General Information:

• Unique to North America.

• Populations severely declined in the early nineteenth century; however, they are on the rise since the 1970's.

• Population increases have largely been attributed to 1970 legislation banning DDT pesticide use.

• Male and female bald eagles may mate for life.

Nests:

• Male and female bald eagles build nests together, sometimes over the course of years.

• Mostly in trees, but will nest on the ground, coasts, rivers, large lakes, and cliffs. Nests in trees are typically at least 180 feet high.

• Made of mounds of sticks and lined with finer materials.

Feeding:

• Opportunistic; a predator and a scavenger.

• Mostly hunt by perching and swooping

• Also steal, wade in water, and steal food.

Diet:

• Feed heavily on fish: herring, salmon, carp, catfish, and more.

• When fish are scarce, bald eagles will eat birds: ducks, coots, auklets, and more.

• Sometimes eat turtles, crabs, and shellfish.

• Carrion.

Picture sourced from: allaboutbirds.org & Steven Mlodinow (Macaulay Library)

General Information:

• One of the most recognizable, wide spread, large hawks across the United States.

• Population is steady or slightly rising since the 1960's.

Nesting:

• Nests are a bulky bowl of sticks lined with finer material and leafy green branches.

• Usually in a tree taller than its surroundings about 120 feet high, but also on ledges of artificial structures, cliffs, and arms of cacti.

Feeding:

• Most hunting is done by perching and swooping.

• Known for their spectacular dives.

• Circle high in the air and scour fields.

• Eat small prey while perched and large prey in fields.

Diet:

• Small mammals: voles, rabbits, rats, and ground squirrels.

• Birds up to the size of a pheasant.

• Reptiles, especially snakes.

• Sometimes eat frogs, bats, toads, and insects.

• May feed on carrion.

Picture sourced from: allaboutbirds.org & Jonathan Erickson (Macaulay Library)

General Information:

• Medium sized hawk found in woodland areas.

• Often confused with the Sharp-Shin Hawk.

• Distinguishing feature is their tail: Cooper's Hawk's are much more rounded.

Nesting:

• Bulky sticks lined with softer material such as bark.

• Usually on existing foundations, such as larger bird nests or mistletoe clumps, in trees approximately 25-30 feet above ground.

• Males and females, in courtship, will fly over nests with slow, exaggerated wingbeats to claim territory.

Feeding:

• Known as a stealthy hunter moving from perch to perch in dense wooded cover.

• Listen and watch for prey and strike with a bust of speed.

• Will sometime fly low to the ground and approach shrubs from behind.

Diet:

• Other birds: mostly medium sized birds in the range of robins, jays, flickers, etc. Will eat larger or smaller birds, if necessary.

• Smaller mammals: chipmunks, tree squirrels, ground squirrels, mice, bats, etc.

• Sometimes will eat reptiles and insects.

Picture sourced from: allaboutbirds.org & Evan Lipton (Macaulay Library)

General Information:

• The largest woodpecker in North America.

• Populations became rare in the eastern United States with forest clearings; however, populations have gradually increased since the beginning of the 20th century.

• Animated character "Woody The Woodpecker" is this specie of bird.

Nesting:

• Nest site is a cavity in a dead tree or in a branch of a live tree. Generally, make a new cavity every year.

• Defend territory with loud drumming and ringing calls.

• Nests in conifer, mixed, and hardwood forests; wide variety of specific forest types from southern swamps to old-growth Douglas-fir forests in the northwest.

• Permanent resident; does not migrate.

Feeding:

• Forages; probes, pries, excavates in dead wood in search of insects.

• Will gouge holes in dead wood to reach ant hills.

• May eat berries, as well.

Diet:

• Approximately 60% of diet is Carpenter Ants.

• Will eat other insects: other ants, termites, larvae of wood-boring beetles, etc.

• About 25% of diet consists of wild fruits, berries, and nuts.

Picture sourced from: allaboutbirds.org & David Turgeon (Macaulay Library)

General Information:

• Officially the state bird of six states: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Wyoming, and Montana.

• Became the state bird of Montana in 1931 after being voted on by school children.

• Similar in size, shape, and color to Eastern Meadowlark; however, the Western Meadowlark tunes more complex and different calls.

Nesting:

• Ground-nesters in areas of dense grass cover; make a small hollow or depression in the ground in the shape of a dome.

• Built by the females, who gather grass stems to protect the opening; protected by males, who sings to warn off predators.

Feeding:

• Forages by walking on the ground and probes soil with its bill.

• Searches low plants for insects and seeds.

• Forages in flocks during winter.

Diet:

Consists of a majority of insects and seeds:

• Insects: beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, ants, true bugs, and more.
• Will also eat spiders, snails, sowbugs, and more.
• 33% of their diet consists of seeds and waste grains. Relied on heavily in the fall and winter.

General Information:

• Most north reaching species of tanager in the summer.

• In the same family as cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings.

• Habitat consists of high mountains or the north in open conifer or mixed forests, but can be found anywhere when migrating.

Nesting:

• Typically in coniferous trees such as firs or pines; sometimes aspens, oaks, or other deciduous trees.

• Usually placed at a fork in a horizontal branch well out from the trunk and approximately 15-65 feet in the air.

• Nest is a shallow open cup made of twigs, grass, and rootlets; lined by animal hair and fine rootlets.

Feeding:

• Forages at the tops of trees; searching the foliage below for insects.

• Will catch insects in midair.

• Regularly sighted around flowers searching for insects and nectar.

Diet:

Mostly insects and berries:

• Insects: wasps, bees, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, termites, and cicadas.
• Berries: mulberries and elderberries.
• Will take some cultivated fruit.

General Information:

• Found North America and most of South America.

• Known as the "tiger owl" because of aggressive and powerful hunting tactics.

Nesting:

• Typically uses old nests of other large birds, such as hawk, eagle, crow, or heron.

• Usually 20-60 feet above ground on a cliff ledge, cave, or tree snag.

• Can sometimes nest on the ground.

• Add little or no material to nests with the exception of feathers.

• Nest in the late winter so young will learn to hunt prior to the following winter.

Feeding:

• Mostly hunts at night or dusk.

• Adaptations: great hearing and vision to hunt in low light conditions.

• Watches from a perch and swoops down to capture prey in its talons.

• Will store uneaten prey in the north and eat it after it thaws.

Diet:

Mostly mammals and birds:

• Mammals: rats, mice, rabbits, ground squirrels, skunks, and many other depending on region.
• Birds: up to the size of geese, ducks, hawks, and smaller owls.
• Also eat snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, scorpions, and on the rare occasion, fish.

General Information:

• Named after a song, which reminded settlers of the sound of a whetstone sharpening a saw.

• Widespread across North America and fairly common; however, populations are probably slightly declining due to loss of habitat.

Nesting:

• Nests are usually in cavities of trees approximately 15-60 feet high.

• Mostly use abandoned woodpecker holes, especially flickers and pileated woodpeckers. They will also use artificial nest boxes.

• Does not use the same nest two years in a row.

Feeding:

• Nearly exclusive hunters at night.

• Adaptations: good hearing and vision to hunt in low light conditions.

• Perches on low branches and swoops down on prey.

Diet:

• Mostly deer (forest) mice and voles.

• Small rodents such as other mice, shrews, young squirrels, and more.

• Will sometimes eat small birds and large insects.

Picture sourced from: allaboutbirds.org & Cameron Rutt (Macaulay Library)