Category Archives: Bird of the Week

Bird of the Week — White-winged Dove

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Scientific name: Zenaida asiatica

Size:
They measure 11 to 12.5 inches (28 to 32 cm) in length, possess a wingspan of 19 to 23 inches (48 to 58 cm), and weigh between 4.5 and 6.5 ounces (125 to 187 grams).

White-winged Doves are very common birds in our backyard. The Mourning Doves outnumber them, but White-winged Doves are a close second. Their coloring is either brownish or gray. They have very noticable white tipped wings, bright blue eye-shadow and bright orange or red eyes. When they are in flight, their white wings are more prominent.

Diet:
They are frequent visitors to our bird feeder and eat sunflower seeds and millet. In the wild, they eat seeds from desert willows, ocotillo, agave, as well as cacti fruit. They can fly up to 25 miles in the Sonoran Desert to look for water, plus get moisture from Saguaro cactus fruits.

Range:
White-winged Doves have been seen as far north as Alaska, Maine and Ontario Canada, but are mostly found in the Southwest.

A White-winged Dove in our backyard tree.

Nesting:
A female finds a location to build a nest such in vines, in thick desert brush, a clump of cactus or a tree limb. She builds a nest out of sticks that the male bird will bring to her. They are known to use their nest from a prior year, or they will reuse a nest from another bird. They are not monogamous for life, but more likely to stay together for breeding season.

Sounds:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Dove/sounds

Bird of the Week — House Sparrow

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A male House Sparrow on our cactus statue.


Latin Name: Passer domesticus

House Sparrows are one of the most common birds we have. Their success in the wild is a result of their close relationship to humans. They are found in backyards, cities and throughout North America and most parts of the world. The House Sparrow was introduced in Brooklyn, New York in 1851. By 1900 they spread to the Rocky Mountains. They originated in Eurasia and North Africa.

Here’s a map of their range in North and South America:

This is a female House Sparrow on the birdseed block.


They are a small bird that has an average length of 16 cm and a mass of 24–39.5 g. Females and young sparrows are pale brown and grey, while males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.

They eat mostly seeds but will also eat insects as well as left over fast food from people or bread crumbs.

A House Sparrow visiting our birdbath.

They nest in manmade objects like eaves of houses, light boxes and planters. They also take over other birds nests in trees. A typical clutch size is three to four eggs and they may have several broods per year.

Three male sparrows splashing in the bird bath. House Sparrows are my most frequent visitors to the bird bath.

Calls: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Sparrow/sounds

Bird of the Week — Ladder-backed Woodpecker

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Bird of the Week: CLXXVI

I spotted a new bird in our yard last week. This is a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker. It’s much smaller than my other woodpeckers, the Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker. It was high up in a tree and I could tell it was a new bird by it’s shape. This was the only photo I caputured.

Here’s the info I found from All About Birds and Audubon about this small woodpecker:

SIZE:

  • Both Sexes
    • Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
    • Weight: 0.7-1.7 oz (21-48 g)
    • Wingspan: 13.0 in (33 cm)

COLOR:

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are black-and-white with ladder rung stripes on the back, and a more checkered pattern on the wings. The underparts are whitish or gray, flecked with black. The white face is broken by black lines that extend from the bill and eye. Males have red crowns; females have blackish crowns.

BEHAVIOR:

I learned from All About Birds that they forage in trees and bushes and are mostly hidden from view. That’s probably why I haven’t seen one until recently!

They live in hot arid areas such as deserts, pinyon forests, or dry scrub. They build nests in cavities in trees and cactus.

DIET:
They mostly eat insects including caterpillars, ants and beetles. They also eat fruit and seeds, plus cactus fruit. They forage in tree bark, pecking with their beaks to find bugs.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ladder-backed_Woodpecker/sounds

Bird of the Week — Mourning Dove

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Mourning dove — Zenaida macroura

Bird of the week: CLXXIV

We have an abundance of Mourning doves in our yard. It’s a common bird in our Sonoran Desert and throughout the USA and Mexico.

RANGE:

DESCRIPTION (from All About Birds):


“A graceful, slender-tailed, small-headed dove that’s common across the continent. Mourning Doves perch on telephone wires and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like laments. When taking off, their wings make a sharp whistling or whinnying. Mourning doves are the most frequently hunted species in North America.”

Mourning doves are medium-sized birds of 9 to 13 inches (23 to 33 cm) in length and weighing between 3 and 6 ounces (85 to 170 grams).

A Mourning dove couple eating birdseed in our backyard. They are monogamous and mate for life, unless one of them dies. Then they will look for another mate. Mourning doves are known to be affectionate with each other and you can see them preening and hanging out.

It’s not unusual to see three flying in a tight formation during the breeding season. The bird in the lead is the mated male. A rival male will be in close second hoping to chase the first male from where he wants to mate and nest. The female, who is mated to the lead male, follows behind.

I cannot tell the difference between the male and females because they look very similar. According to the sources I read, the males are slightly bigger. They have a light blue patch on their head, and a peachy patch on their chest along with iridescent patches on the sides of their necks. The males are supposed to be more colorful, but I have never seen a difference with my naked eyes. I can spot a bit of blue and iridescent patches in my photos.

FOOD AND NESTING:

Ninety-nine percent of Mourning doves diet is seeds. They do eat a little fruit and snails.

In the West, Mourning doves may nest on the ground. In other parts of the country, they build nests in tree branches including evergreen, orchard tree, mesquite, or cottonwood. The male supplies the twigs, grasses or other material to the female who weaves it into a nest.

They have one to two eggs per clutch, but make up the small amount of eggs by having up to six broods per year.

CALLS:

One of my favorite sounds in our backyard is the coo-ing of Mourning doves. You can listen to their calls from All About Birds here:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds

Bird of the Week — House Finch

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Male and female House Finches on a cactus in our backyard. The male is the colorful one.

Bird of the Week: CLXXIII House Finch — Haemorhous mexicanus

SIZE:
Sexes similar. 5-6 in (13-15 cm); wingspan: 8-10 in (20-25 cm); weight: 0.6-1 oz (17-28 g). 

House Finches are a very common backyard bird. They are part of my daily birdwatching. All photos were taken in my backyard.

COLORING:

The males are brightly colored with a red eyebrow and forehead. Their throat and chest are red, lower underparts whitish, with dark stripes on their sides. I remember the first time I saw a House Finch, I was amazed by the bright red color. I was living in Palm Springs, California and saw one during my daily walk to the park. I thought it was some exotic bird, but found out it was a common House Finch.

A male House Finch on our cactus statue made of horse shoes. This is a good example of male coloring.

The females and young House Finches have plain brown faces, blurry stripes all over pale underparts. They’re very easy to overlook in our backyard compared to the males.

A female House Finch on a cactus. Notice the dull coloring compared to her mate.

RANGE AND HABITAT:

Originating in the Southwest United States, the House Finches are now common from coast to coast. I read that in the 1940s, New York pet shops released finches from their cages because it became illegal to sell them. They wanted to avoid prosecution. All these years later, the birds from those pet shops have grown in numbers and thrived.

House Finches can be found on farms, urban areas like city parks, backyards, as well as forest edges across the continent. In the western U.S., you’ll find House Finches in their native habitats of deserts, grassland, chaparral, and open woods.

FOOD:

House Finches are primarily herbivores. They eat seeds, grains, fruits and berries and a smaller part of their diet are insects like aphids. House Finches are regulars at bird feeders and especially like sunflower sees.

NESTING:

House Finches use a variety of sites, such as conifers, palms, cactus, holes in manmade structures, and may search around homes on ledges, window boxes or other safe areas preferring nests about 12-15 ft above the ground. Sometimes they use hanging planters and old nests of other birds. Nests are built mostly by the female. Nests are shaped like an open cup made from grass, weeds, twigs, and other plant material and sometimes with feathers or other debris.

House finches are monogamous through breeding season and the following winter. They may stay together for several years, but also may instead find new mates.

CALLS:

House Finches have an extensive warble and song similar to House Sparrows.

Calls from All About Birds:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/sounds


A brightly colored male on the cactus statue.

Bird of the Week — Gilded Flicker

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Gilded Flicker at the Birdbath
Gilded Flicker female at the birdbath.


Bird of the Week: CLXXII

The Gilded Flicker, Colaptes chrysoides, is a large-bodied woodpecker with a long bill that lives in the Sonoran Desert and can be found from central Arizona to southeastern California and south into Mexico. It looks similar to the Gila Woodpecker that I wrote about HERE.

SIZE:

  • Length: 11 inches (28 cm)
  • Weight: 3.3-4.5 oz (92-129 g)
  • Wingspan: 19.7-20.5 inches (50-52 cm)

COLORING

Gilded Flickers are pale brown and gray with a large black mark on their chest, bold spots on the breast, finely barred back, and a cinnamon crown. You can see their white behind while they are in flight along with yellow feathers under their wings. Males are distinguished from females with their red mustache. You can see the female in the above photos and male below.

Male Gilded Flicker in the backyard tree
The male Gilded Flicker has the red color under his beak and the tan head.

They forage on the ground for insects including ants and their larvae and beetles. They also eat seeds and fruits of cactus. They have a long tongue that helps them lap up insects.

Gilded Flickers are monogamous and mate for life, but if their mate dies they may pair with a new one.

In the desert, they make nests in the holes hallowed out in giant saguaro cactus as well as cottonwood trees along rivers.

CALLS:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gilded_Flicker/sounds

Gilded Flicker
A Gilded Flicker at the birdseed block with Gambel’s Quail. You can see the spots and black crest on the breast in this view of a female Gilded Flicker.

Bird of the Week — Cardinal Fledglings

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 CLXXI

This is one of two Northern Cardinal fledglings that made an appearance in our yard this past week. He’s with his dad. Although the coloring of the fledgling looks like an adult female, fledglings beaks are gray or black while the adults’ beaks are bright orange.

The Latin name for the northern cardinal is Cardinalis cardinalis.

This is the smaller fledgling. They are gray until about three months when their coloring appears. Until then I won’t know if these are males or females. If they are male they will get splotches of red. If female, they’ll get the orange highlights of the female adult.

This is Mrs., our adult female cardinal and mom of the two fledglings.

We have had a cardinal male and female in our yard for two years. I’ve named them Red and Mrs. I’ve been waiting patiently to see if they’d have a family, and I’m beyond excited to see their fledglings.

The female lays three to four eggs and incubates them by herself for 12 to 13 days. The young leave the nest in about nine to 11 days after hatching. Once they leave the nest, they are called fledglings. Both parents feed their young but often it is the father.

Here’s Red feeding his large fledgling.

Fledglings will often hide in bushes or shrubs while most often the male will feed them for a few weeks. They become fully independent after about a month. I am curious if they will stay in our yard, or will find their own home away from their parents.

UPDATE:

A day after I wrote and scheduled this post, I saw Red with a brand new fledgling or possibly fledgling number 2 who I named “Mini me”. Here are a few photos:

The way the baby moved and was so shaky standing while I got photos gave me the idea that it may be Cardinal fledgling number three. I read that eggs are laid over time and they may hatch over several days or even weeks, which is why they can be different ages and sizes.

I have gotten comments on my Next Door app and friends that fledgling number one is the adult female. The color of the beaks, black vs. orange, plus and seeing Mrs. in the backyard with fledgling number one lets me know for sure that they are separate birds

What do you think of my Cardinal Fledglings? Do I have one, two or three?