National Park Service White Sands U.S. Department of the Interior White Sands National Monument Featured Birds of White Sands

hite Sands National Monument is home to a wide variety of bird species. Some birds make White Sands their Whome all year, while other species are migratory. One key factor that influences the types of migratory birds in the area is rainfall and the amount of standing water. Keep in mind that the dunes provide unique homes to only some of our bird species. Many of the birds listed here prefer the Chihuahuan Desert shrub on the outer edges of the monument boundaries. Others migrate here when there is a lot of standing water in places such as Lake Lucero. Whether you are an experienced birder or just taking that extra step to familiarize yourself with our flying friends, this list will provide you with a general overview of the birds in and around the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.

American Avocet Black-throated Crissal Thrasher Recurvirostra Sparrow Toxostoma crissale americana Amphispiza bilineata

American Coot Brewer’s Blackbird Dark-eyed Junco Fulica americana Euphagus Junco hyemalis cyanocephalus

American Kestrel Broad-tailed Eared Grebe Falco sparverius Hummingbird Podiceps nigricollis Selasphorus platycercus

American Robin Cactus Wren Gambel’s Quail Turdus migratorius Campylorhynchus Callipepla gambelii brunneicapillus

Ash-throated Chihuahuan Raven Great Blue Heron Flycatcher Corvus cryptoleucus Ardea herodias Myiarchus cinerascens

Barn Swallow Common Merganser Great Egret Hirundo rustica Mergus merganser Ardea alba

Black-necked Stilt Cooper’s Hawk Great Horned Owl Himantopus mexicanus Accipiter cooperii Bubo virginianus Great-tailed Grackle Mallard Snowy Plover Quiscalus mexicanus Anas platyrhynchos Charadrius nivosus

Greater Roadrunner Mourning Dove Solitary Sandpiper Geococcyx Zenaida macroura Tringa solitaria californianus

Greater Yellowlegs Northern Flicker Spotted Towhee Tringa melanoleuca Colaptes auratus Pipilo maculatus

Horned Lark Northern Harrier Swainson’s Hawk Eremophila alpestris Circus cyaneus Buteo swainsoni © Noll

House Finch Northern Turkey Vulture Haemorhous Mockingbird Cathartes aura mexicanus Mimus polyglottos

House Sparrow Northern Oriole Western Kingbird Passer domesticus Icterus galbula Tyrannus verticalis

Killdeer Northern Shoveler Western Meadowlark Charadrius vociferus Anas clypeata Sturnella neglecta

Ladder-backed Pyrrhuloxia White-crowned Woodpecker Cardinalis sinuatus Sparrow Picoides scalaris Zonotrichia leucophrys

Lesser Nighthawk Red-tailed Hawk White-winged Dove Chordeiles Buteo jamaicensis Zenaida asiatica acutipennis

Loggerhead Shrike Sandhill Crane Wilson’s Warbler Lanius ludovicianus Grus canadensis Cardellina pusilla

Long-billed Curlew Say’s Phoebe Yellow-headed Numenius americanus Sayornis saya Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Long-eared Owl Scott’s Oriole Yellow Warbler Asio otus Icterus parisorum Setophaga petechia

Note: This is not a comprehensive bird list. For more information on White Sands National Monument, visit www.nps.gov/whsa Revised 2/1/16