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Birdsthreatened and/or endangeredAll familiesthreatened and/or endangeredNorth Carolina Western Mountain Area

1-40 of 192 species page: 1 | 2 | 3 | >>
Common Loon
Gavia immer

 

28-36" (71-91 cm). Heavy-bodied, thick, pointed, usually black or dark gray bill held horizontally. Breeding plumage, head, neck black with white bands on neck; back black with white spots. In winter, crown, hindneck, upperparts dark grayish; throat, underparts white.… read more

Horned Grebe
Podiceps auritus

 

12-15" (30-38 cm). Small, slender-necked, with short, sharply pointed bill. In breeding plumage, body dark, with rufous neck and flanks; head blackish, with conspicuous buff ear tufts. In winter, upperparts dark; chin and foreneck white.… read more

Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps

 

12-15" (30-38 cm). Pigeon-sized. A stocky, uniformly brownish water bird, with stout whitish bill that has black ring around it during breeding season.… read more

Great Egret
Ardea alba

 

35-41" (89-104 cm). W. 4'7" (1.4 m). All-white heron with yellow bill, black legs. Breeding plumage, has long lacy plumes on back. Smaller Snowy Egret has black bill, legs, yellow feet.… read more

Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias

 

39-52" (99-132 cm). W. 5'10" (1.8 m). Large, mainly grayish heron with a pale or yellowish bill. Flies with neck folded, not extended. In southern Florida an all-white form, "Great White Heron," has greenish-yellow rather than black legs.… read more

American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus

 

23-34" (58-86 cm). Medium-sized, streaked brown heron. Outer wing appears blackish brown in flight, contrasting with lighter brown of inner wing and body. Adults show long black stripe down side of throat.… read more

Green Heron
Butorides virescens

 

16-22" (41-56 cm). A dark, crow-sized heron. Crown black, back and wings dark gray-green or gray-blue (depending on lighting); neck chestnut colored. Bill dark; legs bright orange. Immatures have streaks on neck, breast, and sides.… read more

Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea

 

25-30" (64-76 cm). W. 3'5" (1 m). Adult slate blue with maroon neck. Bill grayish with black tip; legs greenish. Immature is white, usually with dusky tips on primaries. Snowy Egret, smaller, all white, with black bill and legs, yellow lores and feet.… read more

Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis

 

11-14" (28-36 cm). A tiny, secretive heron with blackish back and conspicuous buff wing patches and underparts. Female and young are similar but duller, more buffy.… read more

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea

 

22-27" (56-69 cm). W. 3'8" (1.1 m). Adult slate-gray with black head, white cheeks, yellowish crown, plumes, black bill, yellow or orange legs. In flight, feet, part of legs extend beyond tail. Immature grayish brown, finely speckled with white above.… read more

Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura

 

25-32" (64-81 cm). W. 6' (1.8 m). Eagle-sized blackish bird, In flight, wings held upward in a wide, shallow V; rolls, sways from side to side. Flight feathers silvery below. Tail long; head small, bare, reddish; gray in immatures.… read more

Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus

22-24" (56-61 cm). W. 4'6" (1.4 m). Black, with white patch near each wing tip, conspicuous in flight; head bare, grayish; feet extend beyond short tail. Flaps its shorter and rounder wings more often and more rapidly than Turkey Vulture.… read more

Wood Duck
Aix sponsa

 

17-20" (43-51 cm). A beautiful, crested, multicolored duck. Male patterned in iridescent greens, purples, and blues with distinctive white chin patch and face stripes; bill mainly red; tail long. Female grayish with broad white eye ring.… read more

Green-winged Teal
Anas crecca

 

12-16" (30-41 cm). Male,chestnut head, green ear patch, flashing green inner wing, pale gray sides, pinkish breast with a vertical white stripe down the side. Female is dark brown without distinctive markings.… read more

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos

 

18-27" (46-69 cm). Male, green head, white neck ring, chestnut breast, grayish body; inner wing, metallic purplish blue, bordered with white. Female, mottled brown, with white tail, purplish-blue inner wing, mottled orange brown bill.… read more

American Black Duck
Anas rubripes

 

19-22" (48-56 cm). Sooty brown with paler head and conspicuous white wing linings and violet speculum; olive or dull yellow bill. Sexes similar. Female Mallard paler and sandier, with bill mottled with orange and black, and whitish tail feathers.… read more

Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris

 

14-18" (36-46 cm). Male, black back, breast; purple-glossed, black head; pale gray flanks; vertical white mark on side. Female brownish, narrow white eye ring. Bill pale gray with white ring. Angular shape of head, white ring on bill, distinguish from the scaup.… read more

Canada Goose
Branta canadensis

 

Small races, 22-26" (56-66 cm); large races, 35-45" (89-114 cm). Brownish body with black head, long black neck, conspicuous white cheek patch. The smaller Brant has a shorter neck and lacks white cheek patch.… read more

Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus (Mergus cucullatus)

 

16-19" (41-48 cm). Slender pointed bill. Male has white, fan-shaped, black-bordered crest, blackish body, dull rusty flanks, white breast with 2 black stripes down side. Female, dull gray-brown, with warmer brown head, crest. Both show white wing patch in flight.… read more

Common Merganser
Mergus merganser

 

22-27" (56-69 cm). Male, flashing white sides, green head, white breast, long, thin red bill. Female has gray body and sides; reddish-brown crested head sharply set off from white throat.… read more

Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis

 

14-16" (36-41 cm). Long tail, often held straight up. Breeding male, chestnut body, black crown, white cheeks. Female/winter male are dusky brown, whitish cheeks of female crossed by dark stripe. Male's bill is blue in breeding season, black at other times.… read more

Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii

 

14-20" (36-51 cm). W. 28" (71 cm). Long tail, short rounded wings. Adult slate-gray above, with dark cap, and finely rust-barred below. Immature brown above, whitish below with fine streaks. Tail tip rounded, not squared-off.… read more

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus

 

10-14" (25-36 cm). W. 21" (53 cm). Long, narrow, square-tipped tail, short rounded wings. Adult slate-gray above, pale below, with fine rust-colored barring. Immature, brown above with whitish spots, creamy white below with streaks on breast, barring on flanks.… read more

Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis

 

18-25" (46-64 cm). W. 4' (1.2 m). Light-phase birds have whitish breast, rust-colored tail. Broad, rounded wings, white chest. Young birds duller, more streaked, lacking rust-colored tail . Variable in color, some blackish in West, these usually retain rusty tail.… read more

Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus

 

16-24" (41-61 cm). W. 3'4" (1 m). Large, long-winged hawk with white barring on dark wings, rusty shoulders, pale underparts barred with rust, narrowly banded tail. In flight shows translucent area near tip of wing, visible from below. Young birds streaked below.… read more

Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus

 

13-15" (33-38 cm). W. 33" (84 cm). A stocky, pigeon-sized hawk. Adult plain brown above, barred with rusty color below, with broad black-and-white tail bands. Immatures similar, but sparsely spotted or blotched below, and with tail bands less distinct.… read more

Northern Harrier
Circus cyaneus

 

16-24" (41-61 cm). W. 3' 6" (1.1 m). Long-winged, long-tailed hawk with a white rump, often seen gliding over marshes with wings held in a shallow V. Male, pale gray back, head, breast; wing tips black. Female, young, brown above, streaked below.… read more

Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus

 

30-31" (76-79 cm). W. 6-7' 6" (1.8-2.3 m). A large blackish eagle with white head, tail, heavy yellow bill. Young birds lack the white head and tail, and resemble adult Golden Eagles, but are variably marked with white and have a black, more massive bill.… read more

Osprey
Pandion haliaetus

 

21-24" (53-61 cm). W. 4' 6 "-6' (1.4-1.8 m). A large, long-winged "fish hawk." Brown above and white below; head white with dark line through eye and on side of face. Wing shows distinctive bend at "wrist." At a distance, can resemble a gull.… read more

Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus

 

15-21" (38-53 cm). W. 3' 4" (1 m). Large robust falcon with a black hood and wide black "mustaches." Adults slate-gray above and pale below, with fine black bars and spots. Young birds brown or brownish slate above, heavily streaked below.… read more

American Kestrel
Falco sparverius

 

9-12" (23-30 cm). W. 21" (53 cm). A jay-sized falcon, often seen hovering. Rusty tail and back. Adult male has slate-blue wings. Female has rusty wings and back, narrow bands on tail. Both sexes have 2 black stripes on face.… read more

Ruffed Grouse
Bonasa umbellus

 

16-19" (41-48 cm). A brown or gray-brown, chicken-like bird with slight crest, fan-shaped, black-banded tail, barred flanks, and black "ruffs" on sides of neck.… read more

Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo

 

Male, 48" (1.2 m); female, 36" (91 cm). Dusky brown, barred, iridescent bronze sheen; head, neck naked, bluish, reddish wattles; tail fan-shaped, chestnut, buff, or white tail tips. Male, spurs, long "beard" on breast. Female smaller, lacks spur.… read more

Northern Bobwhite
Colinus virginianus

 

8-11" (20-28 cm). A small, chunky, brown bird; underparts pale and streaked; face patterned in black and white in males, buff and white in females. Usually seen in groups called coveys.… read more

Sora
Porzana carolina

 

8-10" (20-25 cm). A quail-sized rail with short yellow bill, gray breast, and black face. Upperparts mottled brown; lower abdomen banded with black and white. Young birds in fall lack black face and have buff breast.… read more

King Rail
Rallus elegans

 

15-19" (38-48 cm). Similar to the Clapper Rail of salt marshes but head, neck, shoulders, and underparts rusty. Flanks barred with black and white. Virginia Rail is smaller, with gray patch on face.… read more

Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus

 

6-8" (15-20 cm). Brown-backed plover, white underparts, 1 black breast band. Bill stubby, yellow-orange, dark tip. Immature; all-black bill, brownish breast band. Piping Plover similar but much paler above. Larger Killdeer has 2 black breast bands.… read more

Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus

 

9-11" (23-28 cm). Our largest "ringed" plover. Brown above and white below, with 2 black bands across breast, long legs, and relatively long tail. In flight, shows rusty uppertail coverts and rump.… read more

Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularia

 

7 1/2" (19 cm). Bobs tail almost constantly. Breeding adults are brown above, with bold white wing stripe, white below with bold black spots on breast and belly. Fall birds lack black spots below, have brownish smudge at sides of breast.… read more

Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos

 

9" (23 cm). A chunky, somewhat short-legged wader with heavily streaked breast sharply delineated from unmarked white belly. Legs yellow. In flight, wings dark with no prominent stripe.… read more

1-40 of 192 species page: 1 | 2 | 3 | >>

 

 
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