Arboretum Birds

The Davis Cemetery District is a great place for bird watching. More than 50 different species have either been spotted at the cemetery or live within a range that includes the cemetery. You can bring a pair of binoculars and go out to the field behind the office to see how many birds you can observe. Bring a journal, sketchbook, or camera to take notes or photos of what you see.

	American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are large, entirely black birds that are very common throughout the United States and Canada. Often found in open areas with trees, agricultural fields, and residential areas, these birds are social and have been known to form flocks numbering in the millions. Crows are very intelligent and sometime make and use tools. They are also mischievous and often steal food from other animals.  Their diet includes a wide range of foods, including seeds, fruit, insects, fish, carrion, and garbage. Though their population size is currently very strong, they are threatened by their extreme susceptibility to the West Nile Virus, which has affected them more that any other species in North America.
	American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) are bright yellow with black on the face, wings, and tail during the breeding season. During the winter, they are mostly white and brown with small patches of yellow. They are found throughout North America in fields, cultivated areas, and backyards. Brown-headed cowbirds sometimes lay eggs in their nests, but the hatchlings do not survive long because they can’t live on the American goldfinch’s diet of only seeds. American goldfinches are the state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington.
	American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) are North America’s most common falcon and can be found in deserts, grasslands, meadows, and along roadsides. As one of the smallest birds of prey, they can sometimes be prey for some of the larger raptors and even snakes. In the winter, males and females use different habitats. Females stay in more open areas while males stay where there are more trees. Kestrels usually hunt during the day by sitting on a perch and scanning for prey such as insects, rodents, and birds. Like many birds, kestrels can see ultraviolet, and they use this ability to spot the urine of mammals on the ground and catch them.
	American Robins (Turdus migratorius) are the largest thrushes in North America. They are grayish brown with a yellow underside and a dark head, though the female’s head is not as dark as the male’s. Robins eat worms, snails, insects, and fruit. Sometimes they get intoxicated from eating too many honeysuckle berries.
	Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) are medium sized for hummingbirds and are mostly green and gray. Males have a patch of iridescent pink feathers called a gorget, which covers the head and throat. They eat nectar and insects. Anna’s hummingbirds are the most common hummingbirds on the west coast. They were previously only found in Baja California, but due to an increase in bird feeders and eucalyptus trees, their range now reaches up the coast and into Canada. These birds usually have a body temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit. When it gets cold outside, their heart rate and breathing slow and their body temperature can get as low as 48 degrees. As soon as it gets warmer outside, they quickly become active again.
	Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are mostly white or pale with some brown or gray. Females often have a redder, more spotted chest. They need lots of space to hunt, so they are found in open habitats such as grasslands, agricultural fields, and deserts. They roost in tree cavities and abandoned buildings like barns. Barn owls are nocturnal birds and have excellent vision in low light. However, they are extremely skilled at catching prey by sound alone. They hunt by flying low and listening for their prey, which consists mostly of rodents. Barn owls swallow prey whole and later cough up pellets of bones and other indigestible parts. This practice makes in very easy for scientists to study their diets.
	Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) are one of the most abundant swallow species in the world and are found in North America during the summer and South America during the winter. They eat insects and sometimes small pebbles, which helps with digestion. Males are much more brightly colored than females, but both sexes have a blue back and wings, a reddish-brown face, and a beige underbelly. These birds also have a forked tail. Legend says that a barn swallow stole fire from the gods, prompting one of the gods to throw fire at the swallow, which singed away the middle tail feathers. Barn swallows were often hunted in the 19th century so their beautiful, bright blue feathers could be used to decorate hats. This unnecessary killing of birds caused naturalist George Bird Grinnell to write an essay denouncing the practice, which led to the founding of the first Audubon Society.
	Black Phoebes (Sayornis nigricans) are small songbirds that are mostly black with white on the belly and under the tail. Their range includes areas in Oregon and California and reaches into parts of South America. They eat mostly insects, but sometimes catch small fish as well.
	Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) are found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, making them the most widespread heron in the world. They have a black head and back, a white underside, and red eyes. They live in saltwater and freshwater marshes, swamps, lakes, agricultural fields, and other wet areas. These nocturnal herons hunt for fish, snakes, rodents, and other prey in the same areas where other heron species hunt in the daytime. They nest together, with many nests in the same tree, and they sometimes even take care of hatchlings from nests that are not their own. Because of their feeding habits and wide distribution, black-crowned night herons are often used to determine how healthy an ecosystem is.
	Black-headed Grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) are orange with a black head and black and white wings. They are found throughout the western United States and Mexico and eat seeds, fruit, and insects. Grosbeaks are one of the few predators of the Monarch butterflies that migrate to Mexico in the winter. Monarchs contain toxins that make them poisonous to most birds, but grosbeaks are able to handle it by feeding in cycles so that the toxins can pass through their system before they eat more.
	Brewer’s Blackbirds (Euphagus cyancephalus) are shiny black songbirds with a yellow eye. They are very social and nest in colonies of up to 100. Found in western North America, these blackbirds can live in a wide variety of habitats and do well in areas near humans. They eat seeds, grains, and sometimes insects.
	Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are found in grasslands throughout North America. Males are black with a brown head while females are a dull gray color. They eat seeds and insects. The brown-headed cowbird is North America’s most common ‘brood parasite.’ Instead of making their own nests, females lay their eggs in the nests of different species. They parasitize more than 200 different species.
	Bullock’s Orioles (Icterus bulockii) live in open woodlands in the Western United States and Mexico. The female has a dark gray back and wings, a light gray belly, and a yellow head. The male has a black crown and back, white wing tips, and a yellow belly, neck, and face. Orioles eat insects, spiders, fruit, and nectar. They often come to backyard bird feeders for sugar water.
	Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are tiny, plump birds with long tails. They are brown and gray, and males sometimes have black marks on the face. Found mostly in the western United States and Mexico, bushtits live in woodland habitats and suburbs. They are very social and live in flocks of I 0-40 birds. Their nests are unusual and hang down from a branch like a pouch. Bushtits eat insects and spiders and are often seen hanging upside down to reach prey that is hiding underneath a leaf.
	Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) are light brown with a pale yellow belly and have a gray tail with a bright yellow tip. If they eat a lot of honeysuckle berries while growing new tail feathers, the red pigment from the berries can make the tip of the tail orange instead of yellow. Found throughout North America, cedar waxwings usually live in open areas and forest edges, often near water. They specialize in eating fruit and swallow the seeds instead of regurgitating them like most birds do. During the winter, they especially prefer to eat cedar berries, which is how they got their name. Occasionally, waxwings eat overripe berries that have begun to ferment, causing them to become intoxicated.
	Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are small songbirds with a blue and black head, red throat, and white underbelly. They are found in North America during the summer and South America during the winter. In March each year, a group of swallows returning from Argentina to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California is celebrated with a festival. They eat flying insects, but when a bird has difficulty finding food on its own, it will follow another member of the colony to their food source. Cliff swallows build covered, bowl-shaped nests out of mud on vertical walls or cliffs. Females sometimes lay eggs in nests other than their own or lay their eggs and then carry them to another nest.
	Common Ravens (Corvus corax) are larger, but slenderer than crows, and are entirely black. They are common throughout Canada, the western United States, and Mexico in all kinds of habitats. They do very well near people but usually live in more rural areas. Less social than crows, ravens are usually seen alone or in pairs. Ravens will eat almost any kind of food, including insects, small mammals, berries, and garbage. They are very intelligent and investigate anything new they come across. One study showed that though ravens ignored some loud sounds like air horns and car doors slamming, they were attracted to gunshots because they had figured out that the sound meant there might be a carcass to investigate. Ravens are very playful and often do rolls and somersaults in the air while they are flying. One bird was even observed flying upside down for half a mile. Young ravens play by dropping sticks and then diving to catch them before they hit the ground. Ravens are very good at mimicking other bird calls and even human words. One raven raised in captivity was taught to say ‘nevermore,’ like the bird in Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Raven.” Some Native American myths portray the raven as a trickster and say that it brought fire to people by stealing it from the sun.
	Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperi) populations were threatened by pesticides like DDT in the 20th century but are now very strong. These birds eat mostly medium-sized birds and sometimes mammals. They are common in residential areas because of the large populations of pigeons and mourning doves. They hunt by flying fast and low, then over an obstruction to surprise their prey on the other side. According to one study, this is a dangerous hunting method because 23% of Cooper’s hawk skeletons studied showed old, healed-over fractures in the collarbone from collisions.
	Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) are dark gray with a white belly and tail. Found in Canada in the summer and the United States in the winter, these birds are one of the most common in North America. They are often seen hopping around on the ground looking for seeds to eat. During the breeding season, they also eat insects.
	European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are brown with white spots during the winter and become a dark, iridescent purplish green during the summer. This change occurs without molting the feathers. They molt in the fall and the winter feathers grow in, then the white spots fade throughout the rest of the year and they get their dark summer look. Starlings are common near people and eat all kinds of food, including insects, fruit, livestock feed, and garbage. As their name suggests, European Starlings are not native to North America. In the 1890’s, a group of people wanted America to have all the birds ever mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, so they set 100 European starlings free in Central Park. Now more than 200 million of them live throughout North America and they are often considered pests.
	Golden-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) are gray with black and brown streaks on the head and wings. They are found along the west coast of Canada and the United States and like to eat seeds, fruit, and insects. These sparrows have a mournful sounding song. In the 1900’s, gold miners in the Yukon called it the ‘no gold here’ bird because that’s what its song sounded like. Another name the miners gave the bird was ‘Weary Willie’ because they also thought the song sounded like it was saying “I’m so tired.”
	Great Egrets (Ardea alba) are found in North and South America as well as southern Europe. The male and female birds look very similar, with all white feathers, a long, thin neck, and long, black legs. They can get very large, with a height of over three feet and a wingspan of over five feet. During the breeding season, a small patch on an egret’s face turns bright green and long plumes called “aigrettes” (French for “egret”) grow from its back. In the late 19th and early 20th century, egrets were hunted extensively for these plumes, which were often used in ladies’ hats. Over 95% of the egret population in North America was killed and when the birds began facing extinction, many conservation movements were launched to protect them. They are now the symbol of the National Audubon Society.
	Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) live in dry, warm, open areas with trees. They have gray or black feathers with some white and no feathers on their heads. Their heads are red and blue with a yellow or red bony knob. During the breeding season, males can get very aggressive and often injure each other in violent fights. The females are not very good mothers, often abandoning their nests. Helmeted guineafowls are terrestrial and can walk more than ten kilometers a day. They can fly in short bursts, but when they are alarmed, they usually run instead of flying.
	House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are brown and streaked. Males have a bright red face and chest. The red coloring comes from pigments in their diet, which mostly consists of seeds and fruit. House finches are native to the western United States and Mexico. In 1940, they were released on Long Island and are now common in the eastern United States as well.
	House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) are not closely related to other American sparrow species. They are gray with reddish-brown and black streaks on the wings and head. Females have duller colors than males. Found throughout North America and southeastern South America, house sparrows do very well in areas near people. They prefer to nest in manmade structures like eaves and walls. They eat grains, seeds, insects, livestock feed, and discarded human food. House sparrows often cover themselves in dust and will defend their dust-bathing spot from other sparrows.
	House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) are plain brown with some barring on the back and wings. They are very energetic and hop around quickly in bushes while chirping loudly. Found throughout North and South America, these birds like to nest in tree holes and nest boxes. They eat insects, spiders, and snail shells (this provides calcium and turns into grit, which helps digestion). Sometimes the nests get infested with mites, so the birds put a spider sac in it so that when the spiders hatch, they will eat all the mites. Though they are so small, house wrens are very competitive and aggressive and will fight birds much larger than themselves. They sometimes even drag other birds’ eggs and young out of a nest they want for themselves.
	Killdeer (Charadrius vociferous) are found throughout North and Central America in open areas and near water. Killdeer have a large, round head, large eyes, and a long, pointed tail and wings. They are brown with a white underside and have two black bands on the chest. Killdeer often run or walk along the ground and stop every few steps to check for predators or whether their movements have disturbed any prey they could catch, such as insects and earthworms. If a predator approaches its nest, a killdeer will attempt to lure it away by feigning a broken wing. To keep cows or horses from stepping on its nest, a killdeer will fluff up, display its tail over its head, and try to chase them away.
	Lesser Goldfinches (Carduelis psaltria) are found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. They are most common in California and Texas. Females are gray with black and white wings. Males have a black back, wings, and crown and a yellow belly and face. Lesser goldfinches gather in groups of several hundred to forage for seeds.
	Mallards (Anas playtyrhynchos) are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. They often live in city ponds and parks as well as in wilder areas. Mallards are the ancestors to most domestic duck breeds and many wild species throughout the world. Mallards are “dabbling ducks,” meaning that they tip forward to reach underwater plants near the surface rather than diving for food. They also search on land for foods such as seeds, insects, and worms. Male and female mallards can easily be distinguished because males, which are also called drakes, are mostly gray with a green head while females are brown and speckled. Also, female ducks quack while the males only make a quiet raspy noise.
	Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) are beige with black spots on the wings. They live mostly in open areas and can survive in desert areas by drinking brackish water, which would dehydrate many other animals due to its high salt content. Seeds make up 99% of a mourning dove’s diet, but they also sometimes eat grass and snails. Though they are a widely hunted game bird in North America, with about 20 million taken by hunters each year, they are still very common.
	Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) are large woodpeckers that have brown feathers with black spots. The underside of the wings and tail are red. Flickers live in open habitats near trees, and unlike most woodpeckers, they can often be seen foraging for food on the ground. They eat mainly ants and beetles, but sometimes also eat fruit and seeds.
	Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) are found in North America and northern parts of Europe and Asia. They eat small mammals and birds and rely on their hearing to hunt more than other hawks do. Males usually pair with one or two females, but sometimes up to five. The females take care of the eggs and hatchlings while the male provides food for everyone.
	Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polygottos) have a gray head, white belly, and black and white wings. Found throughout the United States in towns, parks, forests, and other areas, they often sit out in the open on telephone wires, fences, and other areas where they are easy to see. They eat insects during the summer and fruit during the fall and winter. Mockingbirds mimic many different bird songs and males can learn up to 200 different songs throughout their lives. Along with mimicking birds, mockingbirds also mimic other animals and even car horns and other mechanical sounds. Though their mimic may sound very accurate to a human ear, other birds are almost never fooled. Mockingbirds sing all day long and unmated males often sing into the night as well, which becomes even more common when the moon is full.
	Nuttall’s Woodpeckers (Picoides nuttallii) are small and black with white streaks and a light underside. They live in oak woodlands in California and are primary cavity nesters, meaning that they create tree cavities to live in. This is an important role in the ecosystem because when they leave, other animals can Iive in these cavities. Since their range is so limited, their conservation is considered to be of moderate importance, but for now populations are stable.
	Orange-crowned Warblers (Vermivora celata) are found throughout North America in woodland areas. They have a gray head and back with a greenish-yellow underbelly. The orange patch on the crown usually isn’t visible. These warblers eat insects, spiders, berries, and nectar.
	Pacific-Slope Flycatchers (Empidonax difficilis) are small birds with a greenish-brown coat and a yellow underside. They are found all along the west coast of North America and live in coniferous or pine-oak forests and woodlands. They eat flying insects and often hunt by flying into swarms of gnats or mosquitoes.
	Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) usually live in forests and prefer areas with an open sub-canopy, which makes it easier for them to hunt for small mammals, reptiles, and sometimes birds. They hunt by sitting quietly and searching for prey, then diving suddenly to catch it. Red-shouldered hawks are monogamous and usually return to the same nest every year for breeding.
	Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are very common in North America. They are very large but weigh only three pounds. A similar sized dog would weigh about 30 pounds. They are monogamous and a mated pair usually stays together until one dies. Red-tailed hawks are carnivorous and prey on small mammals, birds, and reptiles. They prefer fresh prey but have been known to eat carrion. The feathers and other parts are important and sacred to some Native Americans and are used in religious ceremonies, but their use is regulated to protect the birds. The red-tailed hawk has a rasping scream that: is often used as the sound for raptors in movies, even if the bird on screen is not a red-tailed hawk.
	Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) are very common in cities all over the world. They are bluish gray with black bands on the wings. They are extremely good navigators and can find their way home from a distant location by using the Earth’s magnetic field and the position of the sun.
	Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Regulus calendula) are one of the tiniest birds in North America weighing less than half an ounce. They are olive green and constantly flick their wings. The male can be distinguished from the female by its red crown. These birds like to eat spiders, insects, and sometimes fruit or seeds. Even though she is so tiny, the female will lay a clutch of up to twelve eggs, which is one of the largest clutch sizes for birds that size. The whole clutch may even weigh as much as the female herself.
	Swainson’s Hawks (Buteo swainsoni) are found in grasslands, shrublands, and agricultural areas in the United States and Canada most of the time, though they migrate to Argentina for the winter. They have very good vision, which helps them find prey. Most of the time, Swainson’s hawks eat insects, but during the breeding season they also eat mammals, birds, and reptiles.
	Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are small songbirds that have a blue-green head and back and a white underbelly. Found throughout North America in the summer in the summer Mexico during the winter. They live in open areas near trees, water, and fields. They eat insects, which they catch out of the air, and sometimes also eat berries. When it isn’t breeding season, above their roost and swirl around in the air. Large groups drop out of the swarm on each pass over the nests until they have all settled down for the night.
	Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) are scavengers that use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses to eat. The part of the brain used for processing smells is larger than in other birds. allowing them to detect odors with just a few parts per trillion. They are commonly found near roadsides, fields, landfills. and other areas where carrion might be found. Turkey vultures are very large raptors with dark brown feathers on their bodies and featherless heads. They look very similar to European, Asian, and African vultures, but are not closely related. Before the 1980’s, turkey vultures were threatened by DDT, but populations have since increased due to stricter regulations on pesticides.
	Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) are small, gray songbirds with a white underbelly. They are found throughout the United States and much of Canada in woodland areas near water. They eat insects in the treetops and subdue larger prey like caterpillars by whacking it against branches. They sometimes eat fruit as well. These birds are highly territorial, and males will begin singing to ward off intruders immediately upon arrival at their breeding grounds.
	Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) are very social birds found in the western United States and in Mexico. Males are bright blue with an orange chest and gray belly. Females are gray with an orange chest and a bit of blue in the tail and wing feathers. They eat insects. fruit, and seeds. Western bluebirds nest in tree holes, but do not have a beak that would let them dig one out on their own. Instead, they rely on woodpeckers and old, dead trees for nesting sites. Though they are fairly common now, populations could be threatened by loss of habitat due to fire and logging. Another threat is invasive species that take up nesting sites.
	Western Kingbirds (Contopus sordidulus) are common songbirds. They have a gray head and chest with a yellow belly. Found mostly in the western United States and in Mexico, these birds like open habitats with trees and urban areas. They eat fruit and flying insects.
	Western Screech Owls (Otus kennicottii) are small owls with gray and brown feathers and black streaks. They are found in the western United States, Mexico, and Central America, but they are threatened by habitat loss. These owls hunt by sitting and watching. then swooping down to surprise their prey. They like to eat small mammals, birds, and insects, but have also been known to catch prey larger than themselves, like rabbits and mallards.
	Western Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) are blue and gray birds common in the western United States and parts of Mexico. They live in woodlands, orchards, and backyards. They are very intelligent and can remember up to 200 different hiding places where they have stored food. These jays are mischievous and often steal acorns and seeds from other birds’ reserves. Also, if they see another jay hiding food, they will steal it, so they often look around to make sure no one is watching before they hide their food. They also like to collect bright, colorful objects.
	Western Tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana) are found throughout western North America. Females have a greenish head, a gray back and wings, and a yellow or white belly. During the breeding season, males have a black back, wings, and tail, a yellow belly, and a bright red and yellow head. Their coloring becomes duller outside of the breeding season. The red pigment in males, called rhodoxanthin, is not often found in birds. They must get it from their diet. Since western tanagers mainly eat insects, the pigment probably comes from eating insects that have eaten plants containing it.
	Western Wood-Pewees (Contopus sordidulus) are medium-sized flycatchers that are gray with a pale underside. They are found in the western United States and into South America. They breed in woodland habitats and spend the winter in tropical forests. Though they are fairly common, populations are declining due to habitat destruction. Wood-pewees eat flying insects.
	White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are gray with some black and white streaks on the head and wings. They are found in Canada in the summer and the United States in the winter. Males learn their song in the first few months of life. Dialects can form in different areas because they do not travel far from where they grew up. Though it is usually the males who sing, females also sometimes sing to defend territory or food sources. They eat seeds, insects, and sometimes fruit.
	White-tailed kites (Elanus leucurus) are found in savannas, grasslands, woodlands, and cultivated fields. They have a gray back and wings with a white face and underside. They hunt small mammals and sometimes birds, lizards, and insects by hovering 80 feet above the ground and then dropping straight down on their prey. By facing the wind, these birds can remain stationary in the air without flapping their wings. This is very characteristic of these birds and has come to be known as “kiting.”
	White-Throated Swifts (Aeronautes saxatalis) are small, black birds with white throats and underbellies. They are one of the fastest birds in North America. They eat flying insects and only ever hunt in flight. These swifts’ nest in narrow, vertical cracks in cliffs and roost in groups of hundreds. In the evenings, they all gather high above the nest, then descend slowly and swirl around the entrance as they enter it in smaller groups.
	Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are native to North America and were an important food source for Native Americans. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, hunting and habitat loss drastically decreased turkey populations, but reintroduction programs have been very successful in restoring the turkeys to their original ranges. Open woodland and savanna habitats are ideal for wild turkeys, which can fly, unlike domestic varieties. Female turkeys have brown, gray, or white breast feathers and small head feathers. Males, which are also called “toms” or “gobblers.” have black breast feathers, featherless blue-gray heads. pink wattles on their necks. and beards (small tufts of hair on the chest). Males also have a fleshy part over their beaks called a ‘”snood.” which turns blue when they are excited and red when they are ready to fight.
	Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) are bright yellow all over. Males sometimes have reddish streaks on the belly and chest. They eat insects. In the summer, they can be found throughout Canada, the United States, and parts of Mexico. They migrate to Central and northern South America for the winter. Weighing less than half an ounce, yellow warblers are so small that they sometimes get caught in spider webs. Brown-headed cowbirds often leave eggs in the nests of yellow warblers. When this happens, the warblers build a new nest on top of the invaded one. This can result in nests reaching up to six tiers.
	Yellow-Billed Magpies (Pica nuttalli) are large, black and white songbirds with a yellow bill. They eat mostly insects, but sometimes also eat grain, acorns, and small mammals. They are only found in central and southern California in open areas with large trees. Their populations are fairly stable but must be watched carefully due to their extremely limited range. Magpies are very susceptible to West Nile Virus and it has been estimated that 50% of them died from the disease between 2004 and 2006.