slgwv's photos with the keyword: bird

Sphyrapicus thyroideus . Not the greatest pic of this little woodpecker, but he kept dodging around the tree trunk! The species is native to the conifer forests of western North America. The sexual dimorphism is so extreme that the male and female were originally described as separate species! Off the trail to Emigrant Lake, Sierra Nevada, California.

Very tame Canada goose in the Willamette River at Wallace Marine Park, West Salem, Oregon. You get the impression maybe people are feeding them-- ;)

Meleagris gallopavo. Great Basin National Park, Nevada, on the road into Lehman Creek. Turkeys are native to North America, and have been reestablishing themselves in much of their historic range in recent decades. I don't know whether the flocks here have been reintroduced, however. The two larger birds are probably males--i.e., toms. They're obviously at risk hanging out on the road! As with us and the car ahead, tho, people were slowing down to take pictures.

Alectoris chukar. A partridge native to Asia ranging from the Mideast to India and Pakistan. It was introduced as a game bird into the US mountain West in the 1930s and populations are now thoroughly established thruout western North America. This one was part of a covey including many young birds (chukarlings?) in Calico Ghost Town park, California, down in the hot part of the Mojave Desert! Btw, the dictionary will tell you that it's pronounced "choo-KAR", but in the US West it's universally "CHUCK-er". For a time the minor league baseball team in Reno, Nevada, was the "Chukars," and their mascot was "Chubby Chukar." (!)

A.k.a. sage hen. Centrocercus urophasianus . A characteristic species of the sagebrush biome of western North America. Its numbers have declined drastically, largely due to habitat destruction. From personal experience, it's also dumb even by the standards of gallinaceous birds! Sometimes you practically have to kick them out of the way. This is a female, as shown by the dull plumage. The males have prominent crests and white patches on the chest. In Lake Tahoe Nevada state park, off the trail to Marlette Lake.

Perched on the grapevines at the Cave B Resort, eastern Washington state.

Callipepla californica . A male (with the white and black neck collar and topknot) and female (foreground). On my back patio. These birds have done well by humans' activities--they're lots more common in our exurb than in the surrounding hills! We have a number living in and around our yard. Washoe Valley, Nevada, USA.

Evergreen Reservoir, in the Ancient Lakes wildlife area, Potholes Coulee, Washington state. Map location is approximate.

A flotilla (?) of pelicans. Eagle Lake, outside Susanville, California.

Zonotrichia leucophrys. Steamboat Rock State Park, Washington state, USA. Apparently one of the commonest songbirds in North America.

Mallards on Sawmill Pond, California, which is a small pond near Lake Tahoe for kids' fishing (14 and under). The ducks are obviously used to getting handouts! They swam up to me and then looked miffed when all I did was take pictures. ;)

Possibly a gray vireo, but I'm not absolutely sure. Someone with better bird ID skills than mine please feel free to comment! On Mt. Davidson above Virginia City, Nevada, USA. Of course, he perched so that he was directly behind the antenna spike--

Which is actually a thrush. This is probably a female, judging by the lighter head color. Washoe Valley, Nevada, USA.

Hood Canal, Washington state, USA.

Yampa River, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA. During the high-water year of 2011.

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus . (Not the most imaginative scientific name--"yellow-head yellow-head"!) Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, near Salem, Oregon, USA.

Bubo virginianus . Pine Creek Campground, Toquima Range, Nevada, USA.