wing feather labels
these are primary coverts
order gaviiformes: loons (only common loon regular in FL)
-breeds mainly in Canada and coastal FL in winter
-duck like aquatic birds, breed in freshwater but overwinter in Atlantic and Gulf waters mainly
-large, long body with a short neck and long wings
-short legs set far back on body with palmate webbed feet
order podicipediformes: grebes (pied billed grebe)
-loon like diving birds that are ungainly on land
-they have short narrow wings and are often reluctnat to fly
-they look tailless and sit low in water with short legs far back on body (lobate webbing)
-other grebes with relatively long, thin pointed bill
order procellariformes: petrels and shearwaters "tubenoses
-sea birds normally only seen well offshore in the atlantic ocean
-they have long, pointed wings with tubular nostrils that allow these birds to process salt water
-they are gray to brown in color and relatively large birds
-they feed mainly on squid, cru
order suliformes overview
-large birds with long wings and short legs with all four toes webbed (totipalmate)
-all are water or sea birds with pointed or hooked beak
-Northern Gannet: winter resident seabird with 6 foot wingspan and dives for fish
-white-tailed tropicbird: summer
order suliformes: magnificent frigatebird "piratebird
-open saltwater coastal species feeds from surface
-black plumage, 7-8 ft wingspan and a forked tail
-wings are not waterpoof so they can not rest on water, they reamin in flight for weeks at a time
order suliformes: double-crested cormorant
-open feshwater, saltwater, dives from surface for fish
-brown plumage, hooked beak, throat patch, basks
-often feeds in large flocks, nuisance in some places
-residents and migrants in FL, colonial nester
order suliformes: anhinga "water turkey" or "snakebird
-open freshwater, lakes and rivers, dive from surface for fish
-back plumage, white feathers on back and female with beige neck
-bask often to dry water logged wings
-solitary normally, roosts and nests in groups and is a FL resident
-lighter bodied than
order pelecaniformes overview
-variable in size, shape and plumage
- herons, ibises, and spoonbills have long legs and unwebbed feet
-pelicans with throat pouch, short legs, totipalmate
-diverse bill shapes and sizes and feed on fish, amphibians, and inverts
-live in and around fresh,
order pelecaniformes: white ibis
-two feet tall and white with black wing tips and a curved beak (brown juvenile)
-resident breeder in central and south Florida mainly in urban areas with foraging in flocks
order pelecaniformes: great blue heron
-4 ft tall, largest wading bird
-blue-gray plumage with a heavy bill and a white morph in the keys (Great White Heron)
-habitat generalists, but near water and a resident breeder
-solitary hunter, stalks its prey and will steal from fisher folk
order pelecaniformes: great egret
-almost 4 ft tall, large wading bird
-snow white plumage, yellow bill and black legs
-habitat generalist, but near water and a resident breeder
-national audubon icon, wanton killing for aigrettes in early 1900s
order pelecaniformes: cattle egret
-about 20 inches tall and white (with buff when breeding)
-forages in fields, marshes and agriculture lands
-not in Fl until 1950s arrived in South America in 1880s
-may be the most common heron in Fl now
order pelecaniformes: little blue heron
-2 ft tall, slate gray or white (juvenile) plumage and green legs
-found in coastal areas, lakes (urban), swamps, and rivers
-tend to nest along edges of large rookeries
order pelecaniformes: reddish egret
-2.5 ft tall, rufous head and neck witha blue-grey body and white phase
-FL's least common heron
-coastal areas of Gulf and Atlantic but mainly central and south florida
-erratic and active feeding style
order ciconiiformes: storks (wood stork or ironhead)
-4 feet tall and white with black primaries, naked head, and heavy bill curved at end and pink feet
-federally listed as endagered
-prefers cypress swamps, marshes, can be seen around urban lakes
-favors falling water levels in which to forage; eats fish,
order accipitriformes overview
-medium to large birds and hooked beaks
-strong feet and sharp talons used to kill prey
-soar in search of food, very acute vision
-prey includes birds, fish, small mammals, herps
order accipitriformes: osprey "fish hawk
-brown plumage above, white below dark eye-stripe
-associated with water statewide
-flies slowly, often hovers, plunges talons first for fish
-builds large stick nests on light polls, trees (dead or alive)
order accipitriformes: snail kite
-slate blue (m) or brown (f) and 17 inches tall with orange facial skin
-within US only central and south FL in freshwater marshes and lake margins (everglades)
-specializes on apple snails, snatch on the wing
-droughts are especially tough on this bird
-
order cathartiformes: vultures
-large birds, elongate beak with hooked tip and bald legs
-toes and legs adapted for walking with weak claws
-accomplished at soaring and gather in large numbers at night to roost
-keen sense of smell, scavengers that eat carrion
order falconiformes: caracaras and falcons
-diurnal birds of prey with broad, strong wings
-they have strong feet with sharp, curved talons and a long opposable hallux and short hooked beak
-falcons use tomial "kill tooth" on beak to subdue prey more so than their talons
crested caracara
-instincts of a raptor but will scavenge too
-regularly walks or hops on ground and inhabits open habitats such as dry prairie and pastures in south-central florida
-nests in isolated cabbage palms
-federally threatened in FL
order phoenicopteriformes: flamingos
-easy to recognize with long legs and neck
-bent beak, filter feeder with their color from pigments in their prey
-once fairly common in south FL and used to breed in FL but theres been none in the past 100 years
-many flamingos observed now are escapees
order anseriformes: swans, geese, and ducks
-waterfowl: freshwater, saltwater, brackish
-many are popular game species with heavy body, broad wings and short legs
-most do not nest in Fl but winter here and favor freshwater breeding sites
-highly aquatic with palmate webbing (3 toes) with spatulate
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
order passeriformes overview
-most species rich group of birds in Fl most small to medium sized crows are largest
-3 toes forward and hallux backward for perching
-beaks variable depending on foods taken, most pointed and straight and may be thick and heavy
-some species are year rou
family paridae: tufted titmouse
-gray back,white chest and belly, rust wash and a crest
-year round resident in numerous habitats, common in suburban areas, common bird at feeders
-statewide except absent from Keys and SE FL and nest in natural cavities or nest boxes and use snake skin
family paridae: carolina chickadee
-small gray back with black cap and throat
-year round resident in numerous habitats, suburban areas, frequents feeders
-only occurs to central FL often in mixed-species flocks with titmouse
-nest in natural cavities or nest boxes, monogamous for multiple
family cardinalidae: northern cardinal
-small dull or bright red, heavy red beak, male with black face
-year round resident in numerous habitats common in suburban areas
-eats fruits insects
-official state bird for seven eastern states
-males sing to proclaim territory, attack intruding males
family cardinalidae: painted bunting
-also called nonpareil
-small, male brightly colored and female is greenish
-in Fl april through october breeding along east coast Brevard Co; winter in central and south florida
-prefers hardwood forests, pinelands too and feeds primarily on seeds, will
family corvidae: blue jay
-blue crest, black collar, blue back and white belly
-one of FL's most conspicuous and recognized birds and year round resident in numerous habitats
-fond of acorns but eat other seeds, insects, lizards, rodents, baby birds
-loud distinctive calls, someti
family corvidae: american crow
-all black, heavy bill, larger than fish crow
-statewide, habitat generalists and year round resident
-eat insects, rodents, egg and young reptiles and bird
-will mob hawks
-tool use
family mimidae: northern mockingbird
-gray back, black wings, long tail and white wing patch
-FL state bird
-year round resident in numerous habitats, suburban areas
-calls often repeated three times, males sing well into the night especially on full moon, mimics calls of other birds
-feeds
family mimidae: brown thrasher
-sings in couplets and forages on ground with long bill, tosses leaves and debris
-rufous upper parts, white breast streaked with brown relative long tail, white wing bars
-year round resident, statewide, hardwood habitats
-nest of sticks and leaves in de
family parulidae: palm warbler
-relatively large warbler, light eye stripe, yellow at base of tail may have rufous cap and streaks on breast
-winter (September through April) resident statewide, numerous habitats
-continually bobs tail and seond most abundant winter warbler in FL
-usua
family parulidae: yellow-rumped warbler
-relatively large warbler with plain head and light throat, yellow rump usually obvious non-breeding plumage in FL
-winter resident statewide, numerous habitats as most abundant winter warbler in FL
-eats insects and wax myrtle fruits
family tyrannidae: eastern phoebe
-gray and black above, creamy white belly with dark head
-winter resident and breeds in NE US and Canada, statewide, numerous habitats mostly by water
-often perches conspicuously on power lines and fences, pumps tail
-feed on insects captured in flight a
family tyrannidae: great crested flycatcher
-olive brown back and crest, gray throat, yellow belly and light wing bars
-year round resident hardwood and pine forests also common in suburbs
-breed in Fl april through August
-secondary cavity nester, shed snake skinis common nest material
-distinctiv
family turdidae: eastern bluebird
-blue upper parts, rufous chest flanks, white belly with females duller in color than males
-year round resident statewide in dry pine and hardwood forests, also pastures
-additional birds migrate to FL in winter and often perch on wire fences or power li
family turdidae: american robin
-dark head, gray back, rufous breast/sides, yellow bill
-winter resident with individuals documented nesting in Jax, Tally, and Pensacola
-may be nuisance to strawberry farmers
boat tailed grackle
-male have a bold purple iridescence; females are rich brown with a yellowish eye
-year round resident, statewide, most often near salt marshes wet prairies, lakes, parking lots
-very bold and raucous males
-nests february through july again possibly in o
carolina wren
-small, brown light eye stripe and plump
-year round residents in suburban areas and often nest in man made structures
cedar waxwing
-silky brownish tan crest and back, black mask yellow belly and yellow tips on tail feathers with wing tips often red
-winter resident statewide in forested areas and breeds in Canadas
-often forms large flocks common on UF campus
loggerhead shrike
-black white and gray, bold black mask and heavy hooked beak
-superficially resembles northern mockingbird
-statewide in mainly dry prairies, sandhills, agriculture fields
-year round resident but birds migrate from north in winter
-perch on wires and fen
brown headed nuthatch
move up and down tree trunks, SE pineland endemic; cavity nester, primary excavator and cooperative breeder