THE TEN NEXT BIRDS IN OREGON
~Phil Hicks
Following is a listing of 10 bird species Regional birders thought might be the next observed in Oregon.
This informal poll was taken in 2007, and since then one species, the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has
been discovered. These 10 species are listed by the largest number of observers voting for them first, then
down through the least number being mentioned.
BLACK VULTURE – (61 votes)
The Black Vulture is thought perhaps to be the next new species found in Oregon. The Black Vulture
(Coragyps atratus) also known as the American Black Vulture, is a bird in the New World vulture family
whose range extends from the
southeastern United States to Central
Chile and Uruguay in South
America. Although a common and
widespread species, it has a
somewhat more restricted distribution
than its compatriot, the Turkey
Vulture. The Black Vulture inhabits
relatively open areas which provide
scattered forests or shrublands. With a
wingspan of 5 ft. the Black Vulture
is a large bird though relatively small for
a vulture. It has black plumage, a
featherless, grayish-black head and neck,
and a short, hooked beak. Flight:
conspicuous white or silvery patches at
base of primaries that contrast with
black wings, body, and tail. Whitish legs
extend almost to tip of relatively
short tail. Soars and glides with wings
held in a slight dihedral. If seen at
a distance, the quick, shallow, choppy
wingbeats interspersed with glides
are usually enough for identification.
The Black Vulture is a scavenger
and feeds on carrion, but will also eat
eggs or kills newborn animals. In areas populated by humans, it also feeds at garbage dumps. It finds its
meals either by using its keen eyesight or by following other (New World) vultures, which possess a keen
sense of smell. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.
It lays its eggs in caves or hollow trees or on the bare ground, and generally raises two chicks each year,
which it feeds by regurgitation. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. There are 12 accepted records of this species in California, with 2-3 in
the north part of state less than 100 miles from the Oregon border. There is no mention of the Black
Vulture on the bird list of Washington State.
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BLACK-TAILED GULL – (44 votes)
The Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) is a medium-sized (18 in.) gull, with a wingspan of 50 in. The
bird is resident in East Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. It is a vagrant to Alaska and
northeastern North America. It has yellow legs and a red and black spot at the end of the bill. As the
name suggests, it has a black tail. The bird has a cat-like call, giving it its Japanese name —Umineko, "Sea
cat", and Korean name —Gwaengyi gull, which means "cat" gull. The Black-tailed Gull feeds mainly on
small fish, mollusks, crustaceans, scraps and carrion. It often follows ships and commercial fishing fleets. It
does steal food from other seabirds. A rare visitor to the United States, a black-tailed gull was spotted and
photographed at Belmont Shore, California 11/20/2010. There are presently 3 confirmed reports of this
species from California and is presently a California Bird Records Committee Review Species. From
Washington State there are 20 or fewer records during the previous 10-year period.
MISSISSIPPI KITE – (18 votes)
The Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is 12 to 15
inches beak to tail and has a wingspan averaging 3 feet. Weight is from 7.6--13.7oz. Adults are gray with
darker gray on their tail feathers and outer wings and lighter gray on their heads and inner wings. Males
and females look alike, but the males are slightly paler on the head and neck. Young kites have banded tails
and streaked bodies. Mississippi Kites have narrow, pointed wings and are graceful in flight, often
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appearing to float in the air. It is not uncommon to see several circling in the same area. Their diet consists
mostly of insects which they capture in flight. They eat cicada, grasshoppers, and other crop-damaging
insects, making them economically important. They have also been known to eat small vertebrates,
including amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and occasionally birds. Their call is a high-pitched squeak,
sounding similar to that of a squeaky dog toy. Mississippi Kites breed across the central and southern
United States. Breeding territory has expanded in recent years and Mississippi Kites have been regularly
recorded in the southern New
England states and a pair has
successfully raised young as far
north as New
Hampshire.
Mississippi Kites nest in
colonies and both parents (paired
up before arriving at the
nesting site) incubate the eggs and
care for the young. They have
one clutch a year which takes 30 to
32 days to hatch. The young
birds leave the nest another 30 to
35 days after hatching. Only
about half of kites successfully
raise their young. Clutches fall
victim to storms and predators
such as raccoons and Great
Horned
Owls.
While
the
Mississippi Kite is not an
endangered species, it is protected
under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which protects the birds, their eggs, and their nests
(occupied or empty) from being moved or tampered with without the proper permits. This can make the
bird somewhat of a nuisance when it chooses to roost in populated urban spots such as golf courses or
schools. The birds protect their nests by diving at perceived threats, including humans. In the Tijuana
River Valley, California 1-2 Aug 2012, photographs were taken of the 45th recorded Mississippi Kite. This
species was not mentioned on the bird list of Washington State.
BEAN GOOSE – 16 votes)
The American Ornithologists Union recently split the more generic Bean Goose into Taiga and Tundra
species, based on breeding habitat. They are still considered one species in Europe. Physical characteristics
between the two species are also slightly different, with the Taiga Bean Goose having a broader orange
band on the bill than the Tundra Bean Goose. The Taiga Bean Goose is normally a bird of Europe and
Asia. Bean Geese are considered vagrants in North America. However, they are seen with some regularity
in the Aleutians and other areas of Alaska, and have also been seen elsewhere in North America, including
areas as diverse as Canada, the Salton Sea in California, and in Iowa. In the nominate subspecies, males
average 7.1 lb. and females average 6.3 lb. The bill is black at the base and tip, with an orange band across
the middle; the legs and feet are also bright orange. The upper wing-coverts are dark brown, as in the
White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) and the Lesser White-fronted Goose (A. erythropus), but differing
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from these in having narrow white fringes to the feathers. The voice is a loud honking, higher pitched in
the smaller subspecies. There are two regular wintering flocks of Taiga Bean Goose, in Norfolk (East of
England) and in Scotland. The Tundra Bean Goose has no regular wintering sites, but is found in small
groups among other grey goose species. A Taiga Bean Goose record from 2002 near Hoquiam has been
accepted by the Washington Bird Records Committee and published in “Birds of Washington” (2005).
California's CBRC does not list a recorded Bean Goose, however apparently the first record of a Bean
Goose, variety unsure, was found and photographed at Sonny Bono Salton Sea N.W.R., Imperial County,
CA. November/December, 2007.
NELSON’S SPARROW – (13 votes)
The Nelson's Sparrow (Ammodramus nelsoni) is a small sparrow. Adults have brownish upperparts with
grey on the crown and nape, a cream-colored breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat
and belly; they have an orange
face with grey cheeks and a
short pointed tail. Their
breeding habitat is marshes on
the Atlantic coast of Canada
and Maine, central Canada, and
the north central United States.
The nest is an open cup
attached to vegetation and
close to the ground. Males
compete for females but do
not defend territories; they
sometimes help feed the young.
Mating is largely promiscuous
by both sexes; multiple
paternity in a nest is common.
These birds migrate to the
southeastern coasts of the
United States. They forage on
the ground or in marsh
vegetation, sometimes probing in mud and eat mainly insects, aquatic invertebrates and seeds. Their call is
a raspy trill, almost a mechanical sound. The sound has been likened to a drop of water hitting a hot fry
pan. Formerly, this bird and the Saltmarsh Sparrow were considered to be a single species, the Sharp-tailed
Sparrow; because of this it was briefly known as Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. This is an uncommon
bird in California. It was found and photographed most recently at Arrowhead Marsh, Martin Luther King
Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland California, on 02/06/2012. In Washington State, this writer could only
find one record, from Sullivan Lake (Pend Oreille County) in September 1986.
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CHIMNEY SWIFT – (12 votes)
In flight, Chimney Swifts look like a flying cigar with long slender curved wings. The plumage is a sooty
grey-brown; the throat, breast, underwings and rump are paler. They have short tails. The breeding season
of Chimney Swifts is from May through July. Their breeding habitat is near towns and cities across eastern
North America. Originally, these
birds nested in large hollow
trees, but now they mainly nest in
man-made structures such as
large open chimneys. The nest is
made of twigs glued together
with saliva and placed in a shaded
location. They will lay three
to seven white eggs, which the
female will cover at night.
The incubation period is 19–20
days, and the fledglings leave
the nest after a month. While
Chimney swifts will roost
together in large numbers, it is
rare to find more than one
nest per chimney. It is suspected
that fledged young are often
fed by their parents while the
young roost together in large
communal roosts. They are long
distance migrants and winter
in eastern Peru. They migrate in flocks. These birds live on the wing, foraging in flight. They eat flying
insects. They usually feed in groups, flying closely together and making a high-pitched chipping noise. A
vigilant observer can see them entering and exiting chimneys at a high speed, almost as if they were being
shot out. Their flight is distinctive: they make rapid angular turns unlike most other birds. Chimney Swift
now appears sporadically in summer in California, and has nested at some locales (sometimes in fair
numbers). Also, this species is found sporadically along the California coast north to about the
Eureka/Arcata area. The Chimney Swift is not mentioned in the Washington State list of birds.
GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER – (11 votes)
The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher
family. It is the most widespread member of the genus, Myiarchus, in North America and is found over
most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent. It dwells mostly in the treetops and rarely
is found on the ground. Adult Great Crested Flycatchers usually measure 7–8 in. in length, with a
wingspan of around 13 inches. The Great Crested Flycatcher does not display sexual dimorphism. All
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adults are brownish on the upperparts with yellow underparts; they have a long rusty brown tail and a
bushy crest. Their throat and breast are grey. Their breeding habitat is deciduous or mixed forests across
eastern North America. They nest
in a cavity in a tree. They wait on a
high perch and fly out to catch
insects in flight. Sometimes they
may be seen hovering to pick food
off of vegetation, buildings, and
even windows. They also eat fruits
and berries. The call of these birds
is a whistled, weep. These birds
migrate to Mexico and South
America, as well as to Florida and
Cuba. In California there have
been only 1-2 records of the GreatCrested Flycatcher, one being at
Owl Canyon, Bodega Bay, Sonoma
County, 10/05/2001. Another
record was near California City in
the mid-1990s. It is a California
Bird Records Committee Review Species. Washington State list of birds makes no mention of this species.
GRAY-TAILED TATTLER
The Gray-tailed Tattler is closely related to its North American counterpart, the Wandering Tattler (T.
incana) and is difficult to distinguish from that species. Both tattlers are unique among the species of Tringa
for having unpatterned, greyish wings and back, and a scaly breast pattern extending more or less onto the
belly in breeding plumage, in which both also have a rather prominent supercilium. These birds resemble
Common Redshanks in shape and size. The upper parts, underwings, face and neck are grey, and the belly
is white. They have short yellowish legs and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. They are very similar in
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appearance to their American counterpart, and differentiation depends on details like the length of the
nasal groove and scaling on the tarsus. The best distinction is the call; Gray-tailed has a disyllabic whistle,
and Wandering a rippling trill. Graytailed nests on the ground, but
these birds will perch in trees. They
also sometimes use old nests of
other birds. Gray-tailed Tattlers are
strongly migratory and winter on
muddy and sandy coasts from
southeast Asia to Australia. They
are very rare vagrants to western
North America and western
Europe. These are not particularly
gregarious birds and are seldom
seen in large flocks except at roosts.
These birds forage on the ground
or water, picking up food by sight.
They eat insects, crustaceans and
other invertebrates. There is no mention of this species on the bird list for Washington State. California
has 4 accepted records of this tattler; 3 in 1998, and 1 in 2008 at Southeast Farallon Island, SF County.
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER – (11 votes)
This large shorebird is found strictly in coastal environments, where it may be seen alone or in small
groups by summer beach goers. As its name implies, it specializes in preying upon oysters and other
mollusks. Unlike many shorebird
species,
The
American
Oystercatcher is a flashy bird. Its
size, striking plumage, and
large red bill make it particularly
recognizable,
especially
compared to the subtle, wellcamouflaged plumages of
most shorebirds The distinctive
American Oystercatcher is
unlikely to be misidentified. With its
highly contrasting dark and
white plumage, it is among the
largest of North American
shorebirds, measuring up to 18
inches in length, and weighing
21 ounces, with a 32-inch wingspan.
The long, flesh-colored legs,
white belly, black head, and dark
brown back are distinctive.
Even more distinctive is the long, bright red bill. The related Black Oystercatcher occurs exclusively on the
west coast; as the name suggests, it is completely black. In California, there are 30+ accepted records for
this species. No mention of this species has been made in the list of records for the State of Washington.
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IVORY GULL – (11 votes)
This small white gull of the high Arctic, the Ivory Gull only rarely comes south of the Bering Sea or the
Maritime Provinces. In fact, it rarely is found away from pack ice. It breeds on rocky islands and cliffs near
pack ice. This gull typically winters on pack and drift ice north of Newfoundland. It feeds on fish, marine
invertebrates, some small mammals, carrion, also feces and placentas of seals. Nests are built on a mound
of mosses, dry grass, splinters of driftwood, and placed on cliff ledges, dry stony ridges within a few
meters of the ice cap. It hovers, dips, and plunges into water to get food. Attracted by red splashes on
snow. They follow whales, scavenging on carrion from polar bear kills. There are at least 2 documented
sightings of Ivory Gulls in Washington State. In California, there are 2 accepted records for this species at
least one record supported by identifiable photograph and is a California Bird Records Committee Review
Species
YELLOW-GREEN VIREO - (11 votes)
The Yellow-green Vireo, Vireo flavoviridis, is a small passerine bird. It breeds from southern Texas
(occasionally the Rio Grande Valley) in the United States and the western and eastern mountain ranges of
northern Mexico, south to central Panama. It is migratory, wintering in the northern and eastern Andes
and the western Amazon basin. The adult Yellow-green Vireo is 5.5 in. in length and weighs 18.5 g. It has
olive-green upperparts and a dusky-edged gray crown. There is a dark line from the bill to the red-brown
eyes, and a white supercilium. The underparts are white with yellow breast sides and flanks. Young birds
are duller with brown eyes, a brown tint to the back, and less yellow on the underparts. The adult Yellow8
green Vireo differs from the Red-eyed Vireo in its much yellower underparts, lack of a black border to the
duller gray crown, yellower upperparts and different eye color. The Yellow-green Vireo has a nasal nyaaah
call, and the song is a repetitive veree veer viree, fee’er vireo viree, shorter and faster than that of the Red-eyed
Vireo. This vireo occurs in the canopy and middle levels of light woodland, the edges of forest, and
gardens at altitudes from sea level to 1500 m. The 6.5-cm-wide cup nest is built by the female from a wide
range of plant materials. The normal clutch is two or three brown-marked white eggs laid from March to
June and incubated by the female alone, although the male helps to feed the chicks. Yellow-green Vireos
feed on insects gleaned from tree foliage, favoring caterpillars and beetles. They also eat small fruits,
including mistletoe berries. In California, there are 60+ accepted records for this species dating back to
1964, mostly in the southern half of the state. Washington State has made no mention of this species on
official state bird list.
Information included in this document mostly borrowed from other websites.
End Ten Next Birds – August, 2012
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