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Passeriformes I

Passeriformes I. Tyrannidae Laniidae Vireonidae Corvidae Alaudidae. 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

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Passeriformes I

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  1. Passeriformes I Tyrannidae Laniidae Vireonidae Corvidae Alaudidae

  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. Suborder Tyranni: Suboscines • Primarily found in Central and South America (Tyrannidae is the only family extending into North America) • Have a simple syrinx, the sound-producing structure in the respiratory tract • Apparently do not learn their songs, unlike the oscines • Mitochondrial DNA organized in a unique way

  4. Tyrannidae: Tyrant Flycatchers • Field Marks: • Gray, brown, or green colors with lighter underparts • Large heads and broad, flattened bills with rictal bristles • Short legs and weak feet • Wings pointed, with 10 primaries • Sex: Usually monomorphic • Habitat: • Varies from grasslands to marshes to open woodlands • Life History: • Most are migratory, wintering in Central America • Primarily insectivorous, particularly when breeding, but many also eat fruit in other seasons • Strong, agile flyers, catching insects in midair • Among some species, voice is the primary field identification • Among oldest on record: 13 yrs 11 mos • Distribution: • 420 species in 104 genera throughout the Americas • 37 species in 10 genera in North America

  5. ©Photo by Richard Stern ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Dark grayish-brown upperparts • White throat and abdomen with dark “vest” • Indistinct wing bars, but white edge on tertials • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forests, especially edges • Life history: • Long-distance, neotropical migrant • Dubbed the “Peregrine of flycatchers” for its foraging behavior • Conservation: • USFWS Species of Concern • More information needed

  6. ©Photo by Richard Stern ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi • Song a sharp, penetrating whistle • whip WEE DEEER • or • “quick, three beers”

  7. ©Photo by Steve Messick ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Small, uniformly dark grayish-brown • No eye ring • Long primary projection • Indistinct pale wing bars and tertial edges • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Woodlands and forests, especially edges • Life history: • Long-distance, neotropical migrant

  8. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Bob Steele Willow Flycatcher*Empidonax traillii • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Drab olive with whitish gray wing bars • Very reduced or absent eye-ring • Bill is broad and pale underneath • Grayish breast and abdomen • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Riparian woodlands • Life History: • Long-distance, neotropical migrant • Conservation: • CA Endangered Species – all subspecies • Federal Endangered Species – only Southwestern subspecies extimus • Causes include loss of habitat due to overgrazing by livestock and cowbird parasitism

  9. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Dusky Flycatcher*Empidonax oberholseri • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Grayish olive with whitish wing bars • Conspicuous eye ring • Narrow, mostly dark bill • Long, square or notched tail • Short primary projection • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Chaparral and coniferous forests • Life History: • Neotropical migrant

  10. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Hammond’s Flycatcher*Empidonax hammondii • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Grayish olive (head especially gray) with whitish wing bars • Whitish eye ring • Relatively short, narrow, dark bill • Notched tail • Long primary projection • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forest • Life History: • Neotropical migrant

  11. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Pacific-slope Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Olive-green with yellow to white wing bars • Pale, tear-drop-shaped eye ring • Bill is broad and pale underneath • Dull yellow breast and abdomen • Head appears to have a short peak • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Woodlands and forests, especially with steep-walled canyons or ravines. • Life History: • Neotropical migrant

  12. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Pacific-slope Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis • Three high-pitched phrases repeated in sequence – • a thin, high, slurred klseewii • a high sharp tsip • and an explosive ptik

  13. ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Black PhoebeSayornis nigricans • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Black with white abdomen • Wags tail while perching and singing • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Riparian woodlands • Life History: • Occurs year-round • Builds mud nests lined with plant fibers, over water and plastered to a vertical wall

  14. ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Black PhoebeSayornis nigricans • Two high whistled alternating phrases • sisee, sitsew • or • phee-bee, phee-bo

  15. ©Photos by Bob Steele Say’s Phoebe Sayornis saya • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Brownish gray with pale rusty abdomen and undertail coverts • Black tail • Wags tail when perched • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Grasslands, desert scrub, agricultural fields • Life History: • Occurs year-round, but some populations migratory.

  16. ©Photo by Ed Johnson ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Brownish gray upperparts, with pale gray throat and breast • Very pale yellow abdomen and undertail coverts • Underside of tail reddish with dark tips • Short bushy crest • Long, wide, black bill with slight hook • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Scrub habitats, pinyon-juniper woodland • Life History: • Neotropical migrant • Tolerant of high temperatures, and do not need to drink water, so able to breed even in deserts as long as food and nest cavities are available

  17. ©Photo by Ed Johnson ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens • Makes a variety of sounds, especially • kaBRIK, ha-wheer

  18. ©Photos by Mike Danzenbaker Cassin’s KingbirdTyrannus vociferans • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Dark gray head and breast with sharply contrasting white chin • Yellow abdomen • Black tail with pale tips • Pale edging on wing coverts • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Savannah • Life History: • Short-distance neotropical migrant

  19. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Tyrannidae • Field Marks: • Pale gray breast and head with less contrasting white chin • Yellow abdomen • Black tail with white edges on outermost feathers • No pale edging on wing coverts • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands, desert scrub, agricultural fields • Life History: • Neotropical migrant

  20. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalis • High, hard, squeaky • pidik pik pidik PEEKado

  21. Suborder Passeres: Oscines or Song-Birds • The majority of species in the order Passeriformes • Found worldwide • Have greater control over syrinx musculature • Learn their complex songs from parents and neighboring birds, unlike the suboscines

  22. Laniidae: Shrikes • Field Marks: • Roughly robin-sized, black, gray, and white birds • Hooked bills with tomial teeth and rictal bristles • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Open areas ranging from Arctic tundra to desert grasslands • Life History: • Predatory; primarily eat large insects, but also small rodents, reptiles, and songbirds (even a Mourning Dove) • Hunt from perches on fences, wires, and treetops • Often cache their food on barbed wire or thorns for later consumption, which may also serve to attract a mate • Among oldest on record: 12 yrs 6 mos • Distribution: • 29 species in 3 genera, in Eurasia, Africa, North America • 2 species in 1 genus in North America

  23. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Laniidae • Field Marks: • Gray above and white below • Black facial mask • Small, black bill with short hook and tomial teeth • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Grasslands, desert scrub, agricultural fields • Life History: • Occurs year round, but some populations migratory • Predatory passerine; impales prey on thorns or barbed wire • Conservation: • Federal Endangered Species – only San Clemente subspecies mearnsi • Causes include loss of breeding habitat due to overgrazing by livestock and fire, as well as predation on nests by feral cats

  24. Vireonidae: Vireos • Field Marks: • Small, generally green with lighter underparts • Variation in wingbars, eye rings, and superciliums • Cylindrical, slightly hooked bills • May be confused with wood-warblers, but relatively bigger-headed, thicker-billed, with thicker, stronger legs • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Forests and woodlands • Life History: • Most are migratory, wintering in Central America • Foliage-gleaners; eat insects and invertebrates, along with fruit and some seeds • Among oldest on record: 13 yrs 6 mos • Distribution: • 51 species in 4 genera, all in Western hemisphere • 15 species in 1 genus in North America

  25. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Hutton’s Vireo Vireo huttoni • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Vireonidae • Field Marks: • Greenish olive upperparts with dull yellow underparts • Two yellow to white wing bars, with darkest part of wing between them • Incomplete, yellow to white eye ring • Thick, hooked bill • Blue-gray legs • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Oak woodlands • Life History: • Occurs year round ©Photo by Bob Steele

  26. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Cassin’s VireoVireo cassinii • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Vireonidae • Field Marks: • Dull olive-green upperparts, with browner crown, whitish underparts • Two yellow to white wing bars • Bold white "spectacles" over eyes • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forests. • Life History: • Short distance neotropical migrant

  27. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Warbling VireoVireo gilvus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Vireonidae • Field Marks: • Grayish-olive upperparts, with whitish underparts • No wingbars • Whitish supercilium (“eyebrow”) • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Riparian woodlands • Life History: • Medium to long-distance neotropical migrant • Conservation: • No special status, but CA populations declining, probably due to loss of riparian habitat and cowbird parasitism

  28. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Warbling VireoVireo gilvus • Rapid run-on warble: • viderveedeeviderveedeevider VEET

  29. Corvidae: Jays, Magpies, and Crows • Field Marks: • Medium to large, primarily black or blue birds • Strong, usually slightly decurved bills • Most have stiff bristle-like feathers covering the nares • Generally bold, noisy, and gregarious • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Almost all terrestrial North American habitats have at least one species • Life History: • Most are non-migratory • Omnivorous, but primarily invertebrates, seeds, and fruit • Can be significant predators at bird nests, eating eggs and nestlings • All store extra food, buried in the ground or hidden in trees • Have excellent memories for relocating stored food • Among oldest on record: 17 yrs 7 mos • Distribution: • 118 species in 24 genera, all continents but Antarctica • 20 species in 8 genera throughout North America

  30. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Dark blue with black crest • Blue streaks on forehead • Grayish throat patch • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year round • Form monogamous, long-term pair bonds

  31. ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri • harsh unmusical, descending • shaaaaar • also a rapid, popping • shek shek shek • generally lower, harsher than scrub jays

  32. ©Photo by Rob Pavey © UCD Photo ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Western Scrub-JayAphelocoma californica • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Blue upper parts with whitish underparts • Dark cheeks and whitish supercilium (“eyebrow”), but no crest • Presence of blue, streaky “necklace” varies • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Scrub habitats, oak woodlands • Life History: • Occurs year-round • Omnivorous, opportunistic, and a known nest predator. • Conservation: • CA Species of Concern – only Eagle Mountain subspecies cana • Causes include its isolation in desert habitat and vulnerability to disturbance

  33. ©Photo by Rob Pavey © UCD Photo ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette Western Scrub-JayAphelocoma californica • Harsh, rising • shreeeeenk • or rapid • wenk wenk wenk

  34. ©Photo by Bob Steele ©Photo by Stock Photography Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Dull blue overall, with chin and throat streaked whitish • No crest • Sharp-pointed bill • Short-tailed • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Pinyon-juniper woodland • Life History: • Occurs year-round • Highly social, cooperative breeder • Excellent spatial memory, capable of digging up stored seeds months later, even through snow

  35. ©Photo by Justin Moore ©Photo by David Blevins Gray JayPerisoreus canadensis • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Dark gray upperparts, with pale gray to white underparts • Whitish throat, often extending to a collar around neck • White head with black crown patch, varying in size, but no crest • Flight feathers sometimes tipped white • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year-round in northwestern CA • Copious sticky saliva from enlarged salivary glands is used to fasten food items in trees for use throughout the winter

  36. ©Photo by Jack Binch ©Photo by Helen Baines Clark’s NutcrackerNucifraga columbiana • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Light gray with white on forehead, chin, and undertail • Central rectrices black, and outer rectrices black • Wings black, with white-tipped secondaries visible in flight • Long, pointed black bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Subalpine coniferous forests • Life History: • Occurs year round, with seasonal altitudinal migration • Sublingual pouch for transporting seeds to cache sites • Excellent spatial memory for locating hidden seeds • Both males and females incubate eggs

  37. ©Photo by Brian E. Small Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Primarily black with white scapulars and abdomen • Wings and tail iridescent blue-green • White marks on primaries form patch visible in flight • Black bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Riparian woodlands, especially near grasslands and meadows • Life History: • Occurs year-round in extreme eastern CA

  38. ©Photos by Bob Steele Yellow-billed MagpiePica nuttalli • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Primarily black with white scapulars and abdomen • Wings and tail iridescent blue-green • White marks on primaries form patch visible in flight • Yellow bill • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Oak woodlands • Life History: • Endemic to CA, occurs year-round in the central valley • Nests in loose colonies, in large domed stick nests • Conservation: • Populations stable, but range restricted and vulnerable to development • May be susceptible to West Nile Virus

  39. ©Photos by Bob Steele Yellow-billed MagpiePica nuttalli • Nasal, rising • Jeeeeek • harsher, lower • rek rek rek • or nasal • gway gway

  40. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Steve Messick American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • All black with stout glossy black bill • Square-shaped tail • Tips of folded wings often do not reach tail • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: • Habitat generalist, requiring open ground for feeding and scattered trees for nesting • Life History: • Occurs year-round • Roosts communally in large numbers, but less social when nesting • Some populations breed cooperatively, with young birds as “helpers”

  41. ©Photo by Peter LaTourrette ©Photo by Steve Messick American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos • Hoarse • caaw caaw

  42. ©Photos by Marlene Foard Common RavenCorvus corax • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Corvidae • Field Marks: • Very large, glossy black, with heavy black bill • Wedge-shaped tail • Elongated throat feathers, called “hackles” • Long, tapered wings reach tail tips • Sex: Monomorphic • Habitat: Habitat generalist • Life History: • Occurs year round • Largest bodied passerine • Historically occurred in association with American bison and wolves • An acrobatic flier, it is often seen somersaulting and flying upside down

  43. Alaudidae: Larks • Field Marks: • Cryptically-colored birds, with light tan to reddish body color • Slender, sharp, strong bills • Short legs with elongated hallux • Long, pointed wings, good for flight in windy conditions • Habitat: Open areas ranging from desert to alpine • Life History: • Usually found on open ground • Runs or walks, rather than hops • Often form large flocks in winter • Eat small seeds and insects gleaned above ground or dug from soil • Body color often matches the local soil color • Among oldest on record: 8 yrs 5 mos • Distribution: • 91 species in 19 genera, mostly Africa and Eurasia • 1 species in North America

  44. Breeding Winter ©Photos by Peter LaTourrette Breeding Horned LarkEremophila alpestris • Order: Passeriformes • Family: Alaudidae • Field Marks: • Brown to black upperparts with cinnamon to white underparts • Black mask, breast band, and occipital feather tufts (“horns” – not always visible) • Contrasting yellow supercilium (“eyebrow”) and throat • Outermost tail feathers edged white • Sex: • Males slightly larger and darker; horns usually erect • Habitat: Grasslands, desert scrub, agricultural fields • Life History: • Occurs year-round in CA • Only member of family native to North America • Ground-dwelling • Conservation: • CA Species of Special Concern – only California subspecies actia

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