Mobile, Alabama

This guide contains some of the species found in Mobile, Alabama.

The region’s unusual—and in many cases unique—biological diversity could become an important storehouse of critical species and genetic material that would be shared with all of eastern North America as the climate ...more ↓

Northern Pintail

The Pintail or Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific Eaton's Pintail is considered to be a ...more ↓

Green-winged Teal

The Common Teal or Eurasian Teal (Anas crecca) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurasia and migrates south in winter. It is the Old World counterpart of the North American Green-winged Teal ( A. carolinensis), which was formerly (and sometimes is still) considered a subspecies of A. crecca. The Common Teal often simply called ...more ↓

Mottled Duck

The Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) or Mottled Mallard is a medium-sized dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female Mallard and the American Black Duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes considered a subspecies of the former, but this is inappropriate (see systematics).

Blue-winged Teal

The Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) is a small dabbling duck. Its placement in Anas is by no means certain; a member of the "blue-winged" group also including the shovelers, it may be better placed in Spatula. It is not a teal in the strict sense, and also does not seem closely related to the Garganey as was for some time believed. Indeed, its color pattern ...more ↓

Gadwall

The Gadwall (Anas strepera) is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 under its current scientific name. Its conservation status is Least Concern.

American Wigeon

The American Wigeon (also American Widgeon or Baldpate), Anas americana is a species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. If this is split up, all wigeons will go into their old genus Mareca again. It is a common and widespread duck which breeds in all but the extreme north of Canada and Alaska and also in the Interior West through Idaho, ...more ↓

Common Goldeneye

The Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye.

Bufflehead

The Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.

Red-breasted Merganser

The Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) is a diving duck.

Surf Scoter

The Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) is a large sea duck, which breeds in Canada and Alaska. It is placed in the subgenus Melanitta, along with the Velvet and White-winged Scoters, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, Black and Common Scoters.

Ring-necked Duck

The Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) is a smaller diving duck from North America.

Greater Scaup

The Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), just Scaup in Europe, or colloquially known as "Bluebill", is a small diving duck. It breeds on the ground by lakes and bogs on the tundra and at the northern limits of the boreal forest across Arctic and subarctic regions of northern North America, Europe and Asia.

Lesser Scaup

Aythya affinis, the Lesser Scaup (singular and plural), is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the Little Bluebill or Broadbill. It is apparently a very close relative of the Holarctic Greater Scaup or "bluebill" (A. marila), with which it forms a superspecies.

Redhead

The Redhead (Aythya americana) is a medium-sized diving duck, 37 cm long with an 84 cm wingspan.

Canvasback

The Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), historically known in the United States as a "Sheldrake", is a large diving duck, 48–60 cm long and weighing 1270 g.

Snow Goose

The Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed. The American Ornithologists' Union and BirdLife International place this species and the other "white" geese in the Chen genus, while other authorities place it in the more ...more ↓

Ruddy Duck

The Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a small stiff-tailed duck.

Canada Goose

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to Arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body. It is quite often called the Canadian Goose, but that name is not strictly correct, according to the American Ornithologists' ...more ↓

Wood Duck

The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck (Aix sponsa) is a medium-sized perching duck. A typical adult is about 19 inches in length with an average wingspan of 29 inches. This is about three-quarters of the length of an adult Mallard. It shares its genus with the Asian Mandarin Duck.

Hooded Merganser

The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a small duck and is the only member of the genus Lophodytes.

Horned Lark

The Shore Lark (Eremophila alpestris), called the Horned Lark in North America, breeds across much of North America from the high Arctic south to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, northernmost Europe and Asia and in the mountains of southeast Europe. There is also an isolated population on a plateau in Colombia. It is mainly resident in the south of its range, but northern ...more ↓

Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It breeds in open wooded areas in North America, principally southern Canada and the northern United States.

Brown Creeper

The Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), also known as the American Tree Creeper, is a small songbird, the only North American member of the treecreeper family Certhiidae.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, is a very small songbird.

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 ↓

Winter Wren

The Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), also known as the Northern Wren, is a very small bird, a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It is the only one of nearly sixty species in the family that occurs in the Old World; in Europe it is commonly known simply as the Wren. It is noteworthy among songbirds both because of its long and complex ...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 in most suburban areas in its range it is the single most common wren. Its taxonomy is highly complex and some subspecies groups are often considered separate species.

Sedge Wren

The Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It is also known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren and in South America 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.

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.

Fish Crow

The Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) is a typical crow in appearance that is associated with wetland habitats.

American Crow

The American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America. In the interior of the continent south of the Arctic, it is simply "the crow" as no other such birds occur there on any regular basis.

Blue Jay

The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a passerine bird, and a member of the family Corvidae native to North America. It belongs to the "blue", Canadian or American jays, which are, among the Corvidae, not closely related to other jays. It is adaptable, aggressive and omnivorous, and has been colonizing new habitats for many decades.

Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) or Redbird is a North American bird in the cardinal family. It is found from southern Canada through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico to northern Guatemala and Belize. It can also be found on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.

Lincoln's Sparrow

The Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, is a medium-sized sparrow.

Swamp Sparrow

The Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, is a medium-sized sparrow related to the Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow

The Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is a medium-sized American sparrow.

Chipping Sparrow

The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.

Field Sparrow

The Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, is a small sparrow.

Fox Sparrow

The Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Passerella, although some authors split the genus into four species (see below).

White-crowned Sparrow

The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) is a medium-sized sparrow native to North America.

White-throated Sparrow

The White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae.

Orchard Oriole

The Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, is the smallest North American species of icterid blackbird. The subspecies of the Caribbean coast of Mexico, I. s. fuertesi, is sometimes considered a separate species, the Ochre Oriole.

Baltimore Oriole

The Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula, is a small icterid blackbird which is on average 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. This bird received its name from the fact that the male's colors resemble those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore. At one time, this species and the Bullock's Oriole, Icterus bullockii, were considered to be a single species, the Northern Oriole.

Eastern Towhee

The Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Spotted Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee.

Eastern Meadowlark

The Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to the Western Meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to South America, where it is also most widespread in the east.

Western Meadowlark

The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized blackbird, very similar in appearance to the Eastern Meadowlark.

Boat-tailed Grackle

The Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the southeastern USA. It is found in coastal saltwater marshes, and, in Florida, also on inland waters. The nest is a well-concealed cup in trees or shrubs near water; three to five eggs are laid.

Common Grackle

The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large icterid.

Yellow-throated Warbler

The Yellow-throated Warbler, Dendroica dominica, is a small New World warbler. These birds breed in southeastern North America, and their breeding ranges extend from southern Pennsylvania and northern Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico.

Common Yellowthroat

The Common Yellowthroat, (Geothlypis trichas), is a New World warbler. They are abundant breeders in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. Northern races are migratory, wintering in the southern parts of the breeding range, Central America and the West Indies. Southern forms are largely resident. This species is a very rare vagrant to western ...more ↓

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as ...more ↓

Golden-winged Warbler

The Golden-winged Warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera, is a New World warbler, 11.6 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America in southeastern Canada and the eastern USA. Its range is extending northwards, but in the south it is being replaced by the very closely related Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora pinus.

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.

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's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.

Savannah Sparrow

The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) is a small American sparrow. It is the only widely accepted member of the genus Passerculus. Recent comparison of mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 3 sequences indicates that the Ipswich Sparrow, formerly usually considered a good species (as Passerculus princeps), is a well-marked ...more ↓

Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis, is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much like the related Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), and its systematics is still not completely ...more ↓

Le Conte's Sparrow

The Le Conte's Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii, is a small sparrow.

Henslow's Sparrow

The Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, is a small American sparrow.

Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow

The Nelson's Sparrow (Latin: Ammodramus nelsoni) is a small sparrow. Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-coloured breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail.

Grasshopper Sparrow

The Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, is a small sparrow. The Ammodramus genus of 11 species inhabit grasslands and marshes.

Seaside Sparrow

The Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, is a small American sparrow. The 11 Ammodramus species inhabit marshes and grasslands.

Vesper Sparrow

The Vesper Sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus, is a medium-sized sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Pooecetes (Baird 1858).

Painted Bunting

The Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) belongs to the Passerina genus of birds in the Cardinal family Cardinalidae.

Indigo Bunting

The Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The ...more ↓

Yellow-breasted Chat

The Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) is a large songbird, formerly considered the most atypical member of the New World warbler family, though the long-standing suspicion is that it does not actually belong there. Its placement is not definitely resolved. It is the only member of the genus Icteria. Found throughout North America, from southern-plains Canada to ...more ↓

American Redstart

The American Redstart, Setophaga ruticilla, is a New World warbler. They breed in North America, across southern Canada and the eastern USA.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, is a large seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae.

Black-and-white Warbler

The Black-and-white Warbler, Mniotilta varia, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern and eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.

Rusty Blackbird

The Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus, is a medium-sized blackbird, closely related to grackles (Rusty Grakle is an older name for the species).

Brewer's Blackbird

The Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) is a medium-sized blackbird.

Brown-headed Cowbird

The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a small brood parasitic icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat about March/April.

Swainson's Warbler

Swainson's Warbler, Limnothlypis swainsonii, is a small species of New World warbler. It is monotypic, the only member of the genus Limnothlypis.

Bobolink

The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a small New World blackbird and the only member of genus Dolichonyx.

Dickcissel

The Dickcissel, Spiza americana, is a small American seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is the only member of the genus Spiza, though some sources list another supposedly extinct species (see below). In older works, it is often placed with the American sparrows in the Emberizidae; females especially resemble American Sparrows in plumage.

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.

Cliff Swallow

The Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae — the swallows and martins.

Purple Martin

The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is the largest North American swallow at 20 cm length. Adults have a slightly forked tail. These "aerial acrobats" have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky with their wings tucked at great speeds.

Barn Swallow

The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. A distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings, it is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In Anglophone Europe it is just called the Swallow; in Northern Europe it is the only common species called a "swallow" ...more ↓

Tree Swallow

The Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, is a migratory passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

Bank Swallow

The Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, part of northern Asia and also North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America and South Asia. It is known as Bank Swallow in North America, and as ...more ↓

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) is a small swallow.

Loggerhead Shrike

The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike (L. excubitor) occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic.

American Robin

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius, also called North American Robin) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of the male's bright red breast, though the two species are not closely related. The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering south of Canada from Florida to central Mexico and ...more ↓

Swainson's Thrush

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), also called Olive-backed Thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. This species is 16-18 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing patterm characteristic of Catharus thrushes. Swainson's Thrush was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.

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 (Winker & Pruett, 2006); it forms a cryptic species pair with the latter. The ...more ↓

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.

Veery

The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush species. It is occasionally called Willow Thrush or Wilson's Thrush. This species is 16-18 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 which also includes the cryptotaxa Gray-cheeked Thrush and ...more ↓

Eastern Bluebird

The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a medium-sized thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in surburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York.

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.

Tufted Titmouse

The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family (Paridae). The Black-crested Titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southwards, was included as a subspecies but is now considered a separate species B. atricristatus.

Sprague's Pipit

Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) is a small passerine bird that breeds in the short and mixed-grass prairies of North America and overwinters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Easiest to identify by the distinctive descending call that is delivered in the breeding season from a considerable height. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in ...more ↓

American Pipit

The Buff-bellied Pipit (Anthus rubescens) is a small songbird found on both sides of the northern Pacific. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica.

House Sparrow

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a member of the Old World sparrow family Passeridae, considered by some to be a relative of the Weaver Finch Family.It occurs naturally in most of Europe and much of Asia. It has also followed humans all over the world and has been intentionally or accidentally introduced to most of the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand and ...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 ↓

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, is a small songbird.

Brown-headed Nuthatch

The Brown-headed Nuthatch, Sitta pusilla, is a small (approximately 3.5 in/8.9 cm in length) songbird found in pine forests throughout the Southeastern United States. An endangered population occurs in the pineyards of Grand Bahama; some authorities consider it to represent a separate species, S. insularis. The bird, like other nuthatches, possesses a sharp black ...more ↓

European Starling

The European Starling, Common Starling or just Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.

Northern Mockingbird

The Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos.

Brown Thrasher

The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush, is a species of thrasher, part of a family of New World birds (Mimidae) that includes New World catbirds and mockingbirds.

Gray Catbird

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella. Like the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris), it is among the basal lineages of the Mimidae, probably a closer relative of the Caribbean ...more ↓

Edited by Marie Studer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)