CORMORANTS • Phalacrocoracidae
HERONS AND RELATIVES • Ardeidae
NEW WORLD VULTURES • Cathartidae
HAWKS AND RELATIVES • Accipitridae
FALCONS • Falconidae
RAILS AND RELATIVES • Rallidae
CRANES • Gruidae
PLOVERS • Charadriidae
STILTS AND AVOCETS • Recurvirostridae
SANDPIPERS AND RELATIVES • Scolopacidae
GULLS AND TERNS • Laridae
PIGEONS AND DOVES • Columbidae
CUCKOOS AND ROADRUNNERS • Cuculidae
BARN OWL • Tytonidae
TYPICAL OWLS • Strigidae
NIGHTHAWKS AND RELATIVES • Caprimulgidae
SWIFTS • Apodidae
HUMMINGBIRDS • Trochilidae
KINGFISHERS • Alcedinidae
WOODPECKERS • Picidae
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS • Tyrannidae
SHRIKES • Laniidae
VIREOS • Vireonidae
JAYS AND RELATIVES • Corvidae
LARKS • Alaudidae
SWALLOWS • Hirundinidae
CHICKADEES AND TITMICE • Paridae
VERDIN • Remizidae
BUSHTIT • Aegithalidae
NUTHATCHES • Sittidae
CREEPERS • Certhiidae
WRENS • Troglodytidae
GNATCATCHERS • Polioptilidae
DIPPERS • Cinclidae
KINGLETS • Regulidae
WRENTIT • Sylviidae
THRUSHES AND RELATIVES • Turdidae
MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS • Mimidae
STARLINGS • Sturnidae
PIPITS • Motacillidae
WAXWINGS • Bombycillidae
SILKY FLYCATCHERS • Ptilogonatidae
WOOD-WARBLERS • Parulidae
SPARROWS AND RELATIVES • Emberizidae
GROSBEAKS AND RELATIVES • Cardinalidae
BLACKBIRDS AND RELATIVES • Icteridae
FINCHES AND RELATIVES • Fringillidae
OLD WORLD SPARROWS • Passeridae
Appendices
1 Checklist of Sierra Birds
2 Rare, Casual, and Accidental Birds of the Sierra Nevada
3 Methods Used to Determine Population Trends
4 Common and Scientific Names of Plant Species
Glossary
Bibliography
Index of Common Names
Index of Scientific Names
About the Authors and Artist
PREFACE
A day spent in the Sierra paying close attention to every aspect of landscape, weather, plants, and wildlife can be timeless, a healthy bit of immortality captured in a single day. Or, as John Muir put it: “Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.”
The Sierra, Muir’s “Range of Light,” is rightly noted for its spectacular landscapes, but for the visitor who takes time to watch and listen, even the most unassuming corner is filled with wonders, delights, and surprises. The mountains hum with activity of all sorts of animals, but none are as readily observed and enjoyed as the birds. Nearly 300 species are regular visitors, and each has its own unique story to tell about where it came from, where it is going, and how it uses these mountains. And these stories are not static. In the past several decades, new species of birds have colonized the Sierra, some species have nearly vanished, populations of others have grown and spread, while some have dwindled.
We wanted to create a book that would update our knowledge of all the birds of the Sierra and would enhance and deepen the experience of a day in this range for the serious ornithologist as well as the casual hiker. We wanted to take full advantage of the latest research that takes us deeper into the natural history of these birds. We also wanted to reap the benefit of the much finer scale of status and distribution information now available. The number of people who have the skills to find and identify these birds has increased greatly and with that, our knowledge of behaviors and ranges of Sierra birds has likewise expanded.
Words alone could never do justice to the wonder and diversity of these birds. Therefore, while not making any attempt to create a “field guide,” we chose to prepare a richly illustrated book showing all the regularly occurring birds of the Sierra. We went well beyond our own personal experience and tapped into the priceless local knowledge of birders
