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Common Merganser: Large, sleek diving duck with black upperparts and white underparts. Head and upper neck are green-black with head crest usually not visible. Long, thin bill is bright red. Wings are black with extensive white patches. Feeds on fish, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and plants.
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Common Nighthawk: Medium nightjar with white-speckled, dark upperparts, black-and-white barred underparts, mottled breast, white throat. Wings are long, dark gray with white bars, nearly covering tail when folded. Gray-brown legs and feet. Darting erratic flight with frequent changes of direction.
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Cinnamon Teal: Small dabbling duck, scaled, dark brown upperparts, cinnaon-brown underparts, head, neck. Eyes are red and bill is relatively long and dark. Green speculum, pale blue shoulder patch on wing are separated by white line. Yellow-gray legs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Curlew Sandpiper: Medium-sized sandpiper with mottled rufous, white, and black upperparts. Head, neck and breast are a rich rufous while vent, undertail coverts and underwings are white. Black bill is long and slightly decurved. The legs and feet are black. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Caspian Tern: Large, stocky tern with pale gray upperparts, white underparts. Cap is black and may appear weakly crested; large bill is coral-red. Undersides of primaries are gray. Tail is white, relatively short, and slightly forked; legs are black. Hovers above water before diving.
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Common Tern: Medium tern, medium gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, glossy black cap and nape. Wings are dark-tipped and have dark leading edge on forewing. Red bill is black-tipped. Legs are red and tail is deeply forked and elongated. Direct flight, hovers above water before diving for prey.
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Common Poorwill: Small, stocky nightjar with pale brown mottled body and white collar separating black throat from narrowly barred underparts. Wings are rounded and tail is short and fan-shaped with outer tail feathers tipped white. Pink-brown legs and feet. Silent flight on quick shallow wing beats.
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Cassin's Finch: Medium-sized, cheery finch with bright red crown, brown-streaked back. White belly, buff neck,upper breast and rump. Bill tapers evenly to a sharp point. Forages on ground and high in trees, eats mostly conifer seeds and buds, some insects. Swift bounding flight on rapid wing beats.
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Clark's Grebe: Large grebe, gray-black upperparts, white underparts, and slender neck with white on front and black on back. White face, black cap extends nearly to red eyes. Bill is yellow-orange. Until the 1980's thought to be a pale morph of the Western Grebe. Direct flight on rapid wing beats.
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Clay-colored Sparrow: Medium sparrow with black-streaked brown upperparts and buff underparts. The face is pale with finely streaked crown, crisp brown cheek patch, white eyestripe, and gray nape. Pink-gray legs and feet. Short flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
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Common Redpoll: Small finch, brown-streaked gray upperparts, bright rose-pink breast, boldly streaked flanks and undertail coverts. Red cap and black chin. Bill is olive-brown with fine black tip. Wings are dark with two narrow white bars; tail is black and notched. Black legs, feet.
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Chukar: Large, quail-like bird with orange-brown and slate-blue upperparts and breast, and black and rufous barred white flanks. White face has sharp black line extending to neck. Bill and legs are bright pink-red. Escapes danger by running. Direct flight with rapid deep wing beats.
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Cassin's Vireo: Small vireo, olive-gray upperparts, white underparts, pale yellow flanks. Head is gray with white eye-ring that extends to brow. Wings are dark with two white bars. Until the 1990s was classified as the Solitary Vireo, along with the Blue-headed and Plumbeous Vireos.
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Cackling Goose: Formerly included in the Canada Goose family, this species is smaller with a rounder head and shorter neck and bill. There are four subspecies, we show the hutchinsii that has darker upperparts and a white neck ring. Winters from the southern Great Plains to the western Gulf Coast.
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Canyon Wren: Medium wren with rust-brown upperparts, fine white spots on gray-brown back, nape, and crown, white throat and breast, and white-spotted brown belly. Tail is long and brown with thin black bars. Head has a flattened appearance; bill is long, slender, and slightly decurved.
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Cordilleran Flycatcher: Small flycatcher with olive-brown upperparts, yellow throat and belly separated by olive-gray breast, elongated white eye-ring, and pale wing-bars. Black bill is long and wide, and lower mandible is bright yellow. Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.
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Common Grackle: Medium-sized blackbird with metallic purple sheen on back, head, neck, and breast. Eyes are bright yellow. Central feathers of long, rounded tail are often lowered to show keeled V-shape. Swift, strong direct flight with rapid wing beats, holds tail folded in a V shape while flying.
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California Quail: Medium quail with distinctive, curled black head plume and white-bordered black throat. Breast is gray and belly is sharply scaled. The flanks are brown with white streaks and back is olive-brown. Legs and feet are gray. Alternates several stiff, rapid wing beats with short glides.
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Canada Goose: Large, long-necked goose with dark upperparts and paler underparts grading to white on vent. The head and neck are black with white chin bar. Body is usually gray-brown, although varies from dark brown to gray in different races. White semi-circle above black tail is visible in flight.
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Clark's Nutcracker: Medium, noisy and inquisitive jay with pale gray head and body. Black bill is long and stout. Wings are black with white patches and tail is black with white edges. Feeds on nuts, insects, eggs and young of other birds, lizards, carrion and small mammals. Steady deep wing beats.
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Common Loon: Large loon, white-spotted, black upperparts and white underparts. Head, neck are green-black with white-streaked neckbands. Bill is black and thick. Eyes are red-brown. Dives for small fish and crustaceans. Direct flight on strong deep wing beats, head, neck and feet extend beyond body.
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Chestnut-backed Chickadee: Small, energetic chickadee with chestnut-brown back, rump and flanks, and white breast and belly. Cap and throat are black; cheek patch is white. Wings and tail are dark. Legs and feet are gray-black. Song not whistled like other chickadees, more like a sparrow chipping.
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Common Goldeneye: Medium diving duck, white-striped black upperparts, white underparts. Head is iridescent green-black with white circular patch between yellow eyes and dark gray bill. Wings are dark with large white patches conspicuous in flight. Legs and feet are yellow. Swift, direct flight.
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Common Raven: Large raven with all-black body, large, stout bill, wedge-shaped tail. Eats invertebrates, vertebrates, insects, carrion, refuse, eggs and young of other birds, and rodents. Strong flight, alternates several deep wing beats with long glides on flat wings. Soars on thermals, updrafts.
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Canvasback: Large, flashy diving duck with pale gray body and black breast, tail. Head is red-brown with long, sloping profile and long, dark bill. Eye is red. Legs and feet are gray. Feeds primarily on aquatic plants. Rapid direct flight with strong wing beats. Flies high, usually in V formations.
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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.
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Cattle Egret: Medium, stocky egret with white body and pale orange-brown patches on head, neck and back. Eyes, bill and legs are orange. This is the only white egret with both a yellow bill and yellow legs. Feeds primarily on insects disturbed by livestock. Direct flight on quick steady wing beats.
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Cliff Swallow: Small, stocky swallow, dark blue-gray upperparts, pale orange-brown rump, buff underparts. Forehead is white or buff while throat, sides of face are orange-brown. Crown is blue-black, bill is short and black. Tail is dark and squared. Legs and feet are gray. Catches insects in flight.
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Calliope Hummingbird: Very small hummingbird, metallic green upperparts and flanks, white underparts. Throat feathers are long, purple-red, appearing as streaks on a white background, whiskers when fluffed out, or dark, inverted V when folded. Direct and hovering flight with very rapid wing beats.
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Cassin's Auklet: Small seabird with slate-gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, white belly. Pale yellow eyes with a white crescent patch above them. Short black bill has white spot at base of lower mandible that is visible at close range. Short tail and rounded wings. Rapid direct flight.
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Chipping Sparrow: Medium, slender sparrow with black-streaked brown back and pale gray underparts. Cap is rufous, nape is gray, throat is white, and face stripes are black-and-white. Black bill. Pink-orange legs and feet. Short flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
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California Gull: Moderately large gull, white body, gray wings, black wing tips. Bill is yellow with red and black spot near tip of bill on lower mandible. Legs are yellow; eye is dark with red orbital ring. Strong direct flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
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Common Yellowthroat: Small, skulking warbler with olive-yellow upperparts, bright yellow throat and breast, and pale gray belly. The head has a black mask with a thick white border above, black bill. Legs are pink. Slow weak flight, alternates periods of rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
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Cedar Waxwing: Small waxwing, red-brown upperparts, pale slate-gray rump, buff underparts. Head is crested, has black mask with narrow white band below. Yellow-tipped tail, white undertail coverts. Wings have red wax-like tips on secondaries from which it gets its name. Black bill, legs and feet.
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Common Murre: Medium seabird with brown-black upperparts, throat, white underparts, and long dark bill. Tail is short. Some Atlantic birds have a narrow white eye-ring and stripe extending past the eye. Can dive to depths of more than 240 feet. Feeds on fish and invertebrates. AKA Common Guillemot.
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