Birds of North America. Eastern Region. The Ultimate Photographic Guide

482 Pages·2016·79.12 MB·English

by  Vuilleumier F.

This definitive field guide uses
Birds of North America: Eastern Region uses a
innovative close-up photography
Innovative photographic approach ensures quick unique fully integrated photographic approach
and accuThrae tAem feireicldan i dMeunsetiufmic aotf iNoantural History is a world leader to bring more than 450 eastern for quick and easy identification of birds in the

Featuresin f suclile-pntaifgice r epsreoafrcilhe,s e oduf ctahtieo nm, aonsdt ecxohmibmition,l yw orking bird species to life on the page. field. Written by a team of expert contributors,
to explore and interpret all aspects of natural history and
seen species and edited by FranÇois Vuilleumier of the
human culture. The research of more than 200 scientists is Full-page profiles of commonly seen species are
Produce
bda cinke ads bsyo cuiattiinogn-e dwgiet hla bthorea tAormiese,r sictoarna ge facilities, the detailed yet accessible for quick reference and American Museum of Natural History, its
Museum
la orgfe sNt antauturraall -Hhisstooryry l,i boranrey ion ft hteh We ewstoernld H’se misphere, identification in the field. comprehensive coverage, easy-to-use layout,
leading authorities on ornithology
and the museum’s collections of more than 30 million and outstanding visual impact ensure that it
specimens and cultural materials. The museum shares its Produced in association with the American Museum of
birds will appeal to bird enthusiasts of all ages and
treasures in 46 permanent exhibition halls with 4 million Natural History, one of the world’s leading authorities levels of experience.
on-site visitors from around the world yearly and another on ornithology
6 milion visitors anualy to its website: w.amnh.org. OF nOrth america
EvERy SpEciES of BiRd you ARE likEly to SEE
Museum ornithologists are currently pursuing an ambitious
photographic identification More than 390 species most commonly seen in
program to reconstruct the avian tree of life with DNA
technology; the classification of birds used in this book bSetuanuntyin agn pdh doetotagirla opfh esv ecaryp tbuirde .the eastern the Eastern region of North America are given full-
is based largely on the work of AMNH ornithologists. page coverage. Each profile comprises a large,
in flight crystal-clear photograph of the bird in its most
region
Detailed illustrations show typical
EditoR-iN-chiEf frequently observed plumage, with supporting
plumage and posture in flight.
Lifelong studies of birds make françois vuilleumier images showing the most important variations—
uniquely qualified to be Editor-in-Chief. After obtaining a plumage variation subspecies, adult/juvenile, male/female, and
PhD at Harvard University, he started a long association Significant differences between breeding/nonbreeding. Superb illustrations
subspecies, male and female, juvenile and
with the American Museum of Natural History in New York
adult, and breeding and nonbreeding accompany the appearance of each bird in flight,
City. Past Chairman of the Department of Ornithology, he is plumages are clearly shown.
while in-situ views portray a range of behaviors
now Curator Emeritus. His research has taken him all over
and habitats. Similar-looking species are also
the world, especially South America. Author of about 250 behavior and habitat
Subsidiary images reveal the species pictured for comparison.
papers and one book, Dr. Vuilleumier taught ornithology
exhibiting typical behavior or show
at the College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine. He has it in its habitat.
iNfoRmAtioN At A glANcE
watched birds from the Canadian High Arctic and south
to Mexico. His life list is about 4,000 species, and he is occurrence In every species profile, key features are highlighted
familiar in the field with all but a handful of the species Maps show where the bird can be seen by annotations around each picture, and further
all year, in summer and winter, and
treated in this book. details of voice, nesting, feeding, migration, habitat,
while migrating.
nomenclature, physical statistics, social groupings,
coNtRiButoRS similar species behavior, lifespan, and conservation status are
David Bird, PhD Rob Hume Birds that can be difficult to tell apart presented in jargon-free text. Distribution is shown
are compared, with their tell-tale
Nicholas L. Block Thomas Brodie Johnson
differences highlighted. in simple color-coded maps. In addition to the main
Peter Capainolo Kevin T. Karlson
species, more than 100 rare species are illustrated
Matthew Cormons Stephen Kress, PhD in the field
and described, while more than 45 vagrant species
Malcolm Coulter, PhD Paul Lehman Each page contains a section that alows OF nOrth
you to record your bird-watching activities. are listed.
Joseph DiCostanzo Wiliam Moskof, PhD america
Shawneen Finnegan Bill Pranty
Neil Fletcher Michael L. P. Retter
eastern
Ted Floyd Noah Strycker Printed in China
region
Jeff Groth, PhD Paul Sweet
editor-in-chief
Paul Hess Rodger Titman, PhD
Brian Hiler Elissa Wolfson François Vuilleumier
Discover more at
www.dk.com Content previously published in Birds of North America
$19.95 USA
Jacket images: Front: Corbis: Gary Carter. Back: Garth McElroy: cr, cra (breeding
female), crb; Brian E. Smal: tr; Bob Steele: c. Spine: Corbis: Gary Carter the ULtIMAte PhOtOGRAPhIC GUIde $21.95 Canada
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birds
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BIRDS
OF NORTH AMERICA
EASTERN REGION
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BIRDS
OF NORTH AMERICA
Editor-in-Chief
François Vuilleumier
EASTERN REGION
Content previously published in
Birds of North America
DORLING KINDERSLEY
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Kumar, Garima Sharma, frst published in the United States in 2011 by
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OF NATURAL HISTORY
Production Editors
A catalog record for this book is available from the
Joanna Byrne, Maria Elia
Editor-in-chief Library of Congress.
François Vuilleumier, Ph.D.
Production Controllers ISBN 978-0-7566-5867-0
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CONTENTS
PREFACE 6 SPECIES GUIDE 22
GAMEBIRDS 23
HOW THIS BOOK WORKS 8
WATERFOWL 34
EVOLUTION 1 0
LOONS 73
ANATOMY AND FLIGHT 1 2 TUBENOSES 76
GREBES 84
MIGRATION 14
STORKS, IBISES, AND HERONS 89
COURTSHIP AND MATING 16 PELICANS AND RELATIVES 107
NESTS AND EGGS 1 8 BIRDS OF PREY 115
RAILS AND CRANES 138
IDENTIFICATION 20
SHOREBIRDS, GULLS, AND 150
AUKS
PIGEONS AND DOVES 223
PARAKEETS AND PARROTS 230
CUCKOOS AND RELATIVES 232
OWLS 236
NIGHTJARS AND 249
NIGHTHAWKS
SWIFTS AND HUMMINGBIRDS 253
KINGFISHERS 257
WOODPECKERS 259
FLYCATCHERS 270
SHRIKES, VIREOS, JAYS, 283
AND CROWS
WAXWINGS, CHICKADEES, 299
TITMICE, SWALLOWS, LARKS,
AND KINGLETS
WRENS, GNATCATCHERS, 316
NUTHATCHES, TREECREEPERS,
AND THRASHERS
THRUSHES, PIPITS, AND 332
DIPPERS
FINCHES 344
WOOD–WARBLERS 354
ORIOLES AND BLACKBIRDS 392
LONGSPURS, AMERICAN 406
SPARROWS, TANAGERS, AND
CARDINALS
RARE SPECIES 443
VAGRANTS 471
Glossary 473
Index 475
Acknowledgments 479
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PREFACE
ith its eastern and western volumes, Birds of North America
W  attempts to fill a gap in the North American bird book market.
No other work offers, for every North American bird species, the same
combination of stunning iconography, including beautiful photographs
and precise distribution maps; scientifically accurate and readable
accounts of salient characteristics; data on identification, behavior, habitat,
voice, social structure, nest construction, breeding season, food, and
conservation status; diagrams of flight patterns; statistics of size, wingspan,
weight, clutch size, number of broods per year, and lifespan; and
geographic information about breeding, wintering, and migration.
THRUSHES Furthermore, no other bird book introduces, in such an up-to-date and
Back in the early 1900s,
the great wildlife artist lavishly illustrated manner, general material about birds: their evolution,
Louis Agassiz Fuertes already classification, anatomy, flight, migration, navigation, courtship, mating,
painted birds in the style of
modern field guides, as shown nests, and eggs. Scientific jargon has been avoided, but a glossary identifies
in this plate from Chapman’s concepts that benefit from an explanation. With its user-friendly format,
Handbook of the Birds of
Eastern North America. these eastern and western guides to Birds of North America should permit
readers either to enjoy studying one species account at a time, or browse
to make cross comparisons.
Many field guides exist, as well as treatises on groups like gulls,
hummingbirds, or sparrows; other books are dictionary-like, or focus
on species of conservation concern. However, no bird book today
can be called a “handbook,” a concise reference work that can be
conveniently carried around. I hope that these books will be useful
in this role to all persons interested in birds, whether young or older,
enthusiastic birder or beginner.
Historically, Birds of North America can be viewed as a successor to Frank
M. Chapman’s epochal Handbook of the Birds of Eastern North America,
published in 1895. During his 54 years at the American Museum
of Natural History in New York City, Chapman, dean of American
ornithologists, blazed a trail that contributed substantially to what
American ornithology, bird conservation, and birding have become.
The facts that the new book has the imprint of the American Museum
of Natural History, and that I, as its Editor-in-Chief, have worked there
for 31 years as Curator of Ornithology and as Chairman of its
Department of Ornithology, are not coincidental.
In his Handbook, Chapman treated all birds found in Eastern
North America. The description of each species was followed by data
on distribution, nest, and eggs, and a readable, often even brilliant text
about habitat, behavior, and voice. The illustrations included plates by two
pioneer American wildlife artists, Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Francis Lee
Jaques, whose style inspired all those who followed them. Some of these
6
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EASTERN AND WESTERN REGIONS
In a pioneering essay from 1908, Frank
Chapman realized, on the basis of his
own fieldwork, that the 100th Meridian
corresponded to a rather
clear-cut division of
North American bird Arctic
faunas into an Eastern Circle
and a Western region.
Of course there are exceptions and the
100th Meridian line is not something
that the birds themselves recognize. Western
Eastern
The invisible barrier is located in Region Region
a transitional zone between habitats that
represent, respectively, Eastern versus Western
Tropic of
landscape types or biomes. Some, but not all,
Cancer
modern field guides use the 100th Meridian
100º W
as a division between East and West.
plates were, already then, executed in field guide fashion. Anybody who
examines Chapman’s Handbook today is struck by how modern it is.
“Museum man” and “birder,” Chapman was also a gifted educator and
a good writer: a rare combination. Museum research gave him the
taxonomic background, and fieldwork throughout North America
sharpened his birding skills. As Editor-in-Chief of Birds of North America,
working in the department Chapman created, enjoying the same
extraordinary collection and library resources, and traveling as widely as
he did, I have endeavored to make this new book a work of which he
would have been proud. Don’t leave home without it––and bring along
binoculars and a pencil to jot down notes.
CATCHING
THE LIGHT
The only hummingbird species
breeding in the Eastern region
François Vuilleumier
is the Ruby-throated
American Museum of Natural History,
Hummingbird. With the right
New York City lighting, this male displays his
February 2011 brilliantly colored throat patch.
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HOW THIS BOOK WORKS
HOW THIS BOOK WORKS
his guide covers about 550 Eastern North American COMMON SPECIES
Tbird species. The species are arranged into three The main section of the
sections: the first profiles common species, each being book features the 393 most
commonly seen bird species in
given full-page treatment; the second covers rarer birds
Eastern North America. Each
in quarter-page entries; the third section consists of entry is clear and detailed,
a list of rare visitors. following the same format.
INTRODUCTION ORIOLES AND BLACKBIRDS
The species are organized conventionally by GROUP NAME
Order Passeriformes Family Icteridae
order, family, and genus. Related birds appear The common name of the
together, preceded by a group introduction. group the species belong to
The book follows the most up-to-date avian is at the top of each page. Baltimore Oriole
classification system, based on the latest COMMON NAME abnladc k bwlhacitke -wedinggesd oyerallno
scientific research. IlNlus FtrLatIiGonHs Tshow the otarialnge
bla
b
anird/ oinr fblieglhotw, —frodmif faebroenvece s sohraonugldee-yr epllaotwch (M1SATL EF A LL)
of season, age, or sex are MALE
Family Icteridae not always visible. IN FLIGHT
orange
ORIOLES & BLACKBIRDS DESCRIPTION rump
T
h
vtcS
c
i
mzbtbwM
Th
TOtnemOoscytOaNhrocphuloenoetaeoreaothaoterlehilRvohnensgxroebnhlalpedukein treoWiaiotrsodsi iersetaInerdr rtaws tcOtlhuntdHaOsia hvrd a. lentes. ea Nd eTys giatr yipTEs itemAlsw rlctnhoeveaL h ho.osgtc p ir h reota ,rITensmreshi ih euie goeEraeC are rmnt nst tgrome—ancdesa htosworh m heSThgs s hwrtE hf a y dermabuNigcfe d Ee iaei setihap b a manlA,iflebon Rc iS ybaealdsnrOounsenotoc at tdmclo prI elpedrnsetpm,osreDdoatkre c orsurhompr sumuesahertpce ir w cwSrpan,t aenoenihar tc,lFpsr ahktanu neali acEinsede lhilnbgc stNrcslwrielsb inynAreXadho voaeo te,eab i e tv redtirsele doaErbnsadsh rmhlro sio i x sdn ec isMr din iruntreitrcpctretosdtcmenidioense,oiegaos phostgisPano,rsuno av.c snu m.trt.sme mLt ag agdo.s Ad asiroeTyMhOigfcI nitkn rlcr, Fbomfsnbaehiene mi o ahemtoA eienaYoail n iaro zmo e n spnEBn, me nonlis mneor ot auey snctaltatrglfahadmiouondro hiet ahtbrtioeso levoat gicieumota at cnterlorbieor eilr, asa hnig rt treieomeyrn ngi nolngahbconlredo hiw ms gay a c eueawavcositud ol atobe.srtnohrpe ststethiornehrta f p,her notoiah etme re eatrnrgisn,e svol a itih rdo tpe dca roinmbon dwevdtye nl e li ose gifu r a a eo cg. on t fs yesrisrt hou n et. , if dslerus a e lys t BAbmihbMdCStTtnedasigfoAdTlstobrdtsarcohohptoenaoiriruarneonrirmhmthLsarerea ieamsOtdierdeagewuteE dcltdlhmleimack aitaraleAere es ekebmtnsishiesiylWetAem td. ishr sal teyre afaorgdg cyhvr Ce Osnobaniei soeo ieto ;DcAeulcrs e sa3lniwa itelgio,cstfsitaBfcnaKnrlsv nioldt0 hnt. mrldt,ospgy. nauOht ei sl atl ehineTN0e Iahmnyi l sv hBencl peNnldeanpc Rre le gbs eyceWuthu itSrdke nopro gpIdsltn,tieir o s umoyaei eigohinseRdeoiteDn lp r,cefd f pnf o s fmresiutcfrde oat eNaLnpoaraere,tehpdecb hrs iDonSnt. sahrcarf diteseraerhATeswea eielnkobohmidctesr epgsrdo rv a. oSar, unb dtnrNueAh na kieReaAr eac nes htbtnys arost.amsecei,rhk mBde d Tt& orafs e nswi sKibsbit ostd t e istnA sorc ec hgheb isiw wso tna ar Srnre r ihehmieGbdnwodnb l i engiy tl co dfrsrf s.se Rni aer e ts reneh-mehicrAhc d , snNeaemBdASAdvsopCnln oaiaU leIrseiacotMirtdn Gph csnckoK Bsbre loey y,pia atu tVTlea udteihyLaerhnshndgsusOaL c ce ed oahErCtarahkEia Iew snCe diElCSaib. tor slosmedslBvaepa Ehw fmhre apinRsaknSm tul mdabrb’ui.bIostn vstmLoi iIa crfgmurertnubtaLiad d utgf lepycgyI Geh,sil herAea roae.hr e isiT natdltN.iusa l scsie o,roh rs k bCs es uwlceo edEsei n n cge. aTlibApbFCNHstVconhpahnhro EO ceoeEdledaonlwaE eosce SnsIvt cdei,dspiCDyae eTlosciwspuesntysrnE IiI etcsihdgiecfp;NcnN i e ane ethot sehlrhtiasG;foeloei dye e atanin,ny s nh lwsmegaen cecoasnsuhla hnfn,utrndm e ia;g.dtna u rhtrwbie nmahvnfee dehcepg brtsa na o:iepot tsrus ef s t rochuieebifegses lu egs .’as l npshBTfyroiuebofrenaemelrlslacao asptpiceitenwibtenhkmhpwn gsad- ega etecoronroda ,sr e sl eoiBebswarv.l x oueTspeuwaitpn tliehOit egantsriDhi n dmsgitr na du istoiso p ltouti riclethlpte eiehcsuvep s ieOi ser.eEEs iarsI nrlpn aMtmiogasog tr a eltsidebsbryg i’etysciso nlcelabia atmarnyuslirlFed lsyoeElt ei’ doarsMa fe stean Sh suvAcdt,tioup i sLasemcean rEtnobe led eas dslit eut oretBo erdobtrlprdyhi snauari esndartwor t hrgbt,Asc eoesac m olsofneueamd re mpgatsrrien,ai eiecwlratedid anaosh ner.db fT a n t yEhtosh l ui htmeamrhm uono eamndfaronn i iacpryot T ana allelersl. ky t.sr
VOICE Loud, clear, melodious song comprising one or two,
SIMILAR SPECIES several short notes in series, often of varying lengths.
B
iTNtinha teEeplot oCn imtlehlTaicoengtAr abentRr ai,iOf osbi cnerLuie .otoOn lfept Vl layian EycfslioRoenlwrgo t rsene riod,t s tpa bakirilnlt g adSirimfef eiildraeern-nlcoteiofsike pidno gain nstdpe edkc eoieyu st . FNtaonEEwdES DaTsrpIdNi dtGeh re sH R;e fnodpun sndo o dfo r-b fbf rlcoaiattnst ceoahrmpeioesl;dl na4 grb–s al;5 esa akelvsegoetgs us ea; asn1utsd a b flblryour aoiwntdsco ; ahvMnedsna pysoi–pcfJ ksug ilnrnyae.gsc si,t nahrs.
LENGTH, WINGSPAN,
AND WEIGHT SIMILAR SPECIES
Length is tip of tail to tip of OseReC pH.3A9R3D ORIOLE BseUeL LpO.4C6K7’S ORIOLE beylaeclikn e
b
arilel; amvearasgueresm oer nratsn gaensd. weights odvaerkraelrl chestnut-ib nlacockm hpoleotde ochraenegkse
SOCIAL cboelolyred hwuhgitee
The social unit the species is patch
usually found in.
LIFESPAN Length 8–10in (20–26cm) Wingspan 10–12in (26–30cm
The length of life, in years, Social Solitary/Pairs Lifespan Up to 11 years
MAPS obtained from either zoo birds
or from banding and recovery DATE SEEN WHERE
In this book, North America is defined as the area from records of wild birds. The
the southern tip of Florida and the US–Mexico border actual average or maximum
northward to the Canadian High Arctic. Each species life expectancy of many bird
profile includes a map showing its range, with different species is still unknown.
colors reflecting seasonal movements.
STATUS
The conservation status of the
species; (p) means the data 394
KEY available is only provisional.
R esident
aBlrle yeedairng SYMBOLS MSeeA pPaSnel, left. The occurrence
distribution
2 Male 9 Spring caption describes the bird’s
N dD iuosrntirbnibrgeu etdioing 51 FJuevmeanliele 86 ASumtummenr pwriethfeinrr eNdo hrtahb Aitmates raicnad. range
migration 4 Immature 7 Winter
8