Week 4: Beginner

Scroll down to study the birds by sight and sound, and then take the quiz.

 
 
 

Week 4 Birds

American Coot, Mallard, California Quail, Canada Goose

 

AMERICAN COOT

Bird Code: AMCO

Identify this bird by…

  • A strange member of the Rail family that acts like a duck: a plump bird with a relatively thick neck, rounded head, and sloping bill

  • Adults are dark gray/black with a white bill. Juveniles are dull gray-brown.

  • They often bob their head while swimming.

Listen for…

Call: a variety of grunting and croaking noises. They commonly give a short single note “krrp” or “prik” call

Resources:

MALLARD

Bird Code: MALL

Identify this bird by

  • Large ducks with hefty bodies, rounded heads, and wide, flat bills

  • Like many “dabbling ducks” the body is long and the tail rides high out of the water, giving a blunt shape

  • Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue “speculum” patch in the wing

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Males: Have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill. The gray body is sandwiched between a brown breast and black rear

  • Females & Juveniles: Mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue “speculum” patch in the wing

Look for…

  • Behavior - Mallards are “dabbling ducks”—they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants

Listen for…

Call: The female Mallard gives the quintessential duck quack: often as a series of 2-10 quacks that begin loudly and get softer. The male mallard gives a quieter, rasping one-or two-noted call.

Resources:

 

CALIFORNIA QUAIL

Bird Code: CAQU

Identify this bird by…

  • Plump, short-necked game birds with a small head and bill

  • The tail is fairly long and square

  • Scaled black and white belly

  • Both sexes have a comma-shaped topknot of feathers projecting forward from the forehead, longer in males than females

Tell males and females apart by…

  • Females are brownish gray on the neck and face, lacking the males strong head markings

  • Males are rich gray and brown, with a black face outlined with bold white stripes

Look for…

Behavior - Spend most of their time on the ground, walking and scratching in search of food. In morning and evening they forage beneath shrubs or on open ground near cover. They usually travel in groups called coveys. Their flight is explosive but lasts just long enough to reach cover.

Listen for…

Calls: main call consists of three syllables and sounds like the bird is saying Chi-ca-go. The call lasts about 1 second and can be given 10 times or more in succession. They also use a repeated pit-pit alarm call to alert covey members of nearby danger

Resources:

CANADA GOOSE

Bird Code: CANG

Identify this bird by

  • Big waterbirds with a long neck, large body, wide flat bill

  • Large webbed feet

Tell it apart by…

  • Black head with white cheeks and chinstrap

  • Black neck, tan breast, and brown back

  • In flight, you can see a prominent white “U” on the upper part of their tail

Look for…

  • Behavior - feed by dabbling in the water or grazing in fields and large lawns. They are often seen in flight moving in pairs or flocks; flocks often assume a V formation

Listen for…

Call: Various loud honks, barks, and cackles. Also some hisses

Resources: