WHO AM I ?

?

FISH-EATING BIRDS

PUT ON YOUR BIRD DETECTIVE GLASSES TO IDENTIFY THESE COASTAL BIRDS

THERE WILL BE CLUES ALONG THE WAY

THESE BIRDS ALL EAT FISH EITHER EXCLUSIVELY, OR ALONG WITH OTHER FOOD SOURCES

ONCE YOU KNOW HOW TO RECOGNIZE THEM YOU CAN ENJOY THEM IN OUR

COASTAL HABITATS

HAVE FUN Birds rule

I STAND 4FT TALL AND HAVE A 6FT WING SPAN, I SIMPLY AM

GREAT

I AM A PATIENT HUNTER, STANDING STILL OR STALKING SLOWLY

I HAVE LARGE BLACK EYEBROWS EXTENDING INTO HEAD PLUMES

I LOVE TO EAT FISH, CRABS, LIZARDS

SNAKES AND GOPHERS

I AM A LARGE, STATELY WHITE STALKER

MY BIG BILL IS BRIGHT YELLOW

MY LEGS AND FEET ARE BLACK

I HUNT STANDING STILL OR WITH

SLOW DELIBERATE MOVES

I AM A HIGH-STRUNG JACK OF ALL HERONS

MY BILL IS BLACK, MY FEET ARE YELLOW

I HUNT ENERGETICALLY WITH ABRUPT

JERKY MOVES

I SHUFFLE MY FEET TO FLUSH PREY

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

I AM THE TYRANNOSAURUS REX OF THE MUDFLATS

I MOVE LIKE A MAD LINEBACKER

YOUR BEST CHANCE OF SEEING ME

IS AT BOLSA CHICA

I HAVE A LONG SHAGGY NECK

I AM INTOLERANT OF OTHER BIRDS AND ALWAYS HUNT ALONE

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens)

I AM A MOSTLY NOCTURNAL WATERFRONT THUG

MY FAVORITE NIGHTS ARE

GRUNION NIGHTS

I AM CHUNKY WITH A THICK NECK

I HAVE A BLACK CROWN AND

BEADY RED EYES

I AM SECRETIVE AND OFTEN ONLY SEEN IN FLIGHT

I AM OFTEN CALLED A DART GUN

IN FEATHERS

I HAVE A CHESTNUT-COLORED BREAST AND NECK

I LOVE SHALLOW WATER IN PONDS, MARSHES AND RIPARIAN HABITATS

I AM RARE AND SECRETIVE, SO COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY IF YOU SEE ME

MY NECK REPLICATES REED PATTERNS

I STAND RIGIDLY STILL WITH MY BILL

POINTING UP

I LOOK LIKE A SNAKE THAT SWALLOWED A FOOTBALL

I AM A VERY LARGE SEA BIRD

I HAVE AN ENORMOUS BILL AND GULAR POUCH

I PLUNGE DIVE FOR FISH

ALMOST VERTICALLY

I LOVE TO FLY IN V-FORMATION

ON LAND I HAVE A ROLLING SAILOR’S GATE

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

I AM AN ALL WHITE GIANT WITH BLACK FLIGHT FEATHERS

I AM MOSTLY AN INLAND BIRD, BUT

ALSO VISIT LAGOONS AND BAYS

I SWOOP MY BILL AND GULAR POUCH THROUGH THE WATER TO SCOOP UP FISH

I OFTEN HUNT BY GANGING UP WITH

OTHERS OF MY KIND ON SCHOOLS OF FISH

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

MY BODY IS THE COLOR OF BLACK LICORICE

I HAVE BARE ORANGE SKIN PATCHES

I CAN HAVE TWO WHITE

CREST-PLUMES THAT LOOK LIKE SHAGGY HORNS

I LOVE TO DRY MY WINGS BY

STRETCHING THEM OUT

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

I AM A LARGE COASTAL GULL WITH A SLATE-GRAY BACK

I HAVE A SWOLLEN-TIPPED YELLOW

BILL WITH A RED SPOT

MY LEGS AND FEET ARE PINK

I LOVE TO LOAF ON BEACHES OR FLOAT IN THE OCEAN

I AM A GENERALIST PREDATOR AND

SCAVENGER, BUT LIKE FISH

Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)

I AM A BLACK-AND-WHITE BEACH SCISSOR-BILL

I AM THE ONLY BIRD THAT HAS A

LONGER LOWER MANDIBLE

MY OUTLANDISHLY-PROPORTIONED BILL IS ORANGE AND BLACK

I FORAGE BY FLYING OVER

SHALLOW WATER WITH AN OPEN BILL

I AM UNMISTAKABLE

Black Skimmer (Rhynchops niger)

I VISIT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COASTLINES IN THE SUMMER

I HAVE AN ELEGANT APPEARANCE

WITH A FORKED TAIL

MY ORANGE BILL IS THIN AND LONG

MY LEGS ARE BLACK

I HOVER AND DIVE FOR FISH

Elegant Tern ( Sterna elegans)

I AM THE LARGEST OF MY KIND IN OUR AREA

I VISIT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

COASTLINES IN THE WINTER

I AM MORE SOLITARY THAN MOST OF MY KIND

I HAVE A LARGE, DEEP-RED BILL

I PLUNGE FOR FOOD FROM HIGH UP

Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

I HAVE AN OVERSIZED HEAD WITH A SHAGGY CREST

MY BACK AND HEAD ARE

BLUISH/GRAY

I HAVE AT LEAST ONE BREAST BAND

MY BILL LOOKS LIKE A DAGGER

I HOVER AND PLUNGE FOR FISH

I AM A LOW-SLUNG DIVING DUCK

I HAVE A LONG, SLENDER AND

SERRATED ORANGE BILL

I HAVE A SHAGGY CREST

I DIVE THROUGH THE WATER AT GREAT SPEED

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)

I AM A LARGE BLACK-AND-WHITE WATERBIRD

I HAVE A BLACK CAP AND THE

SILHOUETTE OF A SWAN

MY EYES ARE BEADY RED, MY BILL IS DIRTY YELLOW

I DIVE FOR FISH

I AM A PLUMP GREY WATER BIRD WITH BRIGHT RED EYES

I DIVE FOR FISH AND

INVERTEBRATES

I HAVE FLAPS ON MY FEET

MY LEGS ARE FAR BACK ON MY BODY, SO I CAN’T WALK WELL

Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)

I AM THE SMALLEST OF MY KIND IN OUR AREA

I HAVE A RAPIER-THIN BILL THAT I HOLD

LIFTED UPWARDS

I HAVE A GRAY BACK WITH WHITE SPOTS

I SIT LOW IN THE WATER

I DIVE FOR FISH USUALLY CLOSE TO SHORE

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

I HOLD MY DAGGER-LIKE BILL HORIZONTALLY

I HAVE A DARK UPPER HEAD AND NECK, WITH A CONTRASTING WHITE THROAT

MY HEAD AND BACK ARE DOMED

I DIVE FOR FISH

Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica)

I AM THE LARGEST OF MY KIND IN OUR AREA

I HAVE A HEAVY DAGGER-LIKE BILL

MY HEAD HAS A FLAT TOP

I HAVE A WHITE, PARTIAL COLLAR

ON MY NECK

IN THE WATER I RIDE HIGH IN FRONT AND LOW IN BACK

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

I AM A LARGE FISH-EATING RAPTOR

I WEAR A DARK MASK

I HOVER AND PLUNGE DIVE FOR FISH

I CATCH FISH WITH MY TALONS