All About Birds California

Cover
Table of Contents
Introduction
	Getting Started
Birding 101
	Four Keys to Bird Identification
	Using Field Marks to Identify Birds
	Use Merlin to See the Possibilities
	Tips for Beginning Bird Watchers
	Listening to Birds
	Photographing Birds
	Digiscoping
Attracting Birds to Your Yard
	Birdscaping
	Bird Feeders
	Feeder Placement & Safety
	Bird Food
	Water Sources
	Features of a Good Birdhouse
Getting Involved
	Citizen Science
	eBird
	Great Backyard Bird Count
	Bird Academy
	Project FeederWatch
	NestWatch
	Celebrate Urban Birds
	Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds
Guide to Species
	Snow Goose / GEESE • SWANS • DUCKS
	Brant
	Canada Goose
	Mute Swan
	Wood Duck
	Northern Shoveler
	Gadwall
	American Wigeon
	Mallard
	Northern Pintail
	Canvasback
	Redhead
	Lesser Scaup
	Ruddy Duck
	California Quail / QUAIL • TURKEY • GROUSE
	Gambel’s Quail
	Wild Turkey
	Sooty Grouse
	Chukar
	Pied-billed Grebe / GREBES
	Eared Grebe
	Western Grebe
	Rock Pigeon / PIGEONS • DOVES • CUCKOOS
	Band-tailed Pigeon
	Eurasian Collared-Dove
	Common Ground Dove
	White-winged Dove
	Mourning Dove
	Greater Roadrunner
	Lesser Nighthawk / NIGHTJARS
	Common Nighthawk
	White-throated Swift / SWIFTS • HUMMINGBIRDS
	Black-chinned Hummingbird
	Anna’s Hummingbird
	Costa’s Hummingbird
	Calliope Hummingbird
	Rufous Hummingbird
	Allen’s Hummingbird
	Sora / RAILS • GALLINULES • COOTS
	Common Gallinule
	American Coot
	Sandhill Crane / CRANES • STILTS • OYSTERCATCHERS
	Black-necked Stilt
	Black Oystercatcher
	Black-bellied Plover / PLOVERS • SANDPIPERS
	Killdeer
	Long-billed Curlew
	Marbled Godwit
	Ruddy Turnstone
	Sanderling
	Western Sandpiper
	Spotted Sandpiper
	Willet
	Common Murre / MURRES • AUKS
	Pigeon Guillemot
	Black-legged Kittiwake / GULLS • TERNS
	Heermann’s Gull
	Mew Gull
	Ring-billed Gull
	Western Gull
	California Gull
	Herring Gull
	Glaucous-winged Gull
	Glaucous Gull
	Least Tern
	Caspian Tern
	Black Tern
	Common Tern
	Forster’s Tern
	Royal Tern
	Elegant Tern
	Black Skimmer / SKIMMERS
	Red-throated Loon / LOONS
	Common Loon
	Brandt’s Cormorant / CORMORANTS • PELICANS
	Double-crested Cormorant
	American White Pelican
	Brown Pelican
	Great Blue Heron / HERONS • IBISES
	Great Egret
	Snowy Egret
	Cattle Egret
	Green Heron
	Black-crowned Night-Heron
	White-faced Ibis
	Turkey Vulture / VULTURES
	Osprey / KITES • HAWKS • EAGLES
	White-tailed Kite
	Golden Eagle
	Northern Harrier
	Sharp-shinned Hawk
	Cooper’s Hawk
	Bald Eagle
	Red-shouldered Hawk
	Swainson’s Hawk
	Red-tailed Hawk
	Rough-legged Hawk
	Western Screech-Owl / OWLS
	Great Horned Owl
	Burrowing Owl
	Barred Owl
	Belted Kingfisher / KINGFISHERS
	Red-breasted Sapsucker / WOODPECKERS
	Acorn Woodpecker
	Downy Woodpecker
	Nuttall’s Woodpecker
	Ladder-backed Woodpecker
	Hairy Woodpecker
	White-headed Woodpecker
	Pileated Woodpecker
	Northern Flicker
	American Kestrel / FALCONS
	Peregrine Falcon
	Western Wood-Pewee / TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
	Black Phoebe
	Say’s Phoebe
	Vermilion Flycatcher
	Ash-throated Flycatcher
	Western Kingbird
	Warbling Vireo / VIREOS
	Loggerhead Shrike / SHRIKES
	Northern Shrike
	Canada Jay / JAYS • MAGPIES • CROWS
	Pinyon Jay
	Steller’s Jay
	California Scrub-Jay
	Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
	Black-billed Magpie
	Yellow-billed Magpie
	Clark’s Nutcracker
	American Crow
	Common Raven
	Mountain Chickadee / CHICKADEES • TITMICE
	Chestnut-backed Chickadee
	Oak Titmouse
	Juniper Titmouse
	Verdin / VERDINS
	Horned Lark / LARKS
	Purple Martin / SWALLOWS
	Tree Swallow
	Violet-green Swallow
	Barn Swallow
	Cliff Swallow
	Bushtit / BUSHTITS
	Wrentit / WRENTITS
	Golden-crowned Kinglet / KINGLETS
	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
	Red-breasted Nuthatch / NUTHATCHES
	White-breasted Nuthatch
	Pygmy Nuthatch
	Brown Creeper / CREEPERS
	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher / GNATCATCHERS
	Rock Wren / WRENS
	Canyon Wren
	House Wren
	Pacific Wren
	Bewick’s Wren
	Cactus Wren
	American Dipper / DIPPERS
	European Starling / STARLINGS
	Northern Mockingbird / MOCKINGBIRDS
	Western Bluebird / THRUSHES
	Mountain Bluebird
	Townsend’s Solitaire
	Varied Thrush
	Hermit Thrush
	American Robin
	Cedar Waxwing / WAXWINGS
	Phainopepla / SILKY-FLYCATCHERS
	House Sparrow / OLD WORLD SPARROWS
	Evening Grosbeak / FINCHES • CROSSBILLS
	House Finch
	Purple Finch
	Cassin’s Finch
	Red Crossbill
	Pine Siskin
	Lesser Goldfinch
	Lawrence’s Goldfinch
	American Goldfinch
	Grasshopper Sparrow / SPARROWS • JUNCOS • TOWHEES
	Black-throated Sparrow
	Lark Sparrow
	Chipping Sparrow
	Brewer’s Sparrow
	Fox Sparrow
	Dark-eyed Junco
	White-crowned Sparrow
	Golden-crowned Sparrow
	White-throated Sparrow
	Savannah Sparrow
	Song Sparrow
	Lincoln’s Sparrow
	Abert’s Towhee
	California Towhee
	Rufous-crowned Sparrow
	Green-tailed Towhee
	Spotted Towhee
	Yellow-breasted Chat
	Yellow-headed Blackbird / BLACKBIRDS • ORIOLES • GRACKLES
	Western Meadowlark
	Hooded Oriole
	Bullock’s Oriole
	Red-winged Blackbird
	Tricolored Blackbird
	Brown-headed Cowbird
	Brewer’s Blackbird
	Great-tailed Grackle
	Orange-crowned Warbler / WOOD-WARBLERS
	Common Yellowthroat
	Yellow Warbler
	Yellow-rumped Warbler
	Townsend’s Warbler / WOOD-WARBLERS
	Wilson’s Warbler
	Summer Tanager / TANAGERS • GROSBEAKS • BUNTINGS
	Western Tanager
	Black-headed Grosbeak
	Blue Grosbeak
	Lazuli Bunting
Image Credits
Index
Acknowledgments