.

Several countries share national birds such as the Andean Condor in Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and Ecuador; the Golden Eagle in Armenia, Egypt and Scotland; and the White Stork in Germany and Lithuania.

National birds in many countries are generally protected by law, though the extent of protection varies.   In addition to general bird protection, specific laws like the ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT provide a higher level of protection for birds that are at risk of extinction.

There is no rarest national bird, but several national birds are extremely rare, with the Kakapoo (New Zealand), New Caledonian Owlet-Nightjar (New Caledonia) and the Rufous-headed Hornbill (Philippines) considered among the most endangered.

What is the most common or populous 'national' bird in the world?   There isn't a single most populous 'national' bird in the world.   The domestic chicken is the most populous bird in the world with billions kept for food... but not as a national bird.   The most 'wild' bird is the Red-billed Quelea, with a population of about 1.5 billion!

Can national birds be bought and sold?   No, national birds and most wild-caught birds cannot be legally bought or sold internationally, or within countries thanks to regulations like CITES, which restricts or bans trade in endangered species.

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BarrytheBirder

Bald Eagle (Haliaeeyus leucocephalus)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Bald Eagle photos shown here were taken at Cold Creek Conservation Area in southern Ontario, several kilometres north of Toronto.   The photo below shows me and the Bald Eagle having a close-up conversation about the big bird's wingspan.

Photo by Judy Craig

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BarrytheBirder

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Simply out, Downey Woodpeckers are common almost everywhere there are trees, in Canada and the U.S.A., even in city parks and suburbs and orchards.   They are familiar visitors to feeders.

The white back identifies both the Downy and the similar Hairy Woodpecker but the Downey is smaller, with a smaller bill.   The Downey's outer tail feathers usually have faint spots or dark bars.   Both the Downey and the Hairy have a smallish red patch on the back of their heads. 

The photo above shows how small the Downey Woodpecker is  compared to an American Goldfinch.   The Downey Woodpecker is 6" long, whereas the larger Hairy Woodpecker is 9" long.

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BarrytheBirder

Canada - 62nd in the world for number of bird species...

Canada Jay - Photo: Vitalii Khustochka / Macauley Library

As of late 2023, Canada ranked 62nd in the world for the number of bird species. 

For comparison...

* COLUMBIA holds the top rank, with over 1,900 species.

* The UNITED STATES ranks 16th, with 1,036 species.

Canada's lower ranking is largely due to its northern, colder climate.   In contrast, countries with the highest bird species diversity are located in the neotropical realm, which includes Central and South America.   For further comparison, Russia has approximately 732 to 810 species, while Australia has approximately 850 to 900 species.

Canada's national bird is yet to be declared.   The Canada Jay, also known as the Gray Jay or Whisky Jack, was formally declared in 2025 by Canada Geographic, but awaits a Canada Senate bill to be officially recognized.

Bird species by Canadian provinces and territories are:

1. Ontario                               - 511

2. British Columbia               - 488 to 520

3. Nova Scotia                       - 478

4. Quebec                               - 471

5. New Brunswick                 - 442 

6. Alberta                               - 424 to 433

7. Newfoundland                   - 427

8. Prince Edward Island       - 363

9. Yukon                                 - 348

0. Manitoba                            - 308

11. North West Territories    - 301

12. Saskatchewan                 - 300

13. Nunavut                           - 298

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Photo by Vitalii Khustochka / Macauley Library

The Canada Jay 

Photo by Jay McGowan / Macauley Library

In 2018, the American Ornithological Society voted to change the common name of the Gray Jay, to the Canada Jay.   The year before, in 2015, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society had launched a National Bird Project  to select a national bird for Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.   Tens of thousands of Canadians voted online with Canada Jay (Gray Jay) being chosen as the top finalist.

10 years later, in 2025, a Canada Senate bill (Bill S-221) was introduced to formally recognize the Canada Jay as the national bill of Canada, and is now at consideration in committee in the Canada Senate.   Passage of the Bill S-221 is being eagerly awaited by many Canadians, no doubt including many birders.

The Canada Jay is found in every province (10) and all territories (3) in Canada.   It is also found in parts of 14 American States, including Alaska,  lower north-western states and 5 north-east states.

The Canada Jay is normally found in coniferous forests.   This bird is well-known to anyone who has spent time in northern woods, for it is very tame and persistently enters campsites to take food; hence one of its many nicknames is 'Camp Robber".   For several years when I was canoeing in south-central Ontario's legendary Algonquin Park, I regularly had Gray Jays follow my passage along, mile after mile, of rivers and lakes.

My Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds states that "because of the Canada Jay's confiding nature, and general colouration they have often been described as giant chickadees!"

Meanwhile, I and many other Canadian birders await Canadian Senate deliberations and decision on the Canada Jay.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

How many bird species in the world?

"American" Green-winged teal - Photo by Matt Misewicz / Macauley Libray

Eurasian Green-winged Teal - Photo by Guido Bennen / Macauley Library

2 Teals - 1 species or 2 species?

How many bird species are there in the world?   Clements Checklist of Birds currently lists 11,017, whereas the HBW/Birdlife International checklist has 11,524 species.  Some predictions say there could be 18,000 to 20,000 species.

Getting a completely accurate count is tricky, as seen by the Green Teal comparison above.   There are many examples such as this,  but anomalies like this aside, bird species counters press on.

World-famous Phoebe Snetzinger, who died on November 23, 1998, was the first person to list more than 8,000 species.   Her final total was 8,398 species.

The current world record is 10,000 species, which Peter Kaester set on Feb. 8, 2004.

Most bird species seen in one year?   6,852 species by Arjan Dwarshuis of the Netherlands, in 2016.

BarrytheBirder's personal bird species list?   417 species.   At 83 years of age, I don't expect this total to grow significantly.   But I'll keep looking.

You may notice that the number of bird species listed for me at the top of this blogsite is 425 species.   I just added up my bird species list in my Monroe & Sibley World Checklist of Birds and discovered my total is apparently 417 species.   Somewhere along the way I lost 8 species!   As mentioned above, I will keep looking however. 

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder 

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedorum)

 
                                                                                                  Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Cedar Waxwing is found across lower Canada, throughout the U.S.A. and Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean.

Waxwings have sleek crests, silky plumage and yellow-tipped tails.   The Cedar Waxwing is a small brown bird with a pale yellow belly and white under-tail coverts.

Cedar Waxwings breed from British Columbia to Cape Breton Island in Canada, south to Georgia, Arkansas, and California.   They winter from New England and British Columbia to Panama and the Greater Antilles.

The Audubon Society Field Guide states that Cedar Waxwings are social that "have the amusing habit of passing berries or even apple blossoms from bird to the next down a long row sitting on a branch, until one bird eats the food".

Kenn Kaufman's Birds of North America says that Cedar Waxwings "may be present by the hundreds one month, absent the next, as their flocks rove about in search of wild berries.   Their flocks break up into pairs for nesting in midsummer, but otherwise they are almost always in flocks".

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BarrytheBirder

Great Egret spotted at 'Ivy Jay Farm' wetlands in Aurora...

                                                                                                        Photos by Barry Wallace

A Great Egret has been seen at Ivy Jay Farm Woodland and Wetlands, at the foot of Roth Street in north-east Aurora recently.   This bird will no doubt be heading south shortly to its winter grounds in the Caribbean and South America.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

I suspect that I have probably seen, or am about to see, my last Swainson's Hawk of this year.   I saw my first ever Swainson's in 2024 and then saw one, with a mate, in the spring of this year, which were quickly followed by four more Swainson's that undoubtedly were offspring of the previous two.   This is a North American species, normally found in the U.S. midwest, that usually heads south in the fall and winters in southern North America, especially to South America.   A few even winter in Florida.

Swainson's Hawks are rare but regular fall and spring visitors to Eastern North America.   There are many sight, specimen, or banding records from almost all American states.

I look forward to welcoming back this marvelous hawk, in the skies of Aurora, Ontario, next year.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Yellow-rumped Warblers are the most abundant warbler species in Canada. They have a bright yellow rump patch, white spots in  their tail, and a small yellow patch at the side of their its chests.

It migrates earlier spring and later in fall than other warblers.   It is found from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland and in the U.S. in the eastern half of the country, on the west coast but seldom in the mid-west or central Texas.   It can be very numerous in the fall, especially along the coasts.

Its habitat is coniferous and mixed forest and is widespread during migration and winter.  It stays through winter in milder climates, surviving cold snaps when insects are scarce by eating berries.

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Barry the Birder

Yellow Warbler (Dendrica petechia)

                                                                               Photo by Sharon H.

The Yellow Warbler is widespread across Canada and the U.S.A.   It is yellow overall, plump, with very distinctive reddish streaks on the chest of the male.

It favours wet habitats, especially willows and alders, open woodlands and orchards.

It is very common in its summer range and and winters mostly in the tropics.

The Audubon Society Field Guide states that in temperate North America the Yellow Warbler is one of the principal victims of of the Cowbird, which lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.   The Yellow Warbler often responds to the unwanted egg by burying it, along with some of its own eggs, under a new nest lining.   Occasionally, a nest is found with up to six layers, each containing one or more Cowbird eggs.

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BarrytheBirder

Tennessee Warbler (Vermimvora peregrina)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

The Audubon Society Field Guide says this warbler was discovered in 1811 by noted ornithologist Alexander Wilson, who first saw it in Tennessee.

It is found across southern Canada from the Yukon to Labrador, British Columbia to southern Ontario, Maine and Wisconsin.   They winter in Mexico to northern South America.

They live in open mixed woodlands and bogs in the breeding season and in trees and bushes during migration.   They only visit Tennessee during the migration season.

They are rather plain, green above, yellow breast and white below, but have a noticeable bold white eyebrow and dark eye line.

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BarrytheBirder

Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)

Orange-crowned Warbler

The Orange-crowned Warbler is found across lower Canada (except for lower Ontario) and from Alaska south to Texas and northern Mexico along the Gulf Coast.   In most of the eastern U.S.A. and southern Ontario it is a rather rare migrant. 

Despite its common name, its 'orange crown' rarely shows.   It is a rather  plain olive-green with vague streaking and a yellow tinge on its breast.   It has no wing bars or eyebrows.   Its voice is a sweet, high trill.

Its normal habitat is brushy woodlands and thickets, but will occasionally forage in treetops. Its nest is usually concealed on the ground under a bush or in a low thicket close to the ground. It generally feeds on low branches and often in dead leaf clumps.

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BarrytheBirder

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

The American Redstart warbler is an active and attractive bird that flits about showing patches of colour on its half-spreading wings and tail.   It is common in eastern forest edges and second growth woodlands.

The adult male is primarily black with red-orange patches on its wings, tail and sides.   Females are gray above and white below, but wings and tail patches are yellow.

It breeds from southeastern Alaska, across lower Canada, to Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Colorado and northern California.   Its primary habitat is second-growth woodlands and thickets with saplings.

Its voice is a 5 or 6 high-pitched note or 2-note phrase: "chewy-chewy-chewy, chew-chew-chew".

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BarrytheBirder

Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Olive above; yellow below, with yellow lores. Male has a distinctive black cap. The female may also have a black cap but it is sometimes absent.   Usually readily identified by its overall yellow / pale olive appearance and black cap.

It is fairly common, nests in dense, moist woodlands, bogs, streamside tangles and willow thickets.   

It breeds from Alaska, across southern Canada to Newfoundland, south to northern New England, Minnesota, and in the western mountains to California.   It is more common in the west than the east.   It winters in Mexico and Central America. 

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BarrytheBirder                

Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus)

Photo by Barry Wallace

As its name suggests, the Pine Warbler is commonly found in pines in the summer and it nests exclusively in pine trees!  It is also found in mixed woodlands in the winter.    

Its range is south-central Canada and the eastern U.S.A.   I can be found locally northwards inland, but rarely.   It can also be found in the northern West Indies. 

The Audubon Society says its voice is a ''musical, but somewhat melancholy one-pitch trill like that of a soft, sweet Chipping Sparrow".

It is described as unstreaked olive above with yellow throat and breast, faint steaking below, white belly, inconspicuous eye-stripe, with two white wing bars.   Females are similar but duller.  

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BarrytheBirder

Common Yellowthroat (Dendroica dominica)

 
                                                                                           Photo by BarrytheBirder

The Common Yellowthroat is another one of my warblers, mainly because it is so easily recognized with its bold yellow throat, black face and  long white eyebrow.   

They are found in Canada, the U.S.A. and Mexico and they winter in their southern breeding range down to Costa Rica and the West Indies.

They are commonly found in marshes, grassy fields and low shrubs.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder

Canada Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)

                                                                                               Photo by BarrytheBirder

Being a true-blue Canadian, how could the Canada Warbler not be one of my favourite birds?   I am especially taken with its black-spotted necklace and yellow spectacles.   To me it is always very recognizable.   The Audubon Society Field Guide says this bird was discovered in Canada.    It is found not just in Canada however, but also in the northern United States east of the Rockies and in the eastern mountains to northern Georgia.   It winters in northwestern South American.

Its preferred habitat is cool, moist woodlands that are almost mature and that have much undergrowth.   According to my Audubon Field Guide it ordinarily ranges at low levels, usually from the ground to six feet up.  Audubon also says like several other warblers it is adept at fly-catching and flying insects form a great portion of its diet, although it also captures spiders and insect larvae.

Living so close to the ground, its nest, usually of grass and dried leaves, is most often found near the ground in a fern clump or at the base of a stump.

Please comment if you wish.

BarrytheBirder