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Avian Data Sheet

Species number: Birds of Westminster

Common name:

Scientific name:

Order:

Family:

Description:
Conservation Status:

Male:

Female:
Young:

Nest

Eggs:

Habitat:
Food:

Breeding range:

Non-breeding range:

Call:

Video:

Source(s):

Avian Data Sheet

Species number: 1 Birds of Westminster

Common name: Blue jay

Scientific name: Cyanocitta cristata

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Order: PASSERIFORMES

Family: CORVIDAE

• Description: Large songbird.

• Crest on head.
• Upperparts various shades of blue.
• Size: 25-30 cm (10-12 in)
• Wingspan: 34-43 cm (13-17 in)
• Weight: 70-100 g (2.47-3.53 ounces)
Conservation Status: Breeding Bird Survey data show a slight but significant decline in
Blue Jay numbers across the United States, with most of the decline in the East. Some have implicated
it in the decline of some Neotropical migrant species because it is a nest predator and prefers forest
edges, but little direct evidence has been found.

Male:
Female: Similar to male
Young: Juvenile similar to adults except blue areas are grayer and the black
is slightly browner.

Nest: Nest an open cup of twigs, grass, and sometimes mud, lined with
rootlets. Typically located in crotch or outer branches of deciduous or
coniferous trees, 5-50 feet above ground, most commonly 10-25 feet.

Eggs: Color: Bluish or light brown with brownish spots concentrated near
large end.
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Egg size: 25.2-32.8 mm x 18.8-22.4 mm.

(1.0-1.3 in x 0.7-0.9 in)
Incubation period: 17-18 days.

Habitat: Found in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forests and woodlands. Found more along
forest edges than in deep forest. Common in urban and suburban areas, especially where large oaks
are present.
Food: Arthropods, acorns and nuts, fruits, seeds, small vertebrates.

Breeding range:

Non-breeding range:

Call: Very vocal; make a large variety of calls. Most frequent call is a harsh
"jeer." Also clear whistled notes and gurgling sounds.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/Blue_Jay.html

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykc0_A7lOao

Source(s): http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Jay_dtl.html

Avian Data Sheet

Species number: 2 Birds of Westminster

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Common name: Carolina Wren

Scientific name: Thryothorus ludovicianus

Order: PASSERIFORMES

Family: TROGLODYTIDAE

Description:
Small, buffy, songbird. Tail often held upward. Rusty underparts.
White eyestripe. Loud.
Size: 12-14 cm (5-6 in) Wingspan: 29 cm (11 in) Weight: 18-22
g (0.64-0.78 ounces)
Conservation Status: Abundant; populations stable or increasing. Significant range
expansion in early 1900s.

Male:
Female: Similar to male but smaller.
Young: Helpless with some pale gray down. Chicks fledge in 12-14 days.

Nest: Nest a domed cup with a side entrance. Nest bulky and made of bark strips, dried grasses,
dead leaves, hair, feathers, paper, plastic, or string. Placed in tree cavity, vine tangle, dense branches,
or artificial site such as a mailbox, up to 10 feet above ground, rarely higher.

Eggs: Color: Creamy white with fine brown spots. Size: 18.2-19.8 mm x 13.9-15.5 mm.
(0.72-0.78 in x 0.55-0.61 in). Incubation period: 12-16 days.

Habitat: Found in a wide range of habitats, from swamps to forest to residential area. Requires
moderately dense shrub or brushy cover.

Insects and spiders.

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Breeding range:

Non-breeding range:

Call: Song a loud, repeated series of several whistled notes: "tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle." Calls
include a loud chatter and a rising and falling "cheer."

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/Eastern_Bluebird1.html

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOJcHN-7Jpg

Source(s): http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Carolina_Wren_dtl.html#food
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOJcHN-7Jpg
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Avian Data Sheet

Species number: 3 Birds of Westminster

Common name: Eastern Bluebird Scientific name: Sialia sialis

Order: PASSERIFORMES

Family: TURDIDAE

Description: Medium-sized songbird; small thrush. Head large and round. Wings and tail blue.
Chest reddish-orange. Size: 16-21 cm (6-8 in) Wingspan: 25-32 cm (10-13 in) Weight: 28-32 g
(0.99-1.13 ounces)

Conservation Status:

Male: Male dark blue with bright reddish chest. Female drab gray-blue with duller reddish chest.
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Female:

Young: Nest:

Eggs: Color: Pale blue and unmarked, occasionally white.

Egg size: 18.0-24.4 mm x 14.7-19.3mm
(0.71-0.96 in x 0.58-0.76 in) Incubation period: 11-19 days.

Habitat: Open habitat with little or no understory and sparse groundcover, such as orchards,
clear-cuts, parks, and large lawns in suburban and urban areas.

Food: Insects and small fruits.

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Breeding range:

Non-breeding range:

Call: Song a rich warbling whistle broken into short phrases: "Tu-wheet-tudu." Also a dry chatter.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/Eastern_Bluebird1.html

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okIh8hMmUps&feature=related

Source(s): http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Eastern_Bluebird_dtl.html

Avian Data Sheet

Species number: 4 Birds of Westminster

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Common name: American goldfinch Scientific name: Carduelis tristis

Order: PASSERIFORMES

Family: FRINGILLIDAE Subfamily: Carduelinae

Description: Small bird. Bill small, pointed, conical, and pink. Body bright yellow to dull brown.
Wings dark with large white wingbars. Tail short and notched. Breeding male bright yellow with black
cap and wings. Size: 11-13 cm (4-5 in). Wingspan: 19-22 cm (7-9 in). Weight: 11-20 g (0.39-0.71
ounces)

Conservation Status: Abundant and widespread. Populations appear stable.

Male: Summer male is bright yellow with a black cap whereas female is drab olive. Sexes similar

and drab in winter. Female

(nonbreeding)
Young: Juvenile brown above and pale yellow below. Wing and tail feathers blackish brown; male
darker than female. Wingbars and feather tips buff.

Nest:

Eggs: Color: Pale bluish white, sometimes with small faint brown spots around large end.
Egg size: 16.2-16.9 mm x 12.2-12.8 mm.
(0.64-0.67 in x 0.48-0.50 in)
Incubation period: 12-14 days.

Habitat: Breeds in weedy fields, roadsides, orchards, and gardens. Winters in weedy, open areas,
and moves into urban and suburban areas to eat at feeders.

Food: Seeds, especially of composite flowers. Few insects.

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Breeding range:

Non-breeding range:

Call: Song a long series of twittering and warbling notes. Common contact call a "tsee-tsi-tsi-tsit,"
often given in flight. May be described as "per-chic-o-ree" or "po-ta-to-chip."

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/audio/American_Goldfinch.html

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9_ea1yXwfQ

Source(s): http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Goldfinch_dtl.html