Thirty Common Birds of Loudoun County Self Quiz:

1. Head not completely red. Common.                                                                                  

2.                                                                            Smallest Va. woodpecker. Shorter beak then the similar Hairy woodpecker

3. Very small. “Chick a dee dee dee”

4. White chin. Black and white stripped head with yellow lores.                                                                                  

5.                                                                                  

Sings a lot. Black tie pin on chest. Streaked breast. 6.                                                                                  

7. Member of the crow family.                                                                                  

                                                       8. Large bill and a black mustache. When flying it exhibits a white rump patch. Often hops across ground eating grubs and ants.

9. Upright tail. White eyebrow. Curved beak. Small often seen around wood piles and sheds. Builds nest in boxes and over turned cans in garages and outbuildings.                                                                                  

10. Winter visitor in Loudoun. Slate grey above. White to cream below. Outer tail feathers are white.                                                                                  

11. This is the male during summer. In winter it loses its color and looks more olive green. Thistle seeds are a favorite food                                                                                  

                                                       12. Named for its call.

                                                  13. Frequent visitor to bird feeders.

                                                       14. Iridescent Blue with a black beak. Summer resident.

Year round resident. Yellow rump patch and yellow side patch Year round resident. Yellow rump patch and yellow side patch. Thin insect beak. 15.                                                                                  

Thin. Long tail and a curved beak Thin. Long tail and a curved beak. White patch in wings are used to scare up insects. 16.                                                                                  

17. Grey, black and white. Walks down trees head first. Chiseled beak.

18.                             Pumps its tail as it perches. Builds nests under the eves of a house or a cave. Flies out from conspicuous perches to catch insects.

19.                                                                                   Nests in tree hollows.

20. Chestnut sides. Black back. Sings “Drink your tea, Drink your tea”                                                                                  

21. Virginia State bird

22. Called “Flying cigars”. Each bird eats hundreds of insects per night. Roosts in chimneys.

23. Nonindigenous. Black with small white dots. Yellow beak. Nest in holes and has caused the decline in Blue-bird populations and other hole nesting species. Hangs out near fast-food joints.

24. Perches over water and dives for small fish and minnows.

25. Nests in cattails and reeds near wetlands.                                                                                  

26. Our largest wading bird. Like all water birds, its threatened by monofilament fishing line and perhaps Mercury contamination. 26.                                                                                  

27. Often found around barns. Eats 100’s of insects per day.                                                                                  

28. Solid black. Smaller then a raven and cannot soar. Has a square tail, not wedge shaped. Protected.                                                                                  

29. Common in winter in parking lots and at garbage dumps.                                                                                  

30. Nest often in gravel driveways. Mother does a “broken wing” routine to draw away predators.                                                                                   Two collars.

Red-bellied Phoebe Downy Woodpecker Wood duck Carolina Chickadee Eastern Towhee (Rufous-sided) White-throated sparrow American Robin Northern Cardinal Song sparrow Chimney Swift Blue Jay European Starling Northern Flicker Belted Kingfisher Carolina Wren Red-winged Blackbird Dark-eyed Junco Great Blue Heron American goldfinch Barn swallow Mourning Dove Common Crow Tufted Titmouse Ringed-bill gull Indigo Bunting Killdeer Yellow-rump warbler Mockingbird White-breasted Nuthatch