Birds of Mendocino County

This list of common names of birds seen in Mendocino County is provided by R.J. "Bob" Keiffer and Chuck Vaughn. This list is updated from Checklist of the Birds of Mendocino County, 3rd. edition, 2005 compiled by Bob Keiffer, Demian Ebert, Chuck Vaughn, George Chaniot, and Oliver Kolkmann, all of the Peregrine Audubon Society. The arrangement of families has been updated to agree with the AOU's Checklist of North American Birds, 7th Edition, 45th Supplement, 2004. If you have sightings which would add to this list, please send them to Bob Keiffer, P.O. Box 354, Hopland, CA 95449 or (707)744-1160.

To print out a copy to use as a daylist save this as a text file and open it from your word processor. Delete the header and footer, reduce the font size to about 7, flow it into three columns, and it should fit onto two pages or one page double-sided.

SWANS, GEESE, & DUCKS (Anatidae)

____Fulvous Whistling-Duck
____Greater White-fronted Goose
____Emperor Goose
____Snow Goose
____Ross's Goose
____Cackling Goose
____Canada Goose
____Brant
____Tundra Swan
____Wood Duck
____Gadwall
____Eurasian Wigeon
____American Wigeon
____Mallard
____Blue-winged Teal
____Cinnamon Teal
____Northern Shoveler
____Northern Pintail
____Green-winged Teal
____Canvasback
____Redhead
____Ring-necked Duck
____Tufted Duck
____Greater Scaup
____Lesser Scaup
____Harlequin Duck
____Surf Scoter
____White-winged Scoter
____Black Scoter
____Long-tailed Duck
____Bufflehead
____Common Goldeneye
____Barrow's Goldeneye
____Hooded Merganser
____Common Merganser
____Red-breasted Merganser
____Ruddy Duck

GROUSE & ALLIES (Phasianidae)

____Ring-necked Pheasant
____Sooty Grouse
____Wild Turkey

NEW WORLD QUAIL (Odontophoridae)

____Mountain Quail
____California Quail

LOONS (Gaviidae)

____Red-throated Loon
____Pacific Loon
____Common Loon
____Yellow-billed Loon

GREBES (Podicipedidae)

____Pied-billed Grebe
____Horned Grebe
____Red-necked Grebe
____Eared Grebe
____Western Grebe
____Clark's Grebe

ALBATROSSES (Diomedeidae)

____Shy Albatross
____Laysan Albatross
____Black-footed Albatross

SHEARWATERS & PETRELS (Procellariidae)

____Northern Fulmar
____Murphy's Petrel
____Mottled Petrel
____Dark-rumped Petrel
____Cook's Petrel
____Stejneger's Petrel
____Streaked Shearwater
____Pink-footed Shearwater
____Flesh-footed Shearwater
____Buller's Shearwater
____Sooty Shearwater
____Short-tailed Shearwater
____Manx Shearwater
____Black-vented Shearwater

STORM-PETRELS (Hydrobatidae)

____Wilson's Storm-Petrel
____Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
____Leach's Storm-Petrel
____Ashy Storm-Petrel
____Black Storm-Petrel

TROPICBIRDS (Phaethontidae)

____Red-billed Tropicbird
____Red-tailed Tropicbird

BOOBIES (Sulidae)

____Masked Booby
____Brown Booby

PELICANS (Pelecanidae)

____American White Pelican
____Brown Pelican

CORMORANTS (Phalacrocoracidae)

____Brandt's Cormorant
____Double-crested Cormorant
____Pelagic Cormorant

FRIGATEBIRDS (Fregatidae)

____Magnificent Frigatebird

HERONS (Ardeidae)

____American Bittern
____Great Blue Heron
____Great Egret
____Snowy Egret
____Cattle Egret
____Green Heron
____Black-crowned Night Heron

IBISES >(Threskiornithidae)

____White-faced Ibis

AMERICAN VULTURES (Cathartidae)

____Turkey Vulture

KITES, HAWKS, & EAGLES (Accipitridae)

____Osprey
____White-tailed Kite
____Bald Eagle
____Northern Harrier
____Sharp-shinned Hawk
____Cooper's Hawk
____Northern Goshawk
____Red-shouldered Hawk
____Swainson's Hawk
____Red-tailed Hawk
____Ferruginous Hawk
____Rough-legged Hawk
____Golden Eagle

FALCONS (Falconidae)

____Crested Caracara
____American Kestrel
____Merlin
____Peregrine Falcon
____Prairie Falcon

RAILS, GALLINULES, & COOTS (Rallidae)

____Black Rail
____Virginia Rail
____Sora
____Common Moorhen
____American Coot

CRANES (Gruidae)

____Sandhill Crane

PLOVERS (Charadriidae)

____Black-bellied Plover
____American Golden-Plover
____Pacific Golden-Plover
____Snowy Plover
____Semipalmated Plover
____Killdeer
____Mountain Plover

OYSTERCATCHERS (Haematopodidae)

____Black Oystercatcher

STILTS & AVOCETS (Recurvirostridae)

____Black-necked Stilt
____American Avocet

SANDPIPERS (Scolopacidae)

____Greater Yellowlegs
____Lesser Yellowlegs
____Solitary Sandpiper
____Willet
____Wandering Tattler
____Spotted Sandpiper
____Whimbrel
____Long-billed Curlew
____Bar-tailed Godwit
____Marbled Godwit
____Ruddy Turnstone
____Black Turnstone
____Surfbird
____Red Knot
____Sanderling
____Semipalmated Sandpiper
____Western Sandpiper
____Least Sandpiper
____Baird's Sandpiper
____Pectoral Sandpiper
____Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
____Rock Sandpiper
____Dunlin
____Stilt Sandpiper
____Buff-breasted Sandpiper
____Ruff
____Short-billed Dowitcher
____Long-billed Dowitcher
____Wilson's Snipe
____Wilson's Phalarope
____Red-necked Phalarope
____Red Phalarope

SKUAS, JAEGERS, GULLS, & TERNS (Laridae)

____South Polar Skua
____Pomarine Jaeger
____Parasitic Jaeger
____Long-tailed Jaeger
____Laughing Gull
____Franklin's Gull
____Black-headed Gull
____Bonaparte's Gull
____Heermann's Gull
____Mew Gull
____Ring-billed Gull
____California Gull
____Herring Gull
____Thayer's Gull
____Western Gull
____Glaucous-winged Gull
____Glaucous Gull
____Sabine's Gull
____Black-legged Kittiwake
____Caspian Tern
____Elegant Tern
____Common Tern
____Arctic Tern
____Forster's Tern
____Least Tern
____Black Tern

AUKS, MURRES, & PUFFINS (Alcidae)

____Common Murre
____Thick-billed Murre
____Pigeon Guillemot
____Long-billed Murrelet
____Marbled Murrelet
____Xantus's Murrelet
____Ancient Murrelet
____Cassin's Auklet
____Parakeet Auklet
____Rhinoceros Auklet
____Horned Puffin
____Tufted Puffin

PIGEONS & DOVES (Columbidae)

____Rock Dove
____Band-tailed Pigeon
____Eurasian Collared-Dove
____White-winged Dove
____Mourning Dove

CUCKOOS (Cuculidae)

____Yellow-billed Cuckoo
____Greater Roadrunner

BARN OWLS (Tytonidae)

____Barn Owl

OWLS (Strigidae)

____Flammulated Owl
____Western Screech-Owl
____Great Horned Owl
____Northern Pygmy-Owl
____Burrowing Owl
____Spotted Owl
____Barred Owl
____Great Gray Owl
____Long-eared Owl
____Short-eared Owl
____Northern Saw-whet Owl

GOATSUCKERS (Caprimulgidae)

____Lesser Nighthawk
____Common Nighthawk
____Common Poorwill

SWIFTS (Apodidae)

____Black Swift
____Chimney Swift
____Vaux's Swift
____White-throated Swift

HUMMINGBIRDS (Trochilidae)

____Black-chinned Hummingbird
____Anna's Hummingbird
____Costa's Hummingbird
____Calliope Hummingbird
____Rufous Hummingnird
____Allen's Hummingbird

KINGFISHERS (Alcedinidae)

____Belted Kingfisher

WOODPECKERS (Picidae)

____Lewis's Woodpecker
____Acorn Woodpecker
____Williamson's Sapsucker
____Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
____Red-naped Sapsucker
____Red-breasted Sapsucker
____Nuttall's Woodpecker
____Downy Woodpecker
____Hairy Woodpecker
____White-headed Woodpecker
____Northern Flicker
____Pileated Woodpecker

TYRANT FLYCATCHERS (Tyrannidae)

____Olive-sided Flycatcher
____Western Wood-Pewee
____Willow Flycatcher
____Hammond's Flycatcher
____Dusky Flycatcher
____Pacific-slope Flycatcher
____Black Phoebe
____Eastern Phoebe
____Say's Phoebe
____Ash-throated Flycatcher
____Tropical Kingbird
____Cassin's Kingbird
____Western Kingbird
____Eastern Kingbird
____Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

SHRIKES (Laniidae)

____Loggerhead Shrike
____Northern Shrike

VIREOS (Vireonidae)

____Yellow-throated Vireo
____Cassin's Vireo
____Hutton's Vireo
____Warbling Vireo
____Red-eyed Vireo

JAYS, CROWS, & MAGPIES (Corvidae)

____Gray Jay
____Steller's Jay
____Western Scrub-Jay
____Pinyon Jay
____Clark's Nutcracker
____Yellow-billed Magpie
____American Crow
____Common Raven

LARKS (Alaudidae)

____Horned Lark

SWALLOWS (Hirundinidae)

____Purple Martin
____Tree Swallow
____Violet-green Swallow
____Northern Rough-winged Swallow
____Bank Swallow
____Cliff Swallow
____Barn Swallow

TITMICE & CHICKADEES (Paridae)

____Mountain Chickadee
____Chestnut-backed Chickadee
____Oak Titmouse

BUSHTITS (Aegithalidae)

____Bushtit

NUTHATCHES (Sittidae)

____Red-breasted Nuthatch
____White-breasted Nuthatch
____Pygmy Nuthatch

CREEPERS (Certhiidae)

____Brown Creeper

WRENS (Troglodytidae)

____Rock Wren
____Canyon Wren
____Bewick's Wren
____House Wren
____Winter Wren
____Marsh Wren

DIPPERS (Cinclidae)

____American Dipper

KINGLETS (Regulidae)

____Golden-crowned Kinglet
____Ruby-crowned Kinglet

GNATCATCHERS (Sylviidae)

____Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

THRUSHES (Turdidae)

____Western Bluebird
____Mountain Bluebird
____Townsend's Solitaire
____Swainson's Thrush
____Hermit Thrush
____American Robin
____Varied Thrush

BABBLERS (Timaliidae)

____Wrentit

MIMIC THRUSHES (Mimidae)

____Northern Mockingbird
____Sage Thrasher
____Brown Thrasher
____California Thrasher

STARLINGS (Sturnidae)

____European Starling

WAGTAILS & PIPITS (Motacillidae)

____Eastern Yellow Wagtail
____White (Black-backed) Wagtail
____Red-throated Pipit
____American Pipit

WAXWINGS (Bombycillidae)

____Cedar Waxwing

SILKY-FLYCATCHERS (Ptilogonatidae)

____Phainopepla

WARBLERS (Parulidae)

____Tennessee Warbler
____Orange-crowned Warbler
____Nashville Warbler
____Virginia's Warbler
____Northern Parula
____Yellow Warbler
____Chestnut-sided Warbler
____Magnolia Warbler
____Black-throated Blue Warbler
____Yellow-rumped Warbler
____Black-throated Gray Warbler
____Townsend's Warbler
____Hermit Warbler
____Blackburnian Warbler
____Prairie Warbler
____Palm Warbler
____Blackpoll Warbler
____Black & White Warbler
____American Redstart
____Prothonotary Warbler
____Ovenbird
____Northern Waterthrush
____Kentucky Warbler
____MacGillivray's Warbler
____Common Yellowthroat
____Wilson's Warbler
____Yellow-breasted Chat

TANAGERS (Thraupidae)

____Summer Tanager
____Western Tanager

SPARROWS & ALLIES (Emberizidae)

____Green-tailed Towhee
____Spotted Towhee
____California Towhee
____Rufous-crowned Sparrow
____Chipping Sparrow
____Clay-colored Sparrow
____Black-chinned Sparrow
____Vesper Sparrow
____Lark Sparrow
____Black-throated Sparrow
____Sage Sparrow
____Lark Bunting
____Savannah Sparrow
____Grasshopper Sparrow
____Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
____Fox Sparrow
____Song Sparrow
____Lincoln's Sparrow
____Swamp Sparrow
____White-throated Sparrow
____Harris's Sparrow
____White-crowned Sparrow
____Golden-crowned Sparrow
____Dark-eyed Junco
____Lapland Longspur
____Chestnut-collared Longspur
____Snow Bunting

GROSBEAKS, BUNTINGS, & ALLIES (Cardinalidae)

____Rose-breasted Grosbeak
____Black-headed Grosbeak
____Blue Grosbeak
____Lazuli Bunting
____Indigo Bunting

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, & ALLIES (Icteridae)

____Bobolink
____Red-winged Blackbird
____Tricolored Blackbird
____Western Meadowlark
____Yellow-headed Blackbird
____Rusty Blackbird
____Brewer's Blackbird
____Great-tailed Grackle
____Brown-headed Cowbird
____Orchard Oriole
____Hooded Oriole
____Bullock's Oriole

FINCHES (Fringillidae)

____Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
____Purple Finch
____Cassin's Finch
____House Finch
____Red Crossbill
____Pine Siskin
____Lesser Goldfinch
____Lawrence's Goldfinch
____American Goldfinch
____Evening Grosbeak

OLD WORLD SPARROWS (Passeridae)

____House Sparrow
The following species have possibly been seen in Mendocino County but are under review by the California Rare Birds Committee or have been rejected as insufficiently documented: Back to Top
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Last revised November 25, 2007
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