Oklahoma Birds

Common Name - Forster Stern
Scientific Name - Sterna Forsteri
Range - North America
Habitat - Breeds in marshes, generally with lots of open water and island-like vegetation
Unique Characteristics or Habits - Forster's Tern is the only tern restricted to North America for most of the year



Common Name - American Robin
Scientific Name - Turdus mirgratorius
Range - North America to northern South America
Habitat - lawns, fields, city parks, woodlands, forests, tundra. during the winter they look for forests with berry-producing vegetation
Unique Characteristics or Habits - Robins eat a lot of fruit; female robins are always the ones to choose the nesting place



Common Name - Common Nighthawk
Scientific Name - Chordeiles minor
Range - extends through most of North and South America. NA in the summer for breeding and SA in the winter for non-breeding times
Habitat - grasslands, woodland edges, pastures, cultivated fields, and roadside brush
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the population of common nighthawks is decreasing significantly in many areas; it looks like a bat with its floppy flight pattern



Common Name - Black-Crowned Night Heron
Scientific Name - Nycticorax nycticorax
Range - 5 continents except Australia and Antarctica
Habitat - various wetlands, including salt- and freshwater marshes, swamps, streams, lakes, and agricultural fields
Unique Characteristics or Habits - it will throw up its food often which makes it easy to study their diets



Common Name - Black-Chinned Hummingbird
Scientific Name - Archilocus alexandri
Range - runs along the western half of the US from the Northwest down to the southern tip of Mexico
Habitat - in canyons and along rivers; in arid areas, mostly found near cottonwood, sycamore, willow, salt-cedar, sugarberry, and oak trees. Birds wintering in the gulf often spend time in the shade of oaks
Unique Characteristics or Habits - females are generally bigger than males, and children are generally larger than their parents



Common Name - White-winged Crossbill
Scientific Name - Loxia leucoptera
Range - Canada and the northern part of the United States
Habitat - coniferous forests, especially where large crops of spruce and tamarak cones can be found
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the Crossbill can eat over 3,000 conifer seeds in a day and it breeds all 12 months of the year



Common Name - Double Crested Cormorant
Scientific Name - Phalacrocorax auritus
Range - all of the United States, as well as extending into the southern tip of Canada as well
Habitat - found in diverse aquatic habitats, especially ponds, lakes, rivers, lagoons, estuaries and open coastline
Unique Characteristics or Habits - large pebbles are often found in cormorant nests, and the birds treat them like eggs



Common Name - American Coot
Scientific Name - Fulica americana
Range - ranges from the southern tip of Mexico into northern Canada
Habitat - aquatic habitats such as ponds, lakes, and rivers
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the coot does not have webbed feet like a duck, but special "lobes" that help to push water out with much more ease



Common Name - Gray Catbird
Scientific Name - Dumetella carolinensis
Range - Ranges from Washington to Texas and all the way to Maine; they make it into Canada every once in a while
Habitat - intense shrubs, vine tangles, and young tree brush; their habitats are often created by humans in the form of clearing, roadsides, and fencerows
Unique Characteristics or Habits - the Gray Catbird's long song may last for up to 10 minutes and is used to mark territory



Common Name - Orange Bishop
Scientific Name - Euplectes franciscanus
Range - native to North Africa, it eventually spread to Puerto Rico and into the US, primarily in the midwest
Habitat - inhabits open savannah with tall trees and shrubs
Unique Characteristics or Habits - these birds do not migrate and generally live their entire life in the area they were born