Week Five - Sparrows and Finches Flashcards
Lapland Longspur - Calcariidae
Has a long spur-toe.
A backwards 7 on it’s head.
Bright bill, rusty cap, and a dark head.
Snow Bunting - Calcariidae
(Calcariidae)
White w/ black and some brown on the head.
Molts only once a year, with males rubbing off the tan to get as white as possible!
Eastern Towhee
All dark head with rusty flanks and a white tail.
Drink your TEAA!
American Tree Sparrow
A bicolored bill - grey top, yellow bottom.
A grey face, rusty cap & eyebar, and has a spot on the breast.
Chipping Sparrow
Rufous cap, white supercilium, BLACK (not rufous) eyeline!
Some white wing bars also.
Sounds like a sewing machine - all one note.
Juncos make more noises!
Clay-colored Sparrow
Clear breast, grey nape, pinkish bill w/ a dark tip and a streaked crown.
Insect-like call with two notes.
Field Sparrow
Rufous cap with a tan separation.
Darker brown eyebar w/ a white eyering and a pinkish bill.
Call sounds like a dropping pingpong ball!
Vesper Sparrow
Elegant, with a white eyering and streaky breast & striped crown.
Gets it’s name from it’s call, which sounds like church bells.
Call is mostly chatter, with it’s trills preceded by two notes.
Lark Sparrow
Clean breat with a black patch, dark chestnut around auricular coverts and a tan/white supercilium.
Long tail for it’s body!
Savannah Sparrow
A semblance of a dark breast spot.
Yellow from suberciliar to lores.
Ends on a twangy not in it’s song. Also has insecty trills.
Henslow’s Sparrow
Forages on the ground so isn’t super prone to flying.
Calls in the dusk and at night
Has a heavy bill, w/ color on it’s head looking like a continuation of the bill.
Olive wash to the face, semi-streaky.
Two short insect-like notes - very very fast!
Grasshopper Sparrow
Clearer breast and a yellow lore.
Shakes the legs off of grasshoppers!
Tinkling song, almost like a trill.
Fox Sparrow
Chonky
Rufous tail, some grey on the face, and a distinctive breast with rufous spots.
Song Sparrow
Streaky on the sides, with both streaks and a spot on the breast.
Rufous eyebar, with some eyering.
A longer, chattier call for a sparrow, with some high and clear notes.
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Streaked and divided cap with a distinct line.
Swamp Sparrow
Longer leggies!
Really rufous wings, with a tail and a clean breast. No wing bars!
Repeating, melodic, clear trill.
White-throated Sparrow
Yellow lores and a dark black eyebar.
An almost haunting, slower call.
White-crowned Sparrow
A…dramatic white crown!
2 white wing bars.
Scarlet Tanager - Cardinalidae
Males very red, females very yellow.
The females actually call!
Like a robin but more harsh.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Cardinalidae
Females are streaky, with a heavy bill and a VERY distinct white supercilium.
Sounds like a confused robin.
Indigo Bunting - Cardinalidae
It’s blue.
It also has sweet, tangy chatter. Mmm.
Dickcissel - Cardinalidae
Yellow with a black bib.
Very harsh call!
Starts it’s calls with two notes… “pink pink!”
Purple Finch - Fringillidae
Males are redder, with a purple wash all over, not just the breast, and are less streaky.
Females are also streaky, but have a distinct white supercilium.
Has a similar call to house, but a bit different tones in their chatter and trills towards the end.
Pine Siskin - Fringillidae
Large flocks, very social!
Smaller than other finches, with a conical sharp bill and pretty streaky.
Has some yellow in it’s feather veins on the wing.
Has two calls:
- The first is like a zipper being pulled w/ chatter.
- “pew, pew pew!” flight calls.
