male incubateStan’s Notes: The vulture’s naked head is an adaptation to reduce risk of feather fouling (picking up diseases) from carcasses. Unlike hawks and eagles, it has weak feet more suited to walking than grasping. One of the few birds that has a developed sense of smell. Mostly mute, making only grunts and groans. Seen in trees with wings outstretched, sunning itself. Recent studies show this bird is closely related to storks, not birds of prey.
in flight
juvenile
crests
drying
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
MIGRATION
SUMMER
| Size: | 33" (84 cm); up to 4⅓-foot wingspan |
| Male: | Large black water bird with a long snake-like neck. Long gray bill with yellow at the base and a hooked tip. |
| Female: | same as male |
| Juvenile: | lighter brown with a grayish chest and neck |
| Nest: | platform, in a colony; male and female build; 1 brood per year |
| Eggs: | 3-4; bluish white without markings |
| Incubation: | 25-29 days; female and male incubate |
| Fledging: | 37-42 days; male and female feed young |
| Migration: | complete, to southern states, Mexico and Central America |
| Food: | small fish, aquatic insects |
| Compare: | Turkey Vulture is similar in size and also perches on branches with wings open to dry in the sun, but it has a naked red head. American Coot lacks the long neck and long pointed bill. |
Stan’s Notes: Often seen flying in a large V formation. Usually roosts in large groups in trees near water. Swims underwater to catch fish, holding its wings at its sides. Lacks the oil gland that keeps feathers from becoming waterlogged. To dry off, it strikes an erect pose with wings outstretched, facing the sun. The common name refers to the two crests on its head, which are not usually seen. “Cormorant” comes from the Latin words corvus, meaning “crow,” and L. marinus, meaning “pertaining to the sea,” literally, “Sea Crow.”
male
female
Black-and-white Warbler
Mniotilta varia
SUMMER
| Size: | 5" (13 cm) |
| Male: | Striped like a zebra, this small warbler has a distinctive black-and-white striped crown. White belly. Black chin and cheek patch. |
| Female: | same as male, only duller and without the black chin and cheek patch |
| Juvenile: | similar to female |
| Nest: | cup; female builds; 1 brood per year |
| Eggs: | 4-5; white with brown markings |
| Incubation: | 10-11 days; female incubates |
| Fledging: | 9-12 days; female and male feed young |
| Migration: | complete, to Florida, Mexico and Central and South America |
| Food: | insects |
| Compare: | Like the White-breasted Nuthatch and Red-breasted Nuthatch, look for Black-and-white Warbler to creep down tree trunks headfirst. |
Stan’s Notes: This is the only warbler that moves headfirst down tree trunks. Look for it searching for insect eggs in the bark of large trees. Its song sounds like a slowly turning, squeaky wheel going round and round. Female performs a distraction dance to draw predators away from the nest. Constructs its nest on the ground, concealing it under dead leaves or at the base of a tree. Found in a variety of habitats.
female
male
Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
YEAR-ROUND
| Size: | 6" (15 cm) |
| Male: | A small woodpecker with an all-white belly, black-and-white spotted wings, a black line running through the eyes, a short black bill, a white stripe down the back and red mark on the back of the head. Several small black spots along the sides of white tail. |
| Female: | same as male, but lacks a red mark on head |
| Juvenile: | same as female, some have a red mark near the forehead |
| Nest: | cavity; male and female excavate; 1 brood per year |
| Eggs: | 3-5; white without markings |
| Incubation: | 11-12 days; female and male incubate, female incubates during the day, male at night |
| Fledging: | 20-25 days; male and female feed young |
| Migration: | non-migrator |
| Food: | insects, seeds; visits seed and suet feeders |
| Compare: | Nearly identical to the Hairy Woodpecker, but smaller. Look for the shorter, thinner bill to help identify the Downy. |
Stan’s Notes: Abundant and widespread where trees are present, and perhaps the most common woodpecker in the United States. Stiff tail feathers help brace it like a tripod as it clings to a tree. Like all woodpeckers, it has a long, barbed tongue to pull insects from tiny places. Male and female drum on branches or hollow logs to announce territory, which is rarely larger than 5 acres (2 ha). Male performs most of the brooding. Will winter roost in cavity.
