national wildlife federation’s world of birds by kim kurki

8/12/2019 National Wildlife Federations WORLD OF BIRDS by Kim Kurki

1/11


2/11

ITS SHORT, THICK BILLCAN CRACK OPEN

HARD SEEDS.

FEMA

LE

mALE

SCARLETSONGSTER

als

o knowna

REDB IRD


3/11

1

FIELDS,THICKETS

&BACKYARDS

Imaginary FoeA male will fiercely defendhis feeding territory.You may see himfighting his reflectionin a car mirror orwindow, trying toscare off theother bird.

ConstantChorus

Both the male and female areexcellent singers. They might be

heard at any time of the year, notjust in spring when most other birds sing.

Once they moveinto your yard, acardinal familymay live therefor many years.

HOME

SWEETHOME

Bird-FeederBuddiesOther reddish birds will commonlybe seen sharing time with cardinalsat bird feeders in North America. Like thecardinal, these finches are seed eaters, which

you can tell by their short, thick bills.

HOUSE F INCH

Purple FINCH

mALE

FEMALE

mALE FEMALE

PYRRHULOXIA


4/11

NATURES

ALARMCLOCK:

ITSTARTSTOSING

ATSUNRISE.

SQUIRMY SNACK

FRUITY FEASTA young

FEMALETHE

mALETHE


5/11

1

FIELDS,THICKETS

&BACKYARDS

1

Cocking itshead from

side to side, itseems to be

listening forworms. Actually,

it spots them bysight and pulls themfrom the ground.

Take aSecond LookEASTERN TOWHEE(Its call sounds like its name.)Often mistaken for a robin. However, a towhee

is smaller and has a mostly white breast withreddish patches on the sides.

You will probably hear the towhee before yousee it, as it scratches noisily for insects in dryleaves, under shrubs, and in thickets, whereit hides.

Robins generallymigrate short

distances,especially thosein Canada andAlaska.

Although they aretraditionally seenas a first signof spring, theyare common year-round throughoutmuch of theUnited States.

Bon

Voyage

European robin

FEmALE

mALE


6/11

THE BLUE TIT HOLDS THE

RECORD FOR THE MOST

EGGS LAID BY A SONGBIRD

IN A SINGLE NEST -

19!

THENAMETITISSHORTENEDFROMTHE

ORIGINALNAMETITMOUSE,

GENERALLYMEANING

SMALLBIRD.

IT NESTSIN TREE

CAVITIES,ABANDONED

WOODPECKERHOLES, ANDNEST BOXES.

BACKYARD BUDDIES

GREATTIT

NUTHATCH

EURASIAN

robin

european

mALE

femALE

THEFEMALEMAYBESLIGHTLYPALERTHANTHEMALE.

FEED ING FRENZY IT HAS A

LARGE FAMILY

OF 7-16CHICKS. EACH

NESTLING WILL

EAT ABOUT100CATERPILLARS

A DAY.


7/11

1

FIELDS,THICKETS

&BACKYARDS

AmericanCousinsThe BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE andthe Tufted Titmouseare both members of theTit family. They are found in eastern NorthAmerica and share many nesting and feedinghabits with the European Tits. Found mainlyin woodlands, these friendly birds are alsofamiliar sights at feeders.The Black-CappedChickadee maybecome quite tameand can learn to eatfrom your hand.Its named for itscall, which sounds

like schick-a-dee.

The Blue Tit is a familiar small bird across muchof Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, andparts of Asia. Its found mainly in woodlands,but is also common in open habitats, such asparks and gardens.

Gardeners Friends In summer, the Blue Tit

eats mostly aphids, a pestthat can damage plants.

It will hang upside downto find aphids under

leaves.

Rat-a-Tat CrackIn winter, the Blue Titeats mostly seeds andnuts. It will hold anut with its feet orwedge it into a

crevice to hammerit open with its bill.

The TUFTED TITMOUSEhas a tuft or crest of

feathers on it head.It lines its nest with fur,sometimes plucked

from living animals.

Topsy-TurvyA common companion tothese birds at feeders is the

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH .Also known as upside-down birds, White-Breasted Nuthatches creep down tree trunksheadfirst, looking for insects in bark crevices.With their strong feet, they also walk upsidedown on small branches.


8/11

JENNYWREN

ALSOKNOWNASTHE

WRENS BUILDNESTS IN MANYODD PLACES . . .

ANDINHOUSESMADE

JUSTFORTHEM.

LIVESNEAR

HOUSES,FARMS,

ANDBRUSHYWOODS

IN NORTHAND SOUTH

AMERICA.

WRENSE

AT

LOTS

OFINSE

CTS.


9/11

1

FIELDS,THICKETS

&BACKYARDS

More BackyardBlusterA native of Europe, much of Asia, and part of

the Mediterranean, the HOUSE SPARROWhas been introduced throughout the

world and resides where humans live.

FEmALE

This noisy andaggressive bird will stealnest sites (such as thisbluebird box) from nativehole-nesting birds(including wrens).

The CAROLINAWRENis foundmainly in the

eastern UnitedStates. It is largerthan the HouseWren and haswhite stripesabove its eyes.

CACTUS WRENThis large wrenbuilds stick nestsamong the spinesof a cactus inMexico and thesouthwesternUnited States.

Busy, NoisyBuilderA male will sing his gurgling songthroughout the nesting season.

He will return to the same nesting

place each spring and start tobuild as many as a dozen nests.

He will fill up anysuitable nook with

sticks and may useup to 500 sticksin a single nest.

These practice nestsare called dummynests. The femalewill choose the oneshe likes and willhelp to finish it.

Both parents feed theyoung. A single pairmay make 600 food-carrying trips ina single day.

Bully BirdAlthough its otherwisea delight, a wren mayinvade nests of otherbirds to defend its territory.It will puncture and removeeggs from sites where itwants to nest.

mALE

EXTENDED

FAM ILY


10/11

mALE

femALE

THEY BUILD

NESTS INSIDE

HOLES IN:

TREES

FENCE

POSTS

BOXESMADE JUST

FORTHEM

FOUND IN OPEN

WOODLANDS AND MEADOWS FROM SOUTHERN

CANADA TO AS FAR SOUTH AS

NICARAGUA IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

IN WINTERTHEY EAT LOTS

OF WILD BERRIES.

THEY EAT

MANY INSECTS

IN SUMMER.

THEBLUEBIRDISASYMBOLOF

HAPPINESSANDLUCK.


11/11

2

FIELDS,THICKETS

&BACKYARDS

mALE

The Returnof the Bluebirds

Decades ago, this peaceful bird was not as common asit is today. Aggressive nonnative birds such as Starlingsand House Sparrows were taking over its nesting sites.

Concerned bird loversbuilt many nest boxes.They placed themfacing open fields,where insects are easy

to find. The perfect boxfor a bluebird has a 1-inch (3.8 cm) opening,too small for Starlings.If House Sparrowsmove in, human birdhelpers remove thenesting materials.

FarmersFriend

The Bluebird eats many insects that candamage crops. Often seen perching ona fence post near farms, it will scanthe ground and swoop down tograb its meal.

Upland CousinLike the Eastern Bluebird, theMOUNTAINBLUEBIRDeats many insects, but it

searches for them by hovering in the air.It either catches them in flight ordrops down to pluck them fromthe ground.

It is found in high mountains,grasslands, meadows, and

woodlands in westernNorth America.

SnugShelterOn a frigid winter

night, as many as adozen bluebirds mayhuddle together ina tree cavity ornest box.

mALE

FEmALE

national wildlife federation’s world of birds by kim kurki

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