Checklist to the birds of Calhoun County Key R=Rare Compiled by Brush Freeman P=Pelagic/Offshore Jan. 18, 2012 H=Hypothetical E=Extirpated/Extinct I=Introduced or Exotic Species Status □ Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis □ Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor □ Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons □ Snow Goose Chen caerulescens □ Ross's Goose Chen rossii □ Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii □ Canada Goose Branta canadensis □ Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator E □ Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus R □ Wood Duck Aix sponsa □ Gadwall Anas strepera □ Mallard Anas platyrhynchos □ Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula □ American Black Duck Anas rubripes R □ Blue-winged Teal Anas discors □ Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera □ Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata □ Northern Pintail Anas acuta □ Green-winged Teal Anas crecca □ Canvasback Aythya valisineria □ Redhead Aythya americana □ Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris □ Greater Scaup Aythya marila □ Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis □ Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata □ White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca R □ Black Scoter Melanitta americana □ Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus R Jan. 29, 1945; Aransas NWR (likely mislabeled to Aransas Co.) □ Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis R □ Bufflehead Bucephala albeola □ Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula □ Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus □ Common Merganser Mergus merganser R Dec. 23, 1992 □ Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator □ Masked Duck Nomonyx dominicus R □ Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis □ Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginanus □ Greater Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus cupido E □ Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus RI □ Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo □ Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata R Dec. 19, 2004; Port O'Connor □ Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica Species Status □ Common Loon Gavia immer □ Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus □ Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps □ Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus □ Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena R □ Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis □ Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis R □ American Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber R □ Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata PR □ Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea P □ Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis PR □ Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus PR □ Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri P □ Leach's Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa P □ Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro P □ Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus PR □ White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus HP Aug. 6-7,1937; Matagorda Island □ Wood Stork Mycteria americana □ Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens □ Masked Booby Sula dactylatra R □ 1st county record June 8,1885; Matagorda Bay □ Northern Gannet Morus bassanus P □ Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus □ Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus □ Anhinga Anhinga anhinga □ American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos □ Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis □ American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus □ Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis □ "Great White Heron" Ardea herodias R A pure white phase of Great Blue Heron □ Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias □ Great Egret Ardea alba □ Snowy Egret Egretta thula □ Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea □ Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor □ Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens □ Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis □ Green Heron Butorides virescens □ Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax □ Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea □ White Ibis Eudocimus albus □ Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus □ White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi □ Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja □ Black Vulture Coragyps atratus □ Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura □ Osprey Pandion haliaetus □ Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus □ White-tailed Kite Elanus leucurus □ Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis □ Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus □ Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus □ Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus Species Status □ Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii □ Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis R Pre-1978 record; one in Port O'Connor 2009 reported □ Harris's Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus □ Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus □ Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus □ Swainson's Hawk Buteo swainsoni □ White-tailed Hawk Buteo albicaudatus □ Zone-tailed Hawk Buteo albonotatus R □ Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis □ Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis R □ Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus R □ Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos R Jan. 16, 1993; Mar. 3, 2000 □ Crested Caracara Caracara cheriway □ American Kestrel Falco sparverius □ Merlin Falco columbarius □ Aplomado Falcon Falco femoralis I □ Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus □ Prairie Falcon Falco mexicanus □ Yellow Rail Coturnicops noveboracensis □ Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis □ Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris □ King Rail Rallus elegans □ Virginia Rail Rallus limicola □ Sora Porzana carolina □ Purple Gallinule Porphyrio martinica □ Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata □ American Coot Fulica americana □ Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis □ Whooping Crane Grus americana □ Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola □ American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica □ Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva H □ Snowy Plover Charadrius nivosus □ Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia □ Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus □ Piping Plover Charadrius melodus □ Killdeer Charadrius vociferus □ Mountain Plover Charadrius montanus R □ American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus □ Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus □ American Avocet Recurvirostra americana □ Northern Jacana Jacana spinosa R Dec. 10, 1992 – Apr. 22, 1993 □ Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius □ Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria □ Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca □ Willet Tringa semipalmata □ Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes □ Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda □ Eskimo Curlew Numenius borealis E □ Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus □ Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus □ Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica Species Status □ Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa □ Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres □ Red Knot Calidris canutus □ Sanderling Calidris alba □ Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla □ Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri □ Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla □ White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis □ Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii □ Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos □ Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima R □ Dunlin Calidris alpina □ Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus □ Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis □ Ruff Philomachus pugnax R □ Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus □ Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus □ Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata □ American Woodcock Scolopax minor □ Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor □ Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus R □ Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla R □ Sabine's Gull Xema sabini R □ Bonaparte's Gull Chroicocephalus philadelphia □ Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla □ Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan □ Mew Gull Larus canus R Mar. 4, 2005; Magnolia Beach □ Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis □ California Gull Larus californicus R □ Herring Gull Larus argentatus □ Thayer's Gull Larus thayeri R □ Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus □ Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus R □ Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus R □ Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus R □ Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus P □ Least Tern Sternula antillarum P □ Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica □ Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia □ Black Tern Chlidonias niger □ Common Tern Sterna hirundo □ Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea PR Sep. 21, 1996 □ Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii R Mar. 15, 1998 □ Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri □ Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus □ Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis □ Black Skimmer Rynchops niger □ Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus P □ Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus P □ Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus PR □ Rock Pigeon Columba livia □ Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto Species Status □ White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica □ Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura □ Passenger Pigeon Ectopistes migratorius ?E □ Inca Dove Columbina inca □ Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina □ White-tipped Dove Leptotila verreauxi R □ Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus RI □ Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus □ Mangrove Cuckoo Coccyzus minor R □ Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythrophthalmus □ Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus □ Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris □ Barn Owl Tyto alba □ Flammulated Owl Otus flammeolus R □ Eastern Screech-Owl Megascops asio □ Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus □ Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia □ Barred Owl Strix varia □ Long-eared Owl Asio otus R □ Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus □ Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acutipennis □ Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor □ Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis □ Common Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii R □ Chuck-will's-widow Caprimulgus carolinensis □ Eastern Whip-poor-will Caprimulgus vociferus □ White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris R □ Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica □ Vaux's Swift Chaetura vauxi R Dec. 20, 2010; Port O'Connor □ Black Swift Cypseloides niger R Apr. 11, 2006; Port O'Connor □ Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris R Dec. 5, 2010; Six Miles □ Buff-bellied Hummingbird Amazilia yucatanensis □ Blue-throated Hummingbird Lampornis clemenciae R near Seadrift □ Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris □ Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri □ Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna □ Costa's Hummingbird Calypte costae R □ Calliope Hummingbird Stellula calliope R □ Broad-tailed Hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus □ Rufous Hummingbird