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Suburban Animals of Silicon Valley

Critters you have a good chance of encountering in your backyard, while on a walk in the neighborhood park, in a strip mall parking lot, or in a golf course water trap. I've put ID & location tips in the Notes section for most species.

Western Toad 1
Anaxyrus boreas
Arboreal Salamander 2
Aneides lugubris
Northern Alligator Lizard 3
Elgaria coerulea
Southern Alligator Lizard 4
Elgaria multicarinata
Western Fence Lizard 5
Sceloporus occidentalis
Red-eared Slider 6
Trachemys scripta elegans
Nuttall's Woodpecker 7
Picoides nuttallii
Northern Flicker 8
Colaptes auratus
Mitred Parakeet 9
Aratinga mitrata
Pigeon 10
Columba livia
Band-tailed Pigeon 11
Patagioenas fasciata
Mourning Dove 12
Zenaida macroura
American Coot 13
Fulica americana
Killdeer 14
Charadrius vociferus
Great Egret 7
Ardea alba
Great Blue Heron 15
Ardea herodias
Anna's Hummingbird 16
Calypte anna
Mallard 17
Anas platyrhynchos
Domesticated Duck 18
Anas platyrhynchos domesticus
Canada Goose 19
Branta canadensis
Red-tailed Hawk 20
Buteo jamaicensis
Turkey Vulture 21
Cathartes aura
Barn Swallow 22
Hirundo rustica
Brewer's Blackbird 23
Euphagus cyanocephalus
Oak Titmouse 24
Baeolophus inornatus
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 25
Poecile rufescens
House Sparrow 23
Passer domesticus
Bewick's Wren 26
Thryomanes bewickii
American Robin 12
Turdus migratorius
Western Bluebird 27
Sialia mexicana
Black Phoebe 28
Sayornis nigricans
Dark-eyed Junco 29
Junco hyemalis
Spotted Towhee 20
Pipilo maculatus
California Towhee 30
Melozone crissalis
Northern Mockingbird 31
Mimus polyglottos
Bushtit 32
Psaltriparus minimus
Western Scrub Jay 33
Aphelocoma californica
American Crow 34
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Steller's Jay 35
Cyanocitta stelleri
Lesser Goldfinch 36
Spinus psaltria
House Finch 37
Haemorhous mexicanus
Common Raccoon 38
Procyon lotor
Striped Skunk
Mephitis mephitis
Virginia Opossum 39
Didelphis virginiana
Botta's Pocket Gopher 40
Thomomys bottae
Brown Rat 41
Rattus norvegicus
Black Rat 42
Rattus rattus
Eastern Grey Squirrel 43
Sciurus carolinensis
Fox Squirrel 44
Sciurus niger
California Ground Squirrel 45
Otospermophilus beecheyi

Edited by sea-kangaroo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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