April 6, 2014 - Eastern and Western Birds
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Some of the birds I saw on our west coast trip are similar to birds in the eastern United States. The Nuttall’s Woodpecker on the left was photographed at Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim, California. The Downy Woodpecker on the right was photographed in our yard in northern Minnesota. The Downy is found all across the United States, but the Nuttall’s is found only in California. They are about the same size. These birds are both males because only males have red on the back of the head. However, the chest and belly of the Downy is all white, while it is speckled on the Nuttall’s. The Downy has white feathers down the middle of its mostly black back, but the Nuttall’s has white bars across its black back.
The Spotted Towhee on the left was photographed at China Creek in Bandon, Oregon, and the Eastern Towhee on the right was photographed at Salinas Park in northern Florida. At one time they were considered to be the same species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. They look very much alike except for the white spots on the Spotted Towhee’s back.
The bird on the left is a Pacific Wren photographed at Devil’s Kitchen in Bandon, Oregon. The bird on the right is a Winter Wren photographed at our home in northern Minnesota. Until a couple of years ago, they were considered to be the same species and were both called Winter Wren. They have different songs that are very beautiful and complex. Both of these wrens are found in western Canada but they still maintain their separate songs. Because of that fact, and the examination of their DNA, it was decided to separate them into different species.
The Black Phoebe on the left was photographed in Pacific Grove, California. The Eastern Phoebe on the right was photographed at our home in northern Minnesota. In the United States, Black Phoebes are found in California and southern parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They are year-round residents and their range extends all the way to Argentina. Eastern Phoebes are found across the eastern half of the United States and into central Canada in the summer. Some stay in the southern United States in winter but many of them migrate to the tropics.
The top bird is a Black Turnstone photographed in Pacific Grove, California. You must travel to the west coast to see this bird because it breeds in northern Alaska and winters along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to California. The only plumage change during breeding season is a white eye stripe and a patch of white between the eye and the bill. The Ruddy Turnstone, shown in the bottom two photos, also breeds in northern Alaska. But its breeding range also includes the far northern areas of the Arctic Tundra. It winters along both the east and west coasts of the United States. Ruddy Turnstones have a dramatic plumage change for breeding season. The photo on the left, taken on Sanibel Island in Florida, shows the winter plumage. The photo on the right, taken in Duluth, Minnesota, shows breeding plumage. It’s so different that you might think these are separate species.
There are four different sub-species of Fox Sparrows in North America. Some people think they should be separate species. The bird in the top photo, taken in Bandon, Oregon, is the darkest and is known as the Sooty sub-species. Its range is strictly along the west coast of Canada and the United States. The Fox Sparrows shown in the bottom photos were at our home in northern Minnesota. They are much redder in color. This is the Taiga sub-species, seen in most of Canada and the entire eastern United States.
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