White under parts. photo by Stephen Dinsmore Taken for granted by most Iowa birders, the Dickcissel is often a targeted grassland species for out-of-state visitors. Common Eider: Large diving duck (v-nigrum), with distinctive sloping forehead, black body, white breast and back. Between a Starling and American Robin in size. Tail is dark gray with white corners. That will let me know exactly what I am looking for when I am out in the field. White eye-ring is broken and slate gray hood extends to upper breast where it darkens to black. Often seen on prairies in the summer. With Stan Tekiela's famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative.There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in Iowa. The wings have pale blue shoulder patches and a dark green speculum with white borders visible in flight. Boreal Owl: Medium owl, white-spotted, brown upperparts and thick brown-streaked, white underparts. Often flies with feet trailing and dangling below. Swift direct flight often with erratic side-to-side turns of body. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides, usually of short duration. Food and feeder preference: They feed on seeds and insects near the ground. Identification: This is a key species for comparing with an unknown bird. The juvenile has rust-brown head and upper neck, and brown wash over mostly white body. Bouyant, graceful flight. Red bill. The sexes are similar, but the males are usually larger than females, with a larger bill, head and tarsi. Ebird rarities @iowabirds Tweets about iowabirds. Sexes are similar; the male is larger. (E) = Extinct; a recent member of the avifauna that no longer exists. Weak fluttering flight with shallow rapid wing beats. The wings show rufous primaries in flight. Identification: Size: Bigger than a junco or House Finch. Feeds on pine seeds, grain, fruit, berries, insects and eggs and young of other birds. Wings are black with large white patches. The eyes, bill, and legs of all morphs are yellow. Light and bouyant flight on steady wing beats. Bill: Short, conical. Comparison of the most common backyard birds in Des Moines, Iowa Bill: Short, conical. Generally birds of the Des Moines area have an eastern flavor although we are also on the eastern edge of some western species. They love black oil sunflower seeds and suet. Feeds on fish, crustaceans and amphibians. Two species have been recorded in Iowa. Gray-black skin on head and neck is wrinkled. It forages for insects on or close to the ground. It has a long pink bill with a black tip that is slightly upcurved. Anhinga: Large, dark waterbird with long tail, snake-like neck, small head, red eyes, and long olive-brown bill. Strong steady wing beats alternated with long to short glides. Mute … Food and feeder preference: Worms and other invertebrates in the lawn. Swift bounding flight, alternates rapid wing beats with periods of wings pulled to sides. Hawkeye Wildlife Area, near Iowa City, is sometimes thick with shorebirds, including plovers, sandpipers, dowitchers, dunlins, and phalaropes, with the Sand Point area often particularly productive. Watch them crack open sunflower seeds, spit out the hulls, and pluck the kernel with their tongues! Diet includes insects, larvae, mollusks and crabs. The breast is white with black streaking; belly and rump are white. Hotspots are public bird watching areas with their own species checklists and bar charts. Black bill is long and stout. Feeds on fish, frogs and crustaceans. Red-breasted nuthatch. In summer north across Canada and Alaska. Shape: Stocky with large head, short square-ended tail. Tail is white with rust-brown wash. Tail dark with white undertail coverts. Upperparts cryptically colored with brown and yellow-brown streaks of many different shades. Black tips on the primary feathers are only seen in flight. It eats a variety of plant species and parts, especially grasses, sedges, grain and berries. Bill is huge, with arched ridge and narrow grooves. Identification: Size: Cardinals are a bit smaller than American Robins, about the same size as Red-winged Blackbirds. The tail is dark brown and pointed in flight. With Stan Tekiela’s famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. Head is darker blue and has pale streaks on throat. It has slow steady wing beats and soars on thermals and updrafts. Then they fly off and bury food items in a hidden cache. In winter chickadees make up the core of mixed-species flocks also containing nuthatches, kinglets, creepers, woodpeckers and others. White Ibis: This coastal species is white overall with pink facial skin, bill, and legs that turn scarlet during breeding season. Identification: Size: The size of a House Finch or Dark-eyed Junco. Black-legged Kittiwake: This is a medium-sized white gull with pale gray back and upperwings and black wing tips. Bill, legs,feet are yellow. Eastern Goldfinch is very pretty birds of primarily yellow and black with some hints of white. Black-backed Woodpecker: Small woodpecker with black back, black wings with white spots on flight feathers, barred flanks, white underparts. Weak fluttering flight on shallow wing beats. It has a strong direct flight with deep wing beats. Head crest is black, facial skin is red, and large bill is blue-gray and hooked. Eats mostly insects in the summer. Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Medium-sized flycatcher with pale gray upperparts, black head, inconspicuous yellow crown stripe, and white underparts. Sexes similar. Eyes are white. Iowa Winter Birds 7 Ducks, geese, herons, and other water birds may take up winter residence below river dams or in other areas of open water. Eurasian Collared-Dove: Medium dove, pale gray overall with darker cinnamon-brown wash over back. 10 Fruits you should be feeding backyard birds, Common backyard birds in Pennsylvania (lists, photos, ID), Common backyard birds in Virginia (lists, photos, ID), Common backyard birds of Florida (lists, photos, ID). Love black oil sunflower seeds feeding on hopper and tray feeders. Common birds. Ranges coast-to-coast across all but northernmost parts of Canada and Alaska south to the southern US. Long-tailed Jaeger: Smallest but most buoyant and graceful jaeger or skua, with gray upperparts, white breast and gray belly. It has an orange, black and white bill, white eyes and orange legs and feet. Bill is bright yellow; legs and feet are orange. It is a resident across the lower-48 states and Mexico, with some movement out of northern areas in winter. Only loon to leap into flight from water or land. A common bird, but variable, and similar to many other streaked brown sparrows. 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