The American bushtit, or simply bushtit, is a social songbird belonging to the genus Psaltriparus. It is one of the smallest passerines in North America and it is the only species in the family Aegithalidae that is found in United States; the other seven species are found in Eurasia.
The redhead is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin americana, of America. The redhead is 40–56 cm (16–22 in) long with an 74–84 cm (29–33 in) wingspan; the weight ranges from 1,030–1,080 g (36–38 oz), with males weighing an average of 1,080 g (38 oz) and females an average of 1,030 g (36 oz). It belongs to the genus Aythya, together with 11 other described species. The redhead and the common pochard form a sister group which together is sister to the canvasback. This waterfowl is easily distinguished from most other ducks by the male's copper colored head and pale blue bill during the breeding season; from its close relative canvasback it is distinguished by the more rounded head, shorter bill, and yellow, not red, eye. The Eurasian common pochard is even more similar, but very rarely overlaps in range; it also differs in having a red eye, and a more acute, less rounded head shape.
The common gallinule is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The common gallinule is one of the most conspicuous rail species in North America, along with the American coot.
The ruddy duck is one duck of six species within the stiff-tailed ducks (Oxyura). They occupy heavily vegetated habitats in North and South America as well as the British Isles, France and Spain. Ruddy ducks were introduced to the United Kingdom in the 1940s where they have since established a growing population. Outside the Americas, ruddy ducks are considered a highly invasive species, prompting many countries to initiate culling projects to eradicate them from the native ecosystem.
The sora is a small waterbird of the rail family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the sora rail or sora crake, that occurs throughout much of North America. The genus name Porzana is derived from Venetian terms for small rails, and the specific carolina refers to the Carolina Colony. The common name "Sora" is probably taken from a Native American language.
The western sandpiper is a small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific mauri commemorates Italian botanist Ernesto Mauri (1791–1836).
The marsh warbler is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and the western Palearctic and winters mainly in southeast Africa. It is notable for incorporating striking imitations of a wide variety of other birds into its song.
The yellow-headed blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird with a yellow head.
Forster's tern is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and forsteri commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster.
The eastern wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the western wood pewee were formerly considered a single species. The two species are virtually identical in appearance, and can be distinguished most easily by their calls.
The swamp sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow related to the song sparrow.
The sedge wren is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and sedges and feeds on insects. The sedge wren was formerly considered as conspecific with the non-migratory grass wren of central and South America.
The northern house wren is a very small passerine in the wren family Troglodytidae. It found in southern Canada, the USA and Mexico. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range. It formerly included many subspecies resident in South America and in the Caribbean that are now considered as separate species. The name troglodytes means "hole dweller", and is a reference to the bird's tendency to disappear into crevices when hunting insects or to seek shelter.
The Connecticut warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
The Bewick's wren is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus Thryomanes. At about 14 cm (5.5 in) long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other wrens. It lives in thickets, brush piles and hedgerows, open woodlands and scrubby areas, often near streams. It eats insects and spiders, which it gleans from vegetation or finds on the ground.
Sprague's pipit is a small songbird (passerine) in the family Motacillidae that breeds in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of North America. Migratory, it spends the winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Sprague's pipits are unusual among songbirds in that they sing high in the sky, somewhat like a goldfinch or skylark. It is more often identified by its distinctive descending song heard from above than by being seen on the ground. Males and females are cryptically coloured and similar in appearance; they are a buffy brown with darker streaking, slender bills and pinkish to yellow legs. Sprague's pipit summer habitat is primarily native grasslands in the north central prairies of the United States and Canada. The species was named after the botanical illustrator Isaac Sprague.
The grass wren is a species of passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in central and southern America.
Apolinar's wren is a passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
Cistothorus is a genus of small passerine birds in the family Troglodytidae.
The wren-like rushbird is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
