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25 Bird species

American Flamingo

These mostly pink, tall long-legged wading birds are unmistakeable. Pink head, pale iris and large chunky pale bill with black and pink tip. Long, slender and curved pink neck and pink body. Extremely long, dull pink legs, brightest at joints. In flight, black and pink wings. Sexes similar. Juvenile more...

Length: 117 cm Wingspan: 152 cm

American White Pelican

Very large mostly white waterbird with black wingtips. Head is disproportionately large with a huge, long bill with extensible pouch and, in breeding season, horn on upper mandible. Neck long, crooked in flight. Body mostly white; immatures have dusky markings on wings. Bill and skin around eye orang more...

Length: 155 cm Wingspan: 274 cm

Brown Pelican

Large, swan-sized mostly brown waterbird with a massive, long beak with extensible pouch. Atlantic populations have greenish to brown pouches and pale yellowish bills. Western birds have red pouch. Adults have grayish backs with darker brown underparts. Broad, crooked, long wings. Black legs and shor more...

Length: 130 cm Wingspan: 200 cm

California Condor

The largest soaring bird in North America, California Condor dwarfs even the eagles. The plumage is black with a single white wing bar. A ruff of loose feathers surrounds the base of the neck. The head and neck are unfeathered, and range from yellow to red-orange. The feet are whitish, and the expose more...

Length: 117 cm Wingspan: 183 cm

Common Crane

Large crane with long black legs and sharp yellowish beak. Adult: Black head. Unfeathered crown with red patch. Red eye. Broad white stripe behind eye connected to single white stripe running down hind-neck. Black front of neck. Grayish body and wings with long, poofy black and gray wing plumes. In f more...

Length: 120 cm Wingspan: 85 cm

Gray Heron

Large, long legged heron with thick and pointy bill. Alternate Adult: Thick dark stripe behind eye, turning into two or three occipital plumes. Pale head. Pale eye, dark lores. Bill color ranges from dirty yellowish to yellowish-pink. Grayish sides and back of neck. White center of neck with black st more...

Length: 92 cm Wingspan: 175 cm

Great Blue Heron

Extremely tall, gray-blue heron that is often mistaken for a "crane" by non-birders. Adult: gray and white face, pale yellow eye, broad dark stripes border the white crown, black plumes and white crown stripe extending to thick yellowish bill. Long, gray neck with white and black streaking on the for more...

Length: 117 cm Wingspan: 183 cm

Great Cormorant

Large mostly black water bird. Head large and blocky. Long and sturdy bill with hooked tip. Dark feet; relatively short, square tail. Breeding adults mostly black. Sides of head have white plumes. Yellow (bare skin) gular pouch is bordered by white throat feathering. Upper parts somewhat glossy, with more...

Length: 91 cm Wingspan: 160 cm

Great Egret

The largest egret in North America; has a very long neck and long legs with all-white plumage. Breeding adult: white head, pale iris, light greenish lores. Long, yellow-orange bill. Long, white neck with plumes at base. Slim white body with long white plumes hanging from back and long, dark legs. Juv more...

Length: 99 cm Wingspan: 130 cm

Great Frigatebird

Large and dark with long crooked and pointed wings, long deeply-forked tail, and long, gray hooked bill. Adult males have red throat pouch that they inflate into large balloon. Iridescent green back. Upperwing coverts have brown bars. Pinkish feet. Females also mostly dark, with a white chest. Juveni more...

Length: 95 cm Wingspan: 216 cm

Jabiru

Huge, bulky stork with thick neck and massive, slightly upturned bill. Adult: black, featherless head and neck with red patch at base of neck. Dark eye and bill. All white body, extremely long dark legs. First year: similar to adult but paler red patch on neck, with brown feathers scattered on body. more...

Length: 132 cm Wingspan: 229 cm

Magnificent Frigatebird

Large and black with extremely long, angular, pointed wings and forked tail. Hooked bill long and gray. Male entirely black, glossy above, with red throat pouch. Displaying male inflates balloon-like red throat-pouch. Feet and legs tiny and dark. Female has white patch on chest and pale patches on to more...

Length: 102 cm Wingspan: 229 cm

Mute Swan

This species was introduced from Europe, and is expanding its range in North America. Like other swans, plumage is entirely white, but the neck may be stained. The bill is bright orange or salmon colored with a black base and a black knobby growth at the base of the culmen. Unlike other swans, this s more...

Length: 142 cm Wingspan: 213 cm

Northern Gannet

Boobies and gannets are large and distinctive in shape with long slightly crooked pointed wings, fairly long necks that taper into a slender head and long pointed bill, with a lot of neck and head extension in front of the wing. The rump and tail extend well behind the wings, tapering to a fairly nar more...

Length: 94 cm Wingspan: 183 cm

Sandhill Crane

Adult is very large, stands upright, with mostly gray body and wings, long gray neck, long black legs, straight black bill, and red crown. In summer, body is often rusty-reddish. Juvenile lacks red crown and has reddish-brown plumage. In flight, legs trail behind body and long neck extends straight a more...

Length: 117 cm Wingspan: 195 cm

Short-tailed Albatross

A huge, long-winged seabird, rare off Pacific Coast. Adult has black wings, white back and body, black tail, yellowish neck, white head, and thick pink bill. Sexes are similar. Immature plumage, retained for several years, is sooty brown overall; note large pink bill. Chunkier than Laysan and Black-f more...

Length: 91 cm Wingspan: 221 cm

Non-vegetated Areas

1 species

California Condor

Gymnogyps californianus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Beaches, Open Country and Grasslands, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Dry Western Woodlands

Salt Water

19 species

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Lakes Resevoirs

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Mangroves

California Condor

Gymnogyps californianus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Beaches, Open Country and Grasslands, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Dry Western Woodlands

Gray Heron

Ardea cinerea

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Estuaries and Bays, Beaches, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Urban Landscapes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Open Country and Grasslands

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Lakes Resevoirs

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Streams and Brooks, Open Country and Grasslands

Great Frigatebird

Fregata minor

Open Ocean, Mangroves

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Mangroves

Mute Swan

Cygnus olor

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Northern Gannet

Morus bassanus

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Coastal Cliffs

Short-tailed Albatross

Phoebastria albatrus

Open Ocean

Steller's Sea-Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Estuaries and Bays, Coastal Cliffs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest

Tundra Swan

Cygnus columbianus

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulans

Open Ocean

White-capped Albatross

Thalassarche cauta

Open Ocean

Whooping Crane

Grus americana

Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers, Southern Wooded Swamps

Human-altered Areas

4 species

Gray Heron

Ardea cinerea

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Streams and Brooks, Open Country and Grasslands

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Southern Wooded Swamps, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Fresh Water

20 species

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Lakes Resevoirs

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Beaches, Mangroves

Common Crane

Grus grus

Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands

Gray Heron

Ardea cinerea

Estuaries and Bays, Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Suburban/residential Landscapes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Estuaries and Bays, Inshore Waters, Rocky Shores, Coastal Cliffs, Lakes Resevoirs

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Streams and Brooks, Open Country and Grasslands

Great Frigatebird

Fregata minor

Open Ocean, Mangroves

Jabiru

Jabiru mycteria

Ponds and Rivers

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Open Ocean, Inshore Waters, Beaches, Mangroves

Mute Swan

Cygnus olor

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers

Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Steller's Sea-Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Estuaries and Bays, Coastal Cliffs, Ponds and Rivers, Boreal Forest

Trumpeter Swan

Cygnus buccinator

Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers, Open Country and Grasslands

Tundra Swan

Cygnus columbianus

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnus

Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Whooping Crane

Grus americana

Tidal Mudflats and Shallows, Saltmarshes, Fresh Water Marshes

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Southern Wooded Swamps, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Wood Stork

Mycteria americana

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers, Southern Wooded Swamps

Grassland and Scrubland

9 species

California Condor

Gymnogyps californianus

Rocky Cliffs and Gorges, Beaches, Open Country and Grasslands, Alpine Tundra and Meadows, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Dry Western Woodlands

Common Crane

Grus grus

Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Great Egret

Ardea alba

Estuaries and Bays, Saltmarshes, Sewage Treatment Plants, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Ponds and Rivers, Streams and Brooks, Open Country and Grasslands

Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

Fresh Water Marshes, Open Country and Grasslands, Alpine Tundra and Meadows

Trumpeter Swan

Cygnus buccinator

Fresh Water Marshes, Ponds and Rivers, Open Country and Grasslands

Tundra Swan

Cygnus columbianus

Estuaries and Bays, Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnus

Fresh Water Marshes, Lakes Resevoirs, Open Country and Grasslands

Wild Turkey

Meleagris gallopavo

Suburban/residential Landscapes, Southern Wooded Swamps, Chapparal, Oak Savannah and Woodlands, Eastern Deciduous Forest, Streamside Gallery Forest and Riparia

Forest and Woodlands

3 species