Tallgrass Prairie Region Bird Viewing Tips Field Sparrow 1. Stay quiet and calm. Spizella pusilla 2. Be discreet — wear muted Size: L: 4.7 - 5.9 in., WS: 7.9 in. clothing and limit fragrances. Description: Pale gray head, white eye ring, rufous on top of 3. Use your ears! Listen for bird songs head and behind eye, pink beak. and calls. Diet: Seeds and insects 4. Use binoculars to get a closer Habitat: Fields with bushy thickets Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide, look, always keep a respectful though rare in Panhandle distance from wildlife. The Nebraska tallgrass prairie region 5. Be patient. comprises the eastern quarter of the state. Yellow Warbler 6. Go to where the habitat is — visit Setophage petechia The key to this landscape is the thick, rich state parks and other public lands. Size: L: 4.7 - 5.0 in., WS: 6.3 - 7.9 in. soil that enables deep-rooting prairie plants 7. Do your homework — learn what Birds of the Description: Small bright yellow to survive. Grasses and forbs dominate this species of birds live in the area. bird with a large black eye. Males have red streaking on chest. grassland region, with few trees, except along Diet: Insects water corridors. Nebraska Habitat: Open woodland This area receives 25 - 36 inches of rain Viewing: Spring-fall, Beaks as Tools statewide annually. Much of the historic grasslands have been converted, leaving only about 2 percent Tallgrass Barred Owl of unmodified tallgrass prairie habitat. This Strix varia Size: L: 17 - 20 in., WS: 40 - 46.5 in. area incorporates many wetlands, including Description: Round head, large the saline wetlands, north of Lincoln. This eyes, mottled brown back and range has a diversity of birds, plants, mammals, Prairie neck. White chest with vertical brown streaks. reptiles and insects that call it home. Diet: Small animals Habitat: Wooded areas, usually near water Viewing: Year-round, eastern quarter Identification Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Guide Size: L: 18 - 22 in., WS: 45 - 52.4 in. Description: Large raptor known for rusty red tail. Plumage can vary widely, but generally dark brown above and light below. Diet: Carnivore, mainly small Habitat: Fields to woodlands Viewing: Year-round, statewide

OutdoorNebraska.org Northern Pintail Great Blue Heron Eastern Meadowlark American Goldfinch Anas acuta Ardea herodias Sturnella magna Spinus tristis Size: L: 20.0 - 29.9 in., WS: 34 in. Size: L: 38 - 54 in., WS: 65.8 - 79 in. Size: L: 7.5 - 10 in., WS: 13.8 - 15.8 in. Size: L: 4.3 - 5.0 in., WS: 7.5 - 8.7 in. Description: Duck with long neck Description: Tall with long legs Description: Stocky bird with short Description: Small finch with and tail. Males: brown head, white and neck, dagger-like bill, gray tail, flat head and pointed bill. Back gray to orange beak and white chest and stripe on neck, and gray body, lighter face with black stripe is patterned brown and tan, belly is wing bars. Males yellow and back. Females: mottled brown. above eye. bright yellow with black V on chest. black, females tan. Diet: Seeds and aquatic insects Diet: Fish, frogs, small birds Diet: Insects Diet: Seeds Habitat: Wetlands Habitat: Wetlands Habitat: Grasslands, fields Habitat: Rural to urban Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide Viewing: Spring/fall, statewide; Viewing: Year-round, east Viewing: Year-round, statewide summer, northeast Mallard Killdeer Northern Cardinal House Finch Anas platyrhynchos Charadrius vociferus Cardinalis cardinalis Haemorhous mexicanus Size: L: 19.7 - 26 in., WS: 32 - 27.4 in. Size: L: 8 - 11 in., WS: 18 - 19 in. Size: L: 8.3 - 9.1 in., WS: 9.8 - 12.2 in. Size: L: 5.0 - 5.5 in., WS: 8.0 - 9.8 in. Description: Males: green head, Description: Brown shorebird Description: Songbird with yellow bill, orange legs brown Description: Strong cone beak, with white belly, chin, and face signature crest or “mohawk,” and body, blue wing patch and black buffy brown with darker streaks, curly tail. Females: mottled brown markings, two black chest bars an orange, cone-shaped bill. Males males have red through head with orange legs, blue wing patch. and long legs. are bright red and females are tan and chest. Diet: Seeds, aquatic plants and Diet: Insects with red hues. Diet: Seeds insects Habitat: Rural to urban Diet: Seeds and fruit Habitat: Rural to urban Habitat: Rural to urban Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide Habitat: Rural to urban Viewing: Year-round, statewide Viewing: Year-round, statewide Viewing: Year-round, east Blue-winged Teal Northern Bobwhite Indigo Bunting Dickcissel Colinus virginianus Spatula discors Size: L: 9.75 in., WS: 13 in. Passerina cyanea Spiza americana Size: L: 14 - 16 in., WS: 22 - 24.4 in. Description: Stocky ground bird Size: L: 4.7 - 5.1 in., WS: 7.5 - 8.7 in. Size: L: 2.5 - 3.2 in., WS: 6.7 - 7.0 in. Description: Small, mottled-brown patterned in brown, rufous, buff, Description: Finch-like bird with Description: Gray with rusty duck with wing-patch of powder and black. Males: black and white cone-shaped bill. Males are bright shoulders, yellow on chest, above blue, white, and green. Males patterned face. Females: buffy blue in summer, otherwise males eye, and at corner of bill. Males have white crescent behind bill. throat and eyebrow. and females are tan with some have black V on chest. Diet: Aquatic plants and insects Diet: Seeds, plants, and insects blue. Diet: Seeds and insects Habitat: Vegetated wetlands Habitat: Open fields and woodlands Diet: Seeds and fruit Habitat: Marches, fields Viewing: Summer, statewide Viewing: Year-round, statewide Habitat: Rural to urban Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide except southwestern Panhandle Viewing: Year-round, east but more common in east Wood Duck and northwest Aix sponsa Bobolink Black-capped Chickadee Grasshopper Sparrow Size: L: 18.5 - 21.3 in., WS: 26 - 29 in. Dolichonyx oryzivorus Poecile atricapillus Ammodramus savannarum Description: Elegant duck with Size: L: 5.9 - 8.3 in., WS: 10.6 in. Size: L: 4.7 - 5.9 in., WS: 6.3 - 8.3 in. Size: L: 4.3 - 4.7 in., WS: 8.0 - 8.5 in. slicked back crest. Males: red Description: Flat head, short tail. Description: Compact with short bill, Description: Streaky sparrow with eye, green head, white outlines, Males: black with white rump, black on top of head and neck, white brown above, buff below, white chestnut chest and tan sides. buff-yellow nape. Females: buff cheeks, gray back, and pale belly. eye ring, yellow lore, short tail. Female: browns with white eye-ring. with brown back, flank streaking. Diet: Seeds and fruit Diet: Insects Diet: Seeds, fruit and insects Diet: Seeds and insects Habitat: Rural to urban Habitat: Grasslands Habitat: Riparian zones, Habitat: Grasslands Viewing: Year-round, statewide Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide wetlands and waterways Viewing: Spring/fall, statewide; Viewing: Spring-fall, statewide summer, east and central

2018-76936ds 1/19