order galliformes overview
-chicken like birds with strong walking legs and heavy feet; normally short with thick necks
-short, rounded wings; explosive take off, stiff wing beats and fly for short distances
-usually live in terrestrial habitats often cryptically colored
-often tra
order galliformes: northern bobwhite
-small, mottled reddish brown light colored throat
-non migratory, prefers early successional habitats such as longleaf pine grasslands and some agricultural lands
-economically a very important game bird ($92 million industry)
-drastic declinessince 1950
order galliformes: wild turkey
-largest game bird in north america at about 45 inches long; they aso have iridescent body plumage and a naked head
-nonmigratory, statewide in a variety of habitats
-sexually dimorphic with males larger and bearded
order gruiformes overview
-includes cranes, rails and limpkins
-some are very secretive while others are very conspicuous
-some species resident, others migrate, some both
-generally found in aquatic habitats (marshes important)
-some form large flocks, others are solitary
-usuall
order gruiformes: limpkin
-medium sized bird that is brown with white spots
-feeds largely on apple snails which is shown in their pointed beak with a twist
-wetlands habitats of the peninsula
-breeds year round depending on food abundance
order gruiformes: purple gallinule
-chicken sized and bright purple
-inhabits wetlands and lake margins statewide
-extremely large toes-walks on veg
order gruiformes: sandhill crane
-tall (3.5 ft) and gray with a red crown and lore
-found in wetlands, pastures, urban areas etc
-fly with necks extended
-migrant and resident populations with a trumpeting call
order charadriiformes overview
-includes shorebirds, gulls, and terns
-shorebirds: small to medium size with relatively long legs and no webbing and short beaks; found in open shorelines with feeding periods coincide with tides, sand bars for resting
-gulls: medium to large with stout
order charadriiformes: sanderling
small gray, black and white peep with a relatively large black beak. they winter on FL coastal beaches and breed in the Arctic and can be found running along beach and probbing for inverts
order charadriiformes: black skimmer
medium with black back and wints and a white throat/chest and red or black beak; they are found in coastal beaches and skim surface with then beak in water. they nest in large colonies often with terns in sand scrape nests
order charadriiformes: laughing gull
only gull that nests in FL; medium with gray back and white chest and neck and black primaries. Grey streaked head for nonbreeding but head black for breeding. found on coastal beaches, inland lakes, landfills where they rob other birds
order columbiformes overview
-includes pigeons and doves
-plump bodies with short necks and round heads, grey or brwon plumage in most
-beaks are small and short legs that are pinkish grey
-terrestrial birds that forage on ground, bob head as they walk
-feed on seeds and fruits, prod
order columbiformes: mourning dove
-small brown back with a tan head and chest and pointed tail
-habitat generalist, common in urban settings
-resident breeders with FL pops swelling with winter migrants
-popular game species
-wings make whistling sound when bird takes flight
order cuculiformes overview
-includes cuckoos and anis
-slender birds with long tails, cuckoos with conspicuous white spots on underside of tail
-anis are black while cuckoos have brown/gray backs and creamy white chins and breasts
-have decurved beaks (curves down) and zygodactyl f
order cuculiformes: yellow-billed cuckoo
-most common of FL cuckoos
-found in forested habitats statewide
-breed in FL june-august but migrate to south america in novemember - march; breeding season closely tied to food availability
-occasional brood parasite (inter and intraspecific) with paras
order strigiformes overview
-owls
-small to large with mottled brown or gray plumage
-large eyes, feathered facial disk and can rotate to 270 degrees
-nocturnal birds of prey, sharp talons and hooked beaks and zygodactyl feet
-larger FL species eat rodents while smaller species eat
order strigiformes: burrowing owl
-small and brown with many white spots and no ear tufts
-found in dry prairies, pasture, urban areas of central and south florida
-FL owls dig own burrows while western Us owls usually do not
-walks, hops, runs after insect prey and known to collect mamma
order caprimulgiformes overview
-includes goatsuckers (and now hummers and swifts)
-medium birds with mottled brown gray or black plumage and a white patch near bend in wings
-large head, gaping mouth, rictal bristles at beak base
-long, pointed wings and smaller weak feet
-nocturnal or
order caprimulgiformes: chuck-will's-widow
-found in wooded habitats statewide and nests on ground march - july then migrates to central and south america
-whip poor will migrates through FL and not a resident breeder
-their call is a distinctive nighttime summer sound, loud and repeated
order apodiformes: hummingbirds and swifts
-now caprimulgiformes
-chimney swift: small brownish-black bird with gray throat and brest, "flying cigar", tiny weak feet with most of the time spend in flight eating insects; nests of twigs in cavity cemented with bird's saliva, can be found roosting in
explain the shift from apodiformes to caprimulgiformes
caprimulgiformes now includes swifts and hummers based on analysis of over 390,000 bases across genomes of 198 bird species; birds evolved from dinosaur group that included t rex and velociraptor
order coraciformes: belted kingfisher
-a handome blue gray back with white belly and collar, dark brest band and femal rufous sides or band
-compact body, syndactyl feet (one toe back)
-iften perch along power lines along canals
-dive head first for fish, may over before diving
-forage alone
order piciformes overview
-includes woodpeckers
-black and white with often spotted or checked with varying degrees of red visible on hear
-all year round residents except yellow bellied sapsucker
-stout chisel like beaks with zygodactyl feet
-stiff tail feathers used as a prop ag
order piciformes: red bellied woodpecker
-9 inches long with red on head but not cheeks, black and white back and red wash on belly
-very common in woodlands and urbanized sites and they nest in cavities in dead and live trees
-feed on insects, spiders and seeds, come to feeders for sunflower se
order piciformes: pileated woodpecker
-largest FL woodpecker
-balck back when at rest, black and white strips on head and neck
-prominent red crest in both sexes
-extensive foraging excavations in dead trees and stumps and also may damage power poles
-carpenter ants and beetls are primary die