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Sedge Wren: Small wren with white-streaked, brown upperparts and pale buff underparts. Eyebrows are pale brown. Tail is short and barred. Bill is short and the legs and feet are pink. One of the most nomadic territorial birds. In any area it may be abundant one year, absent the next.
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Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow: Small sparrow, pale-streaked gray back, white throat, heavily streaked buff breast and sides, white belly. Head has dark cap, eyestripe, thick, orange-brown eyebrows and gray ear patches. Gray wings with orange-brown shoulders. Brown tail is pointed.
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Swainson's Thrush: Medium-sized thrush (swainsoni), with dull olive-brown or olive-gray upperparts, pale buff eye-ring, dark moustache stripe, and brown-spotted buff throat and breast, and white belly. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Flies in a swift, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Siberian Rubythroat: Medium-sized thrush with olive-brown upperparts, bright red throat, gray breast and sides, and white belly. Head has white stripes above and below eyes. Wings and tail are olive-brown. Often cocks tail upward. Forages on ground for various insects and berries.
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Stonechat: Small thrush with black back and white rump. Underparts are white except for orange breast. Head is black and collar is white. Wings are black with white stripes. Tail is black. Found in open meadows and marsh edges. Forages for insects on ground; also picks off vegetation.
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Swainson's Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with olive-brown upperparts and pale gray underparts. Head has brown cap, white eyebrows, and dark eye-lines. Wings are plain olive-brown. It hides in dense thickets, where it forages on the ground looking for insects, spiders, and caterpillars.
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Savannah Sparrow: Small sparrow, dark-streaked, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, heavy streaks on breast and sides. Head has a brown crown with pale central stripe and pale yellow or white eyebrows. Brown wings have two pale bars. Tail is short and notched. Pink legs and feet.
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Sharp-tailed Grouse: Medium grouse with lightly barred brown upperparts and white underparts dotted with chevrons. Head has short crest, yellow-orange eye comb, and pink or violet neck patch exposed when displaying. Tail is pointed and white-edged. Often seen on prairies in the summer.
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Stejneger's Petrel: Small petrel with gray-brown upperparts, dark gray rump, white underparts. Black head, nape, bill. White face. Gray-brown upperwing, black greater coverts and outer primaries forming an M pattern across lower back. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Gray-brown tail mottled with white.
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Smith's Longspur: Medium sparrow, yellow-brown streaked upperparts, black head with white eyebrow and ear patch, and yellow-brown nape, throat, and underparts. Wings have large white bars. Tail is black with white edges. Yellow-brown legs and feet. Feeds on seeds, spiders, and insects.
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Sooty Shearwater: Large shearwater with dark gray-brown body, darkest on tail and primaries. Underwing coverts are pale. Bill is long and dark. Legs and feet are black. Eats fish, squid and crustaceans. Long, narrow wings are slightly swept-back. Alternates strong direct flapping with long glides.
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Streaked Shearwater: Large shearwater with scaled, dark gray-brown upperparts, white underparts. White head has variable light to heavy pale brown streaks. Uppertail coverts can be white, forming a pale "horseshoe." The forehead is white. Bill is pale. Legs and feet are pink. Eats small fish and squid. Flies with loose, angled wings. Light, graceful flapping and gliding.
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Short-tailed Shearwater: Medium shearwater with dark brown body and occasional traces of white in the center of upperwings. Bill is short and dark. Feet are dark gray and trail slightly behind tail in flight. Tail is rounded. Alternates strong flaps with long glides, often soars for long periods.
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Spot-billed Duck: Native of Asia, named for red spots at base of yellow-tipped black bill; subspecies occurring in North America generally lacks these spots. Scaled brown overall with buff face, neck, upper breast. Dark crown, nape, eyestripe. Blue speculum with white borders; orange legs and feet.
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Short-tailed Hawk: Small hawk of grass and woodland habitat in Florida. Occurs in two color morphs: Dark morph adult is uniformly dark brown with thin dark bands on a dull white tail. In flight shows white flight feathers with thin dark bands and dark wingtips. The light morph has white underparts.
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Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, scaled brown and black upperparts, red-brown wash on face, neck, spotted upper breast, white underparts. Most distinguishing characteristic is the extraordinarily flared tip on its black bill. Black legs, feet. Flight is swift and direct on rapid wing beats.
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Spruce Grouse: Medium grouse with barred, dark gray-brown upperparts, black underparts show white bars on breast, white chevrons on sides, belly. Throat is white-bordered black; red eye combs. Tail is either black with fine white spots near base (Franklin's) or black with rufous-brown tip (Tiaga).
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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Medium flycatcher with pale gray upperparts and head, white underparts and throat, salmon-pink sides and flanks, and dark brown wings with white edges. Tail is long and scissor-like, black above with white outer edges and white below with black inner edges.
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Sky Lark: Medium lark (pekinensis), dark-streaked, brown upperparts and white underparts with streaks on breast, sides. The head has indistinct crest and white eyebrows. Tail is dark with white edges. Forages on ground by walking and running. Feeds mostly on seeds, grains, and insects.
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Slate-throated Redstart: Medium warbler with slate-gray upperparts, black face, throat, red breast, belly, and chestnut-brown crown. The tail is slate-gray with white edges and the wings are black. Insects make up most of its diet caught on the wing and it also forages on the ground.
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Song Sparrow: Medium sparrow, heavily streaked gray-brown upperparts. Dull white underparts have dark central breast spot, thick streaks. Head has brown crown, paler median stripe, pale gray eyebrow, white chin, dark brown moustache stripe. Rust-brown wings. Tail is long, usually tinged rust-brown.
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Spotted Towhee: Large sparrow, white-spotted black back, black rump. Black breast, white belly, rufous sides. Head is black and eyes are red. Wings are black with white spots. Tail is long and black with white corners. Short, bounding flights, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.
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Spotted Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, olive-brown upperparts, white underparts with bold black spots. Eyestripe is white. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is barred. Dull yellow legs. Low direct flight, wings flap in shallow arcs, producing clipped, stiff wing beats on drooping wings.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Snowy Plover: Small plover, pale brown upperparts, white underparts. Dark patches on either side of upper breast (partial breast band), behind eye, and on white forehead. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Dark tail has white edges. Dark gray legs and feet.
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Semipalmated Plover: Small plover, gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Forehead and faint eyebrows are white, while face and collar are black. Bill is orange with black tip. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is brown with white edges. Orange legs, feet. Strong direct flight.
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Sharp-tailed Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with dark brown upperparts and white underparts with faint olive-brown streaks on breast and sides. Head has rufous crown, white eye ring and eyestripe. Wings are dark brown. Tail is dark brown and pointed in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Semipalmated Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and fine streaks on the breast and sides. The black bill is short, stout and straight. Feeds on insects, worms, small mollusks and crustaceans. Legs and feet are black. Swift flight on rapidly beating wings.
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Stilt Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with gray-brown upperparts, white rump, heavily barred white underparts. Head has a dark cap, white eyebrows, and brown ear patches. Bill is long, black, and curved down at tip. Legs are long and gray-green. Powerful, direct flight on long, rapidly beating wings.
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Solitary Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, pale-spotted, dark brown back and rump, white underparts with streaks on neck and sides. Head is dark, eye-ring is bold white. Tail is black with conspicuous black-and-white barred edges. Bill, legs, and feet are olive-green. Direct flight is light and bouyant.
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Say's Phoebe: Medium-sized, active flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts and head, paler gray throat and upper breast, and pale rufous belly and undertail coverts. The wings and tail are dark gray. Feeds primarily on insects. Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats. Hawks from perch, hovers.
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Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher: Large flycatcher with boldly streaked olive-brown upperparts and pale yellow underparts with dark brown streaks. Eyestripes are thick and black with white borders. The wings are dark and edged with white. Tail is rust-brown. Slow fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.
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Sora: Small rail with dark gray-brown upperparts with black-and-white streaks. Breast is gray and flanks and belly are dark gray with white bars. Gray head has a darker crown and nape, and black face, chin, and throat. Bill is yellow with dark tip. Low, weak, and floppy flight over short distances.
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South Polar Skua Dark: Small, gull-like skua, occurs in two color phases. Dark phase adult has dark brown body, large white patch at base of primaries visible in flight. Dark bill, thick and heavy; short, broad tail. Light phase adult has pale gray-brown head and underparts. Strong direct flight.
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Surfbird: Medium sandpiper, dark gray upperparts marked with rufous, white rump, white underparts marked with distinct black chevrons. Upper breast, head, neck are heavily streaked. Wings are dark with bold white stripes visible in flight. Tail is white with a black triangular tip visible in flight.
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Spotted Dove: Medium dove with gray-brown upperparts and pink-brown underparts. Head has a pale gray cap, dark eye-line, and white-spotted black nape patch. The tail is long and gray with black edges and white corners. Bill is black, legs and feet are pink. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
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Short-billed Dowitcher Breeding Adult: Large sandpiper, upperparts mottled gray, black, brown and red-brown, white rump, red-brown underparts with heavy spots, and bars (east and west coast birds have heavier barred and spotted, paler underparts and often show white bellies). Strong direct flight.
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Sprague's Pipit: Medium pipit with streaked, brown upperparts, buff breast with dark streaks, and white throat and belly. Eyebrows are white. Tail is brown with white edges. Thin, pale bill. Legs are yellow to pale brown. Its plumage blends well among prairie grasses, making it difficult to spot.
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