Birds of Foothill College
This is a checklist/field guide to the birds of Foothill campus, that I have observed.
American Cliff Swallow
Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are a medium-sized (5-6 inches) swallow, with dark metallic blue wings and back, pale breast, and buff-brown rump. They also have a reddish brown throat/face and a white patch on the forehead and a squared-off tail. Male and female Cliff Swallows are similar to one another in all seasons.
You can here examples of their calls ...more ↓
Barn Swallow
Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) have cobalt blue bodies with buff to rufous chests and cinnamon colored faces and throats. They have long forked tails that are easily seen both when the birds are perching and when they are in flight. Males have bolder coloration than females.
Similar Species
Cliff Swallows are much darker in color, have a white ...more ↓
Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus): males are glossy black with iridescent blue tinge the heads and iridescent green tinge on backs and a bright yellow eye. Females are brown with darker wings and tail and a dark eye.
Similar Species
European Starlings Are iridescent black with white spots, yellow bills and dark colored ...more ↓
Brown-headed Cowbird
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is named for the male's distinctive brown head, which contrasts with his metallic green-black body. Females are plain brown with lighter heads and streaking on the belly. Brown-headed Cowbirds are nest parasites and lay their eggs in other species' nests.
To hear an example of brown-headed cowbird calls: ...more ↓
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse (Baeolophus inornatus) are small, gray songbirds that have a tufted head. Males and females are identical in appearance.
To hear examples of oak titmouse calls go here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Oak_Titmouse/sounds
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
The Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens, is a small perching bird with a black and white head and chestnut back and gray flanks. They have a small beak and long tail.
To hear sounds of chestnut-backed chickadees: ...more ↓
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a small common sparrow worldwide. Both sexes have a brown back streaked with black. Males and females are easily distinguished; males have a black bib, a grey crown with chestnut sides, and white cheeks. Females and juveniles have a duskier appearance, and lack the black bib seen in males. Outside of the breeding season, they form large ...more ↓
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) are small birds that can often be spotted climbing up and down the trunks of trees. Their long bills make them easy to identify. Their bills are nearly as long as their heads and are curved slightly upward. White-breasted nuthatches have black crowns on their heads, with white cheeks and white undersides. Their bellies have a ...more ↓
European Starling
The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the European Starling is a medium-sized glossy black bird which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. Some sexual dimorphism exists. Males have elongate breast feathers and a bluish spot at ...more ↓
Bewick's Wren
The Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) is medium-sized wren, is identified by its plain brown back, pale breast, long tail (often held up at an angle), long curved bill, and conspicuous white eye-stripes. Male and female Bewick’s Wrens are similar to one another in all seasons.
Hear examples of their songs and calls here: ...more ↓
American Robin
The American Robin (Turdus migratorius), also known as the robin, is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. Both males and females are medium-sized birds with gray bodies, brown-orange breasts, black heads and a white eye ring, thought the females' heads are slightly lighter than the males. American robins have a lovely and distinct song that can be hear here: ...more ↓
Western Bluebird
The Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) is a small thrush. Males have bright blue backs and wings and rust-colored breast and back. Females tend to be paler gray on their bodies and pale orange on their chests.
Similar Species
Western Scrub Jay - much larger bird with longer tails and no rust/orange coloration
Steller's Jay- also much ...more ↓
Black Phoebe
The Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) is a small flycatcher with a black body and white belly. They have a small crest at the back of their heads. Males and females are identical in appearance.
To hear sounds of the Black Phoebe go here: ...more ↓
Say's Phoebe
The Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya), a passerine, is in the Tyrant-Flycatcher family. A common bird in the western United States. It prefers dry, desolate areas. This bird was named for Thomas Say, the American naturalist.
Hutton's Vireo
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni) is a small songbird dull olive-gray above and below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint white wing bars. There are no differences between males and females.
To hear sounds of Hutton's Vireo: ...more ↓
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) is a very small perching bird with 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. It is one of the smallest songbirds in North America.
Similar ...more ↓
Dark-eyed (slate-colored) junco
The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is t a small sparrow with a black head and breast, chestnut back, gray wings and white belly. They flash their white tails in flight. Females are slightly lighter/duller in color and smaller than males.
To hear examples of Dark-eyed Junco sounds: ...more ↓
golden-crowned sparrow
The Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) is a large American sparrow with a short stout bill and a long tail. Golden-crowned Sparrows are streaked brown on their backs and wings and gray on their chest and bellies. As ours are only winter visitors, their crowns are dark brown with a yellow forehead (in breeding, the crown is black).
For an example of ...more ↓
White-crowned Sparrow
The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized sparrow with a pink/orange bill, gray body with a brown and gray streaked back and distinct black and white stripes on its crown.
You can hear the sounds of the White-crowned Sparrow here: ...more ↓
Spotted Towhee
The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is a large sparrow with a black head, chest and back with white spots on the wings and back, rust colored flanks and a white belly. Females are similar except that they are brown instead of black.
To hear an example of Spotted Towhee sounds: ...more ↓
California Towhee
The California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) native to the coastal regions of western Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California Sur in Mexico.
To hear examples of sounds from California Towhee: ...more ↓
California Thrasher
The California Thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) is a large thrasher that is grayish brown with a slight reddish underside. They have a long curved bill.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) is a medium-sized (5-6 inches) wood warbler that is found in two distinct color patterns. I will only discuss the western group. As ours are primarily wintering migrants, they have a dull brown back and pale belly and breast with conspicuous yellow patches on their throats, rumps and sides.
Bushtit
The American Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is a very small round brown and gray bird with a long tail and short stubby bills. Males and females are similar, but females have pale eyes and males have dark eyes.
Bushtits often travel in mixed species flocks with chickadees, kinglets, wrens, and other small songbirds. Pairs begin to separate from flocks in ...more ↓
Cedar Waxwing
The Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a medium sized, with a light brown body and crest, yellow flanks, black face mask, and red waxy-tipped feathers on the wings. Male and female Cedar Waxwings are similar at all seasons.
To hear examples of sounds from Cedar Waxwings: ...more ↓
Western Scrub-Jay
The Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica), is a large species jay(with three subspecies) with a long tail and are blue and gray above with a pale gray throat, chest and belly and a blue band across the chest. They have a white eyebrow above the eye. Males and females are similar in appearance.
Similar Species
Western Bluebird Western ...more ↓
American Crow
The American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is a large black bird of with a short square tail. They are frequently seen in large flocks on all parts of the campus. Sexes are similar in appearance though the males may be slightly larger than females. Their call is very nasal
Similar Species
Common Raven Common Ravens are much larger birds. They ...more ↓
Common Raven
The Common Raven (Corvus corax), is a large, all-black passerine bird.
Similar Species
American Crow smaller than Common Ravens and have narrower bills and square tails in flight.
Brewer's Blackbird are much smaller than Common Ravens and have a yellow eye.
Steller's Jay
The Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is a large bird with a distinct crested black head and blue body, wings and tail. Males and females are similar in appearance.
Steller's Jays are masters of mimicry and make a wide variety of songs and calls. To hear examples of their calls go here: ...more ↓
Lesser Goldfinch
The Lesser Goldfinch or (Spinus psaltria) is a very small songbird with a short bill and short notched tail. The males are black or green on their backs and black cap and are bright yellow underneath. They have white spots on their wings and white corners on their tails. Females are more olive colored on their backs and are duller yellow below.
To hear sounds of the ...more ↓
American Goldfinch
The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), , is a small finch that is yellow with a black cap and boldly colored black and white wings and white patches above and below the tail. Female American Goldfinches are duller yellow overall , and lack black on the head.
To hear examples of sounds of the American Goldfinch: ...more ↓
House Finch
The House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) is a small finch with a large beak. Males are streaky brown with a conspicuous red, orange or yellowish head and a red rump,. The coloration of the head is dependent upon their diet. Females are streaky gray and brown.
To hear sounds of the House Finch: ...more ↓
