Bird Watching In California online Welcome Class

California Quail The California Quail digests vegetation with the help of protozoans in its intestine. Chicks acquire the protozoans by pecking at the feces of adults. Several California Quail broods may mix after hatching, and all the parents care for the young. Adults that raise young this way tend to live longer than adults that do not. Pairs of California Quail call antiphonally, meaning that the male and female alternate calls, fit them into a tightly orchestrated pattern.

Vaux Swift Vaux's Swift is the smallest swift in North America. Vaux's Swifts roost communally, by the hundreds or sometimes the thousands, presumably to conserve heat. They let their body temperature drop and become torpid on cold nights, reviving in the warmth of day. Vaux's Swifts descend into their roost tree essentially at once, spiraling down in a very dramatic rush at nightfall.

American Avocet In response to predators, the American Avocet sometimes issues a series of call notes that gradually changes pitch, simulating the Doppler effect and thus making its approach seem faster than it actually is. Nesting American Avocets aggressively attack predators, sometimes physically striking Northern Harriers or Common Ravens. American Avocet chicks leave the nest within 24 hours after hatching. Day-old avocets can walk, swim, and even dive to escape predators.

Common Tern The Common Tern drinks mainly on the wing, gliding with its wings slightly raised and dipping its bill several times into the water. Common Terns living along the coast drink salt water. They do not seek fresh water even when it is available nearby. Like many seabirds, they have nasal glands that excrete the excess salt. The incubating adult Common Tern flies off its nest to defecate 5-50 m (16-160 ft) away. It deposits its feces indiscriminately in nearby water or on the territories of other terns.

Hutton's Vireo The range of the Hutton's Vireo is broken up into distinct areas separated by wide desert. As a result, up to 12 subspecies have been described, varying in size and slight differences in plumage. A genetic study found the coastal and interior forms to be different enough to consider them separate species. The oldest recorded Hutton's Vireo was at least 13 years, 6 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2006.

Common Tern The Common Tern drinks mainly on the wing, gliding with its wings slightly raised and dipping its bill several times into the water. Common Terns living along the coast drink salt water. They do not seek fresh water even when it is available nearby. Like many seabirds, they have nasal glands that excrete the excess salt. The incubating adult Common Tern flies off its nest to defecate 5-50 m (16-160 ft) away. It deposits its feces indiscriminately in nearby water or on the territories of other terns.

Osprey The Osprey readily builds its nest on manmade structures, such as telephone poles, channel markers, duck blinds, and nest platforms designed especially for it. Such platforms have become an important tool in reestablishing Ospreys in areas where they had disappeared. In some areas nests are placed almost exclusively on artificial structures. Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once. Rather, the first chick emerges up to five days before the last one. The older hatchling dominates its younger siblings, and can monopolize the food brought by the parents. If food is abundant, chicks share meals in relative harmony; in times of scarcity, younger ones may starve to death. The name "Osprey" made its first appearance around 1460, via the Medieval Latin phrase for "bird of prey" (avis prede). Some wordsmiths trace the name even further back, to the Latin for "bone-breaker"—ossifragus.

Flight pattern While most birds fly in a straight line by flapping a constant rhythm, many species have unique aspects of their flight pattern that can help identify them.

Up and down flight pattern Wood peckers: moderate rises and falls Finches: steep roller coaster pattern

Flapping VS Gliding Northern goshawks, sharp shinned hawks, and Coppers hawks: several wing flaps, then glide Buteo Red tail hawk: soaring sky pattern

Crow vs raven Crows perform several wing flaps and glide Ravens flap, then soar in the sky

Head on flight patterns Turkey vultures: shallow V Bald Eagles: hold their wings flat Red Tailed hawk: is somewhat flat but not completely flat Most hawks and eagles hold their wings flat

Alphabetical order vs taxnomic order Alphabetical order is not best way or either by arranging them by habitat. By trying to sort birds by color is hard, because both male female and young are different colors. Because Alphabetical order in no help if you don’t know birds name. Because these birds have different habitats. Taxonomic order is largely used in bird identification because of the association between species in families; however, a downside to this categorization occurs when scientists make discoveries which change bird names or the family they belong to.

The best way to Study Birds is through your book. By studying bird families here, you can become more familiar with the field as you go out. Illustrations are important in learning how to identify the field marks of birds. Bill shape Facial pattern Body size Manner of flight.

Finding The Correct Bird Guide Fundamentals: your guide should detail the different bird family groups, and information on where and when you can find each bird. Photos can aid you in identifying birds in the field, but some people prefer and work better with illustrations. Some field guides only cover birds from America. Others cover birds all over world. Popular field guides: Stokes Peterson Sibley National Geographic Wildlife Federation.