Ovenbird There is a singer everyone has heard, Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird, Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again. Robert Frost, The Oven Bird The song of the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is one of the most familiar summer sounds of deciduous...
Pileated Woodpecker The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, spectacular woodpecker about the size of a crow. Though relatively common in our area, it has large territories so it is not seen as often as one might think — especially given its size...
Pine Siskin The Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus), a small, gregarious finch closely related to the American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), is an irregular visitor to our area. This fall (2008) has seen a tremendous movement of this species into the northeast, likely due...
Prairie Warbler The tiny, green and gold Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor), contrary to its common name, is a bird not of grasslands, but of large areas of shrubland. In our area, this means powerline cuts and overgrown old fields with dense areas of shrubs or...
Rose-breasted Grosbeak One of the first Neotropical migrants to arrive in southern New York every spring is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus). In late April, this species completes its journey from its winter range (Mexico south to Ecuador) to our...
Ruby-throated Hummingbird The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is our most distinctive bird. Except for a few other hummingbird species that occur in our area only very rarely, it’s impossible to confuse this species with any other bird. About the only...
Scarlet Tanager The male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) is a stunning bird in spring and summer. The incandescent red feathers covering most of its body contrast sharply with the glossy black of its wings and tail. Although this bird is a common species in...
Tree Swallow The Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is a familiar bird in our region, inhabiting open areas, usually near water, in the nesting season. Like our other swallows, it is an aerial insectivore, catching its prey almost exclusively on the wing, during the...
Turkey Vulture & Black Vulture The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) and the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) are two of the most conspicuous birds in our area. Both vultures are large, mostly dark-colored birds which soar above the landscape searching for their...
Warblers The May influx of warblers is one of the most glorious events of our spring bird migration. This quiet spectacle is essentially confined to eastern and central North America, as the west coast has far fewer warbler species. We have about 30 species of...
