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Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

113 Bird Species

Bullock's Oriole

Adult male Bullock's is unmistakable and flashy; entirely bright orange below and mostly black above. A broad white patch on the wing coverts stands out against mostly black wings and back. The mostly orange face combined with a black crown, throat and line through the eye creates a head pattern tha more...

Length: 22 cm Wingspan: 30 cm

Burrowing Owl

A small, partly diurnal, long-legged owl of open fields. Adult is brown overall with dark patterned wings, spotted and barred underparts, white throat and supercilium, short tail, long legs, and yellow eyes. Florida population is darker and more heavily marked. more...

Length: 24 cm Wingspan: 53 cm

Cactus Wren

Nearly double the size of other wrens, this species has a bulky build with a long broad tail and heavy bill. The upperparts are gray-brown with white streaks on the back and black and white barring on the wings and tail. The head shows a reddish brown crown and a bold white supercilium. The throat an more...

Length: 18 cm Wingspan: 27 cm

California Gnatcatcher

A tiny, long-tailed, gray bird of Southern California. Alternate adult male is bluish-gray overall with dark wings, long dark tail, pale throat, black cap, thin eye ring, and slender, pointed bill. Underside of tail is mostly dark. Basic adult male lacks black on head except for a spot over the eye. more...

Length: 11 cm Wingspan: 14 cm

California Quail

Plump adult stands upright and has stubby wings, relatively short legs and tail, and forward-curling plume on head. Male has blue-gray upperparts and breast, scaly belly, reddish sides streaked with white, scaly nape, black face with white borders, and dark reddish cap. Female lacks black on face and more...

Length: 25 cm Wingspan: 36 cm

California Thrasher

Adult has relatively long, decurved bill, dark eye, dark eyeline and malar, sandy-brown upperparts, long tail, and clean, buffy-tinged underparts with orangish undertail coverts. In flight, note small buffy tail corners. Crissal Thrasher has yellow eye and lacks orange tones underneath. Le Conte's Th more...

Length: 31 cm Wingspan: 32 cm

Canyon Towhee

This species is generally paler than the other brown towhees. Upperparts are pale gray-brown, with a rufous cap and pale eye ring. The tail is slightly darker, with inconspicuous white tips on the outer tail feathers. The sides are pale gray-brown, fading to whitish on the belly. The throat and upper more...

Length: 21 cm Wingspan: 28 cm

Canyon Wren

Adult has a mostly dark cinnamon-brown upperparts, with the nape and crown tinged with gray. Spiky tail is paler rufous with narrow dark barring. Dorsally mottled with small white and black spots, which are most dense on the nape and crown. Wings are dark cinnamon with dense dusky barring. Coverts ar more...

Length: 14 cm Wingspan: 19 cm

Cedar Waxwing

This species gets its name from the red waxy tips on the secondaries, visible at close range. Upperparts are a warm brown, grayish-brown on the wings and tail. Tail feathers are all broadly tipped with yellow forming a terminal band, that may be orange (diet-related) in some birds. The bushy crest an more...

Length: 18 cm Wingspan: 28 cm

Chihuahuan Raven

Raven-like in shape, but much smaller. Size similar to crows. All black. Heavy, stout, grayish bill. Slightly shaggy feathers on throat. Neck feathers white-based occasionally visible when feathers ruffled. Legs grayish-black. In flight, graduated, wedge-shaped tail. Similar to Common Raven but small more...

Length: 49 cm Wingspan: 112 cm

Chukar

Chicken-like, bulky, with short legs and tail. Adult has thick vertical black bars on flanks, sandy gray back and wings, orange undertail coverts, gray breast, creamy white belly, white throat with thick black border, red orbital ring around black eye, and short red bill. more...

Length: 36 cm Wingspan: 51 cm

Clay-colored Sparrow

A small, slender sparrow with long notched tail. In alternate plumage, the striking head pattern includes a darkly streaked crown with white median stripe, broad whitish supercilium, brown ear coverts boldly outlined in dark brown, whitish malar stripe, and dark lateral throat stripe. Upperparts are more...

Length: 12 cm Wingspan: 20 cm

Common Ground-Dove

Small, stocky dove with short, stubby, rounded wings, a short tail, and red eyes. Eastern adult male: gray-brown overall with bright pinkish wash on belly, breast, head and wings. Scaly-looking breast. Scaly-looking, bluish-gray crown and nape. Bronze spots on wing coverts. Reddish bill with black ti more...

Length: 17 cm Wingspan: 28 cm

Common Nighthawk

A slender, long-winged, partly nocturnal bird, widespread across North America. Adult is cryptically plumaged when perched, with long black primaries extending past tail, white wing spot underneath shoulder, softly-patterned upperparts marbled and spotted with brown and black tones, buffy or whitish more...

Length: 24 cm Wingspan: 61 cm

Common Poorwill

This compact, nocturnal bird is the smallest and shortest-tailed of the North American nightjars. Adult is cryptically plumaged when perched, gray overall, with rufous-barred primaries, short tail even with wingtips, short neck, large head, dark ear patch, white throat, large black eye, and short, bl more...

Length: 20 cm Wingspan: 43 cm

Common Raven

Large, all glossy black. Very heavy bill with curved culmen. Shaggy feathers on throat. Wings and tail are fairly long. Separated from crows by its much heavier bill, larger size, and wedge-shaped tail. Flight is more raptor-like than crows with proportionally longer tail and wings. Chihuahuan Raven more...

Length: 61 cm Wingspan: 135 cm

Non-vegetated Areas

15 species

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Rimrocks and Mesas, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Oak Savannah and Woodlands

Barn Owl

Tyto alba

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Black Rosy-Finch

Leucosticte atrata

Alpine Slopes, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Canyon Wren

Catherpes mexicanus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Bare Rocky Slopes, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Common Raven

Corvus corax

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Beaches, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Boreal Forest, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Western Confierous Forest, Dry Western Woodlands

Ferruginous Hawk

Buteo regalis

Rimrocks and Mesas, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Golden Eagle

Aquila chrysaetos

Alpine Slopes, Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Rimrocks and Mesas, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Clearcuts, Boreal Forest, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Southeastern Pine-oak Forest, Western Confierous Forest, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Le Conte's Thrasher

Toxostoma lecontei

Sandy Areas or Dunes, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Prairie Falcon

Falco mexicanus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Rough-legged Hawk

Buteo lagopus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Saltmarshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Boreal Forest

Say's Phoebe

Sayornis saya

Rimrocks and Mesas, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Dry Western Woodlands

Turkey Vulture

Cathartes aura

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Clearcuts, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Southeastern Pine-oak Forest, Western Confierous Forest, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Coastal Cliffs, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Salt Water

13 species

Barn Owl

Tyto alba

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Common Ground-Dove

Columbina passerina

Coastal Dunes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Southeastern Pine-oak Forest, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Coastal Dunes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Clearcuts

Common Raven

Corvus corax

Greater Sand-Plover

Charadrius leschenaultii

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Horned Lark

Eremophila alpestris

Beaches, Coastal Dunes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Mountain Plover

Charadrius montanus

Coastal Dunes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Northern Harrier

Circus cyaneus

Coastal Dunes, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Northern Shrike

Lanius excubitor

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Clearcuts, Oak Savannah and Woodlands

Rough-legged Hawk

Buteo lagopus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Saltmarshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Boreal Forest

Short-eared Owl

Asio flammeus

Coastal Dunes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

Coastal Dunes, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Clearcuts, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Southeastern Pine-oak Forest, Western Confierous Forest, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia, Thickets

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Coastal Cliffs, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Human-altered Areas

42 species

Barn Owl

Tyto alba

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Rimrocks and Mesas, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains

Bewick's Wren

Thryomanes bewickii

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia, Thickets

Black-billed Magpie

Pica hudsonia

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Dry Western Woodlands, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Deserts and Sagebrush Plains, Chapparal, Thickets