NPS National Capital Region Birds of Rock Creek Park
Birds of Rock Creek Park
Tennessee Warbler
The Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) is a New World warbler that breeds in eastern North America and winters in southern Central America and northern South America.
Nashville Warbler
The Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) is a small songbird in the New World warbler family.
Black-and-white Warbler
The black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) is a species of New World warbler, the only member of its genus, Mniotilta. It breeds in northern and eastern North America from the Northwest Territory and Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to Florida. This species is migratory, wintering in Florida, Central America and the West Indies down to Peru. This species is a ...more ↓
Connecticut Warbler
The Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Northern Waterthrush
The Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) is one of the larger New World warblers. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada and the northern United States including Alaska. This bird is migratory, wintering in Central America, the West Indies and Florida, as well as in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is a very rare vagrant to other South American ...more ↓
Prothonotary Warbler
The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria.
Ovenbird
The Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean Islands, Florida, and northern Venezuela.
Northern Parula
The Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
The Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family. Its breeding ranges are located in the interior of deciduous and mixed forests in eastern North America. Over the cooler months, it migrates to islands in the Caribbean and Central America. It is a very rarely found in western Europe, where it is considered to be ...more ↓
Bay-breasted Warbler
The Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) is a New World warbler. They breed in northern North America, specifically in Canada, into the Great Lakes region, and into northern New England.
Cerulean Warbler
The Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Hooded Warbler
The Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America and across the eastern USA and into southernmost Canada, (Ontario). It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. Hooded Warblers are very rare vagrants to western Europe.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler (ssp coronata), its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler (ssp group auduboni), the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler (ssp nigrifrons), and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler (ssp goldmani)—are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata).
Prairie Warbler
The Prairie Warbler, (Setophaga discolor), is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Yellow-throated Warbler
The Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) is a small migratory songbird species breeding in temperate North America. It belongs to the New World warbler family (Parulidae).
Blackburnian Warbler
The Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.
Magnolia Warbler
The Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae. This warbler was first discovered in magnolia trees in the 19th century by famed ornithologist Alexander Wilson while in Mississippi.
Palm Warbler
The Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern USA.
Yellow Warbler
The American Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia, formerly Dendroica petechia) is a New World warbler species. Sensu lato, they make up the most widespread species in the diverse Setophaga genus, breeding in almost the whole of North America and down to northern South America.
Pine Warbler
The Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
American Redstart
The American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is a New World warbler. It is unrelated to the Old World redstarts. It derives its name from the male's red tail, start being an old word for tail.
Blackpoll Warbler
The Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks and white wing bars. The Blackpoll breeds in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and New England.
Cape May Warbler
The Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is a species of New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding range spans all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two records in Britain as of October 2013. ...more ↓
Black-throated Green Warbler
The Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Golden-winged Warbler
The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is a New World warbler. It breeds in southeastern and south-central Canada and the Appalachian Mountains northeastern to north-central USA. The majority (~70%) of the global population breeds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Manitoba. Golden-winged Warbler populations are slowly expanding northwards, but are generally declining ...more ↓
Blue-winged Warbler
The blue-winged warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) is a fairly common New World warbler, 11.5 cm (4.5 in) long and weighing 8.5 g (0.30 oz). It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern United States. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related golden-winged warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera.
House Sparrow
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. A small bird, it has a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 in) and a weight of 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, ...more ↓
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch, which is usually concealed. The sexes are identical (apart from the crown), and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults. ...more ↓
Red-breasted Nuthatch
The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, which has been likened to a tin trumpet, is high-pitched and nasal. It breeds in coniferous forests across Canada, Alaska and the northeastern ...more ↓
White-breasted Nuthatch
The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is a small songbird of the nuthatch family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are white. It has a black cap and a chestnut lower belly. The nine ...more ↓
European Starling
The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the European starling, or in the British Isles just the starling, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in ...more ↓
Scarlet Tanager
The Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species' plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
Summer Tanager
The Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra), is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.
Marsh Wren
The Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) is a small North American songbird of the wren family. It is sometimes called Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren.
Sedge Wren
The Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) is a small songbird of the Wren family. It was formerly known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren, and in South America is often known as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas. Some of these forms may be separate species that could be split in the future.
Carolina Wren
The Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common species of wren, resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. A distinct population in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Belize and extreme north of Guatemala is treated either as a subspecies Thryothorus ludovicianus albinucha, or as a separate ...more ↓
House Wren
The House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren. Its taxonomy is highly complex and some subspecies groups are often considered ...more ↓
Eurasian Wren
The Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), is a very small bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia. In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply as the Wren. It was once lumped with Troglodytes hiemalis of eastern North America and Troglodytes pacificus of western North America as the Winter Wren.
Veery
The Veery (Catharus fuscescens) is a small North American thrush species, a member of a group of closely related and similar species in the genus Catharus, also including the Gray-cheeked Thrush (C. minimus) and Bicknell's Thrush (C. bicknelli).
Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-thrush.
Gray-cheeked Thrush
The Grey-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) is a medium-sized thrush. This species is 15–17 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant species together with the Veery and Bicknell's Thrush; it forms a cryptic species pair with the latter. The Grey-cheeked Thrush is all ...more ↓
Swainson's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), also called Olive-backed Thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. It is a member of Catharus genus and is typical of it in terms of its subdued coloration and beautiful voice. Swainson's Thrush was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.
Wood Thrush
The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American Robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico. The Wood Thrush is the official bird of the District of Columbia.
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York.
American Robin
The American Robin (Turdus migratorius), also known as the robin, is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family. The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering ...more ↓
Olive-sided Flycatcher
The Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) is a passerine bird. It is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
The Eastern Wood Pewee (Contopus virens) is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the Western Wood Pewee (C. sordidulus) were formerly considered to be a single species. The two species are virtually identical in appearance, and can be distinguished most easily by their calls.
Alder Flycatcher
The Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris) is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.
Least Flycatcher
The Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), (also called chebec, or chebecker, after the sound it makes), is a small insect-eating bird. It is the smallest Empidonax flycatcher in eastern North America.
Willow Flycatcher
The Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) is a small insect-eating, neotropical migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. There are four subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher currently recognized, all of which breed in North America (including three subspecies which breed in California). Empidonax flycatchers are almost impossible to tell apart in the field so biologists use ...more ↓
Acadian Flycatcher
The Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.
Great Crested Flycatcher
The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus, Myiarchus, in North America and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent. It dwells mostly in the treetops and rarely is found on the ground.
Eastern Phoebe
The Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal USA.
Eastern Kingbird
The Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is a large tyrant flycatcher native to North America.
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) is a small songbird. It breeds in the southeastern USA from New Jersey west to northern Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also in eastern Mexico, northern Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas.
Red-eyed Vireo
The Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) is a small American songbird, 13–14 cm (5.1–5.5 in) in length. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
Blue-headed Vireo
The Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) is a Neotropical migrating song bird found in North and Central America. There are currently two recognized sub-species that belong to the Blue-headed Vireo. It has a range that extends across Canada and the eastern coast of the United-States, Mexico and some of Central America. It prefers large temperate forests with a mix of evergreen ...more ↓
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores, England and the Netherlands. An all-white population found only in ...more ↓
Green Heron
The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron (Butorides striata), and together they were called "Green-backed Heron". Birds of the nominate subspecies (no matter which taxonomic arrangement is preferred) are extremely rare vagrants to western Europe; ...more ↓
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea, formerly placed in the genus Nycticorax), also called the American Night Heron or squawk, is a fairly small heron. It is found throughout a large part of the Americas, especially (but not exclusively) in warmer coastal regions; an example occurrence is the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatan.
Black-crowned Night-Heron
The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia (where it is replaced by the closely related Rufous Night Heron, with which it has hybridized in the area of contact).
Northern Flicker
The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker. Among them are: Yellowhammer, clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, ...more ↓
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a very large North American woodpecker, roughly crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in the United States, except the possibly extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
The Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the Picidae family. It breeds in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. Its common name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head; the Red-headed Woodpecker, however, is another species ...more ↓
Red-headed Woodpecker
The Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is a small or medium-sized woodpecker from temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States.
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.
Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) is a medium-sized woodpecker, averaging approximately 250 mm (9.8 in) in length with a 380 mm (15 in) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals, the Hairy Woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern in North America.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is a medium-sized woodpecker found in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Horned Grebe
The Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It is also known as the Slavonian Grebe. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. P. auritus is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. Until recently, it was regarded as the sole member of a distinct genus, as Nyctea scandiaca, but mtDNA cytochrome ...more ↓
Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl, (Bubo virginianus), also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.
Eastern Screech-Owl
The Eastern Screech Owl or Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada.
Barred Owl
The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is a large typical owl native to North America. Best known as the Hoot Owl for its distinctive call, it goes by many other names, including Eight Hooter, Rain Owl, Wood Owl, and Striped Owl.
Double-crested Cormorant
The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is an all-black bird which gains a small double crest of ...more ↓
