Fun Trivia » Animals » Wild Birds » Wild Birds USA

The robin-sized towhee used to be called the "ground robin" by country people, because of its reddish sides and habit of sorting through leaves on the ground. One range map says it should winter along the Ohio River, but apparently there's some variation, because when we lived near the river, the return of the towhees scratching in the undergrowth and giving one of their several calls, including chewink or tow-hee, was a happy sign of spring. Difficulty: Easy.

 

bluebird, raven, bluejay

The mockingbird mostly wears shades of gray, but has two white patches visible when it spreads its wings. Its year-round range has been expanding northward, reaching over most of the eastern U. S. now, and the bird adapts to urban environments too. Mockingbirds are brave, chasing off predators such as cats, dogs and even humans. There are numerous mentions in songs ("Listen to the Mockingbird") and books or stories ("To Kill a Mockingbird"). Difficulty: Easy.

 

indigo bunting, bluebird, cardinal

The bald eagle is a beautiful raptor found all over North America. It's not actually bald, but has white feathers on its head and tail. The bald eagle serves as the national animal of the United States and appears on the country's seal. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

golden eagle, snowy owl, peregrine falcon

The house sparrows are descendants from birds which were brought from Britain in the 1800's to act as a pest control. This was a mistake that was realized too late, after they were widespread and well established. By the 1880's, THEY were considered to be the pests. This is an example of the "introduction of an exotic" which turned into a disaster. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Field sparrow, American tree sparrow, Song sparrow

The female tree swallow has a brown back, and a white chest. Difficulty: Hard.

 

barn swallow, purple martin, cliff swallow

These beautiful little birds often leave the feeder in the fall and winter and set off for open fields to glean. While the American goldfinch is found all over the US, the lesser goldfinch is restricted to southwestern states. Difficulty: Average.

 

pine siskin, lesser goldfinch, dickcissel

Though a member of the plover family, the killdeer is often found far from water. Found all over the US, the name "killdeer" cames from the sound of its call. Difficulty: Hard.

 

mockingbird, red-winged blackbird, robin

All bluebirds belong to the thrush family, then each species has its own title. Sialia currucoides, the mountain bluebird; Sialia mexicana, the Western bluebird; and Sialia sialis, the Eastern bluebird. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sialia currucoides, Fluvicola pica, Fluvicola leucocephala

The Carolina parakeet is believed to have become extinct in the early 1900s. There were reports of seeing the last flock around 1920. Difficulty: Hard.

 

monk parakeet, yellow-nape amazon, African gray parrot

Habitat loss also contributed to the downfall of the Wild Turkey in Michigan. These dull-looking, bulky birds can now be found quite readily in the lower peninsula communing with deer in what I think is a plot to take over the world. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Ruffed Grouse

I just call him the "evil dove" as he likes to just sit on the sidewalk and stare at me. Like his rock dove (pigeon) cousin, he shows great intelligence and caution. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Rock Dove, Common Crow, Stellar's Jay

The Carolina Wren's habitat includes woodland thickets, ravines, and rocky slopes covered with brush. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Canyon Wren, Bewick's Wren, House Wren

Herons fly with their head and neck folded back. Difficulty: Easy.

 

American Bittern, Sandhill Crane, Canada Goose

Falco peregrinus is one of the most widespread of the falcons, found in most countries of the world apart from New Zealand. It also avoids tropical rainforests, high mountains and the polar regions, although even the Arctic tundra has populations. As well as being known as the fastest bird of prey, when diving to catch prey (known as a stoop), it is also adaptable. Cities can provide easy pickings for food as many of them have large flocks of pigeons, which is handy when you have chicks to feed. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Prairie, Aplomado, Gyrfalcon

The barn owl is one of the most widespread species of bird in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica. Difficulty: Average.

 

Great horned owl, Screech owl, Great gray owl

The snowbird is aptly named. It winters from Ohio and Virginia south, entertaining listeners with its variable, melodic songs. There are numerous closely related species, all called snowbirds, predominantly in shades of gray with various white patches. Difficulty: Easy.

 

downy woodpecker, whip-poor-will, yellow breasted chat

The red-tailed hawk is sometimes called the chickenhawk, but is happier eating rats and chipmunks than chickens. During courtship, the pair flies in circles and the male will perform dramatic dives and other aerobatics for several minutes. Once a pair mates, it generally stays mated for life, which can be 25 years or more. Red-tailed hawks are also used for falconry in the U.S. A dog is sent out to flush game for the hawk to catch, and the hawk is then asked to trade his success for a reward of meat. Difficulty: Easy.

 

pileated woodpecker, blue-tailed hawk, wild turkey

Cooper's hawks typically feed upon small birds. These beautiful birds, also known as chicken hawks, have sometimes been known to completely deplete populations of endangered, rare, small birds. "Cooper" is another word for a barrel maker. Difficulty: Easy.

 

barn owl, sharp-shinned hawk, golden eagle

Smaller than the raven, the American crow is still one of the larger birds. Its range is most of the North American continent south of the treeline. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Common raven, Northwestern crow, Rusty blackbird

The downy woodpecker and the hairy woodpecker are the same, except for size, and the black speckles that the downy woodpecker has. Difficulty: Hard.

 

they are the same, the hairy woodpecker's has black speckles on the outer edge., the downy woodpecker's is solid black.

The mockingbird is the most talented of the mimicking birds, and also the most widespread. It can be found throughout the southern US, and as far north as Maine along the eastern seaboard. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Brown Thrasher, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird

The scissor-tailed flycatcher's tail is about 7-8 inches long! And yes, it's scissors-shaped. Found all over Texas and the southern plain states. Difficulty: Hard.

 

western kingbird, great crested flycatcher, eastern phoebe

Approximately 70% of a bluebird's diet is invertebrates, but small berries (such as flowering dogwood, Eastern red cedar, holly, and pokeweed) are an important part of their diet in the late summer and winter. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Seeds, Nuts, Berries

Voice is a like a squeaky wheelbarrow, a monotonous 'weesy, weesy, weesy, weesy'. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Cerulean Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker

They feed on insects stirred up by the cow's hooves. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Green Heron, Bewick's Wren, Orchard Oriole

The Carolina parakeet is extinct. The monk parakeet and red-headed Amazon have been released or escaped from captivity in several areas of the U.S. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Monk parakeet, Carolina parakeet, Red-headed Amazon

Who names these woodpeckers? The first thing I noticed was the red patch on the top of its head extending to the back of the neck. Then, yes, I saw a little tiny bit of red on its belly. It's a red-bellied woodpecker but you have to look! Apparently it has been gradually expanding its range northward, currently covering most of the US southeast but pushing into New England and southern Canada too. It visits year round, eating suet from our feeder and nibbling on the dried fruit too. Difficulty: Hard.

 

ivory billed woodpecker, nuthatch, yellow bellied sapsucker

The national symbol of the USA is making a comeback. Though still not plentiful, bald eagles were removed from the list of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 2007, in the lower 48 states. Some areas have a breeding pair who are given names and watched fondly by local residents. Difficulty: Easy.

 

wild turkey, golden eagle, vulture

Larger than any of the other swallows, the purple martin is the only one which is dark all over. It likes to make its home in multi-celled nesting boxes. Difficulty: Hard.

 

thrushes, warblers, larks

The kestrel can be found all over the US, but prefers open country for hunting. Difficulty: Hard.

 

prairie falcon, merlin, red-tailed hawk

Sialia currucoides is the mountain bluebird, Hylocichla mustelina is the wood thrush and Oenanthe oeananthe is the Northern wheatear. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sialia currucoides, Hylocichla mustelina, Oenanthe oenanthe

This bird became extinct in 1987. A captive breeding program was attempted, but failed as only 6 birds were available, and they were all males. Cross breeding with a similar species was also attempted, but failed. I remember reading this in the news. Difficulty: Hard.

 

house sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, song sparrow

Tree Swallows have a white belly with a shiny blue elsewhere. The blue becomes much greener in the fall. Barn Swallows are blue and reddish brown. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Brown and White, Blue and Reddish Brown, Black and Purple

The black capped chickadee is a brave creature in a tiny package. If you're lucky, they'll eat out of your hand! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Chipping Sparrow, Northern Raven, Whip-Poor-Will

Habitat is in open country in grain or hay fields and in weed patches. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Pyrrhuloxia, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird

Sandhill cranes are being used as foster parents of whooping cranes taken as eggs from nests in Canada. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sandhill Crane, Glossy Ibis, Mute Swan

The gyrfalcon, Falco rusticolus, resides in the Arctic tundra regions, so Alaska is your best bet in America. Even Europeans would need to search the colder regions such as Iceland and Greenland, with the tundra and taiga regions providing their usual habitat. The gyrfalcon is the largest of the falcon species and has colouration varying from nearly all white to darker shades of brown. It feeds primarily on other birds with ptarmigan, which live in the same regions, being a favourite. Another falcon known for its speed, it can intercept prey on the wing. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Hawaii, Nebraska, California

Unlike many cuckoos, roadrunners do care for their own young. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Grackle, Magpie, Crow

I'll sometimes hear the cheery sound of "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" and know to look out the window at a black-capped chickadee who has come to get some suet or seeds. They go north in the summer, but come here to our feeder on the Ohio/West Virginia border in the winter. We are apparently right on the southern edge of their breeding range. Difficulty: Hard.

 

snowbird, tufted titmouse, robin

Screech owls are small brownish owls in mottled colors, well camouflaged, and even harder to see because they're nocturnal, so they're rarely out in the daytime. They have ear tufts and yellow eyes, unremarkable in appearance among the various eastern North American owls. Their nests are generally in tree cavities well above human head level. Their call is what makes them stand out, and I love to hear the ghostly little trill. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

barn owl, barred owl, great horned owl