|
Turkey Vulture: Medium vulture, mostly black with red, featherless head and upper neck. Wings are held in a shallow V in flight. One of the few birds of prey that is able to use its sense of smell to find food. They are attracted to the smell of mercaptan, a gas produced by the beginnings of decay.
|
|
|
Osprey: Large raptor, dark brown upperparts contrast with white underparts, faint breast band. Small, white head has dark crown, eyestripe. Dark bill. Wings held at a distinct angle in flight, with underwing showing barred flight feathers and diagnostic dark patches on forewing. Gray legs and feet.
|
|
|
Northern Harrier: Large hawk with gray upperparts, distinct white rump, and white underparts with spotted breast. Hooked bill is dark, yellow at base. Eyes are yellow. Wings are long, gray above, and white below with black tips. Legs, feet are yellow. Alternates several deep wing beats with glides.
|
|
|
Golden Eagle: Large raptor with dark brown body and golden-brown feathers on back of head and nape. Eyes and bill are dark. Cere is yellow. Legs are completely feathered. Feet are yellow. Alternates deep slow wing beats with glides, soars on thermals. Has been clocked in a steep glide at 120 mph.
|
|
|
Bald Eagle: Large, hawk-like bird, dark brown body and white head, tail. Heavy bill, legs, feet, eyes are yellow. Hunts for fish, which it sometimes steals from ospreys. Eats carrion and crippled or injured squirrels, rabbits, muskrats and waterfowl. Flap-and-glide flight, also soars on thermals.
|
|
|
Sharp-shinned Hawk: Small hawk with blue-gray upperparts and rufous bars on white underparts. Eyes are dark red. Wings are short and rounded. Tail is long and squared with heavy bars. Legs and feet are yellow. Flight consists of rapid wing beats followed by a short glide. Often soars on thermals.
|
|
|
Cooper's Hawk: Medium, agile hawk with dark blue-gray back and white underparts with many fine rufous bars. Cap is darker than upperparts. Eyes are red. The tail is long with thick black-and-white bands. Legs and feet are yellow. Alternates rapid wing beats and short glides, often soars on thermals.
|
|
|
Northern Goshawk: Large hawk with slate blue-gray to nearly black upperparts and very finely barred and streaked pale gray underparts. Head is dark with thick, white eyebrows and red eyes. Tail is paler gray with three or four dark bands. Alternates rapid wing beats with glides, soars on thermals.
|
|
|
Red-shouldered Hawk: Large hawk with brown upperparts and head. Underparts are white with rust-red barring. The wings are finely barred above with red-brown shoulders and pale below with red-brown wash and dark tips. Tail is dark with thick white bands.
|
|
|
Red-tailed Hawk: Large, highly variable hawk with brown upperparts, head and throat. The underparts are pale with brown streaks. Wings are pale below with dark bar at leading edge and dark tips. The tail is red-brown with dark terminal band. Legs and feet are yellow. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
|
|
|
Swainson's Hawk: Large hawk, dark brown upperparts, white throat, rufous upper breast, pale buff underparts. Tail is gray with faint bars, dark terminal band, and white trailing edge. Yellow legs, feet. Alternates series of powerful deep wing beats with long glides. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
|
|
|
Rough-legged Hawk: Large hawk with brown upperparts, paler, streaked head, brown-spotted white breast, and dark breast band. The legs are fully feathered. Wings are mostly pale below and dark-edged. Upper half of tail is white, lower half is finely banded. Uncommon dark phase is brown-black overall.
|
|
|
Ferruginous Hawk: Large hawk, white head, streaked, rust-brown shoulders, back, and feathered legs. Underparts have scattered rufous streaks. Gray-brown wings. Tail is white with rust-brown wash. Dark morph is red-brown with white flight feathers. Alternates deep flaps and glides, soars on thermals.
|
|
|
American Kestrel: Smallest North American hawk, has two distinct black facial stripes, rust-brown tail and back, slate-blue wings, black-spotted underparts. Eats bats, rodents, insects, frogs, small reptiles, and birds. Alternates several rapid wing beats with glides, also hovers. Soars on thermals.
|
|
|
Merlin: Small falcon with blue-gray upperparts, white to pale brown underparts with dark streaks. Throat, eye-ring, line above eye are white. Dark gray bill, cere is yellow. Tail is brown or black barred with white tips. Pacific race is dark gray. Prairie race is light gray. Taiga race is a mixture.
|
|
|
Prairie Falcon: Medium falcon with brown upperparts, dark-spotted pale underparts, dark brown moustache stripe. Dark underwing-bars visible in flight. Feeds on small birds and mammals, and large insects. Swift flight with rapid wing beats. Sometimes alternates several rapid wing beats with a glide.
|
|
|
Peregrine Falcon: Medium robust falcon with blue-gray upperparts, plain breast, heavily barred sides, belly, and leggings. Head has a black hood and sideburns. Yellow fleshy eye ring. Yellow legs and feet. Feeds primarily on birds which it takes in midair after a steep, swift dive from above them.
|
|
|
Barn Owl: Medium-sized owl with glaring white, heart-shaped facial disk, no ear tufts, and long legs. Upperparts are orange-brown with fine white spots and dark bars. Underparts are white with small black spots. Feeds primarily on small mammals, also takes small birds. Slow silent mothlike flight.
|
|
|
Short-eared Owl: Medium owl, light and dark brown mottled upperparts and dark-streaked, pale buff underparts. Head has large, round, pale buff facial disk with fine, brown tinges, black around eyes, and small ear tufts. Eyes are yellow and bill is black. Flight is erratic with flopping wing beats.
|
|
|
Long-eared Owl: Medium-sized owl with gray-brown body with pale bars and heavy streaks on underparts. The facial disc is rufous with white a patch below the bill. The ear tufts are close together, long, black and rufous, and are not visible in flight. Bouyant, mothlike flight with silent wing beats.
|
|
|
Great Horned Owl: Large owl with dark brown, gray-brown mottled upperparts and dark barred underparts. Head has distinct ear tufts and rufous facial disk. Throat and upper breast are white and may have dark spots. Northern birds are paler and grayer. Strong, silent, direct, flap and glide flight.
|
|
|
Spotted Owl: Medium owl, white-spotted, brown upperparts, finely barred white underparts. Head lacks ear tufts. Eyes are brown. The wings are brown with white spots. A secretive bird, it inhabits dense old growth forests. An individual needs 3000 acres to survive due to scarcity of its food source.
|
|
|
Western Screech-Owl: Small owl (kennicotti), distinct ear tufts, brown- or gray-mottled upperparts, white shoulder spots, streaked, barred underparts. Lightly mottled facial disk, has prominent dark rim. Yellow eyes, dark gray bill. Until recently considered the same species as Eastern Screech-Owl.
|
|
|
Flammulated Owl: Small owl with two color morphs (gray-brown and rufous) with many intermediate forms. The head has very small ear tufts, and dark eyes surrounded by rust-brown, pale-gray facial disk, and white eyebrows that start at the bill. It is the only small owl with dark, not yellow, eyes.
|
|
|
Northern Pygmy-Owl: Small owl, upperparts and sides range from brown to white-spotted gray-brown or gray. White underparts have brown stripes. Head is brown or gray with white spots; no ear tufts. Yellow eyes have white eyebrows. White-bordered black spots on back of head resemble a pair of eyes.
|
|
|
Northern Saw-whet Owl: Small, large headed owl, brown upperparts, white underparts with thick brown stripes. Head has gray facial disk with white "Y” between eyes; lacks ear tufts. Bill is dark. Wings are brown with white spots. White undertail coverts. Direct, silent flight with fluttering wing beats.
|
|
|
Burrowing Owl: Small ground-dwelling owl, mostly brown with numerous white spots and no ear tufts. Eyes are yellow. White chin and throat. Tail is short, and legs are long. Bouyant, erratic flight with slow, silent wingbeats. May hover briefly above prey. The scientific name means "little digger."
|
|
|
Loggerhead Shrike: Medium shrike with gray upperparts and paler gray underparts. Mask is black and throat is white. Bill is heavy and slightly hooked. Wings are black with white patches. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Low, swift flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
|
|
|
Northern Shrike: Medium shrike with gray upperparts,pale gray underparts. Mask is black with white border, bill is heavy and slightly hooked. Wings are black with white patches. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Legs and feet are black. Flight is swift and undulating on shallow rapid wing beats.
|
|