List of Massachusetts birds - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This list of Massachusetts birds is a comprehensive listing of all the bird species recorded from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. This list is based on a checklist used by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee, the list used by most birders to objectively evaluate species recorded in the state. This list is based on the Committee's revision of March, 2010.

The taxonomic

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, genera and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the accompanying bird lists adhere to the conventions of the AOU's (1998) Check-list of North American birds, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North American birds. The AOU's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the body responsible for maintaining and updating the Check-list, "strongly and unanimously continues to endorse the biological species concept (BSC), in which species are considered to be genetically cohesive groups of populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups" (AOU 1998). See Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy

Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy

The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. It is based on DNA-DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s....

for an alternative phylogenetic arrangement based on DNA-DNA hybridization.

Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in Massachusetts as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants. The following codes are used to denote certain categories of species:

n - Nesting: Confirmed nesting records within the state of Massachusetts.
xn - Extralimital nester: Previous record of nesting, but recorded only once or twice.
(I) - Introduced: Birds that have been introduced to North America by the actions of man, either directly or indirectly.
(E) - Extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
(Ex) - Extirpated: A bird that, while it is not extinct, is no longer found in Massachusetts.
(R) - Review list: Birds that if seen require more comprehensive documentation than regularly seen species. By their very nature, these birds are considered irregular or of rare occurrence in Massachusetts.

Note: Birds marked with * is not identified to species, but distinct enough to be considered as a separate entry

Table of contents
Non-passerines: Ducks, geese, and swans • Turkeys • Grouse • Pheasants • New World quail • Loons • Grebes • Albatrosses • Fulmers, petrels and shearwaters • Storm-petrels • Tropicbirds • Boobies and gannets • Pelicans • Cormorants • Darters • Frigatebirds • Bitterns, herons, and egrets • Ibises and spoonbills • Storks • New World vultures • Osprey • Hawks, kites, and eagles • Caracaras and falcons • Rails, gallinules, and coots • Limpkins • Cranes • Lapwings and plovers • Oystercatchers • Stilts and avocets • Sandpipers, curlews, stints, godwits, snipes, and phalaropes • Gulls, terns, and skimmers • Skuas • Auks, murres, and puffins • Pigeons and doves • Lories, parakeets, macaws, and parrots • Cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis • Barn owls • Typical owls • Nightjars • Swifts • Hummingbirds • Kingfishers • Woodpeckers, sapsuckers, and flickers
Passerines: Tyrant flycatchers • Shrikes • Vireos • Jays, crows, magpies, and ravens • Larks • Swallows and martins • Chickadees and titmice • Nuthatches • Treecreepers • Wrens • Kinglets • Gnatcatchers • Old World flycatchers • Thrushes • Mockingbirds and thrashers • Starlings • Wagtails and pipits • Waxwings • Longspurs • Wood-warblers • American sparrows, towhees, and juncos • Cardinals, grosbeaks and allies • Blackbirds, meadowlarks, cowbirds, grackles, and orioles • Finches • Old World sparrows
See also References

Duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s, geese
Goose
The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

, and swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s

Order: Anseriformes

Anseriformes

The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...

. Family: Anatidae

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
The Black-bellied Whistling Duck , formerly also called Black-bellied Tree Duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the USA, it can be found year-round in parts of southeast Texas, and seasonally in southeast...

, Dendrocygna autumnalis (R)
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling Duck
The Fulvous Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna bicolor, is a whistling duck which breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Gulf Coast of the United States....

, Dendrocygna bicolor (R)
Pink-footed Goose
Pink-footed Goose
The Pink-footed Goose is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark...

, Anser brachyrhynchus (R)
Greater White-fronted Goose
White-fronted Goose
The Greater White-fronted Goose is a species of goose. The Greater White-fronted Goose is more closely related to the smaller Lesser White-fronted Goose...

, Anser albifrons
Snow Goose
Snow Goose
The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...

, Chen caerulescens
Ross's Goose
Ross's Goose
The Ross's Goose is a North American species of goose.The American Ornithologists' Union places this species and the other two "white" geese in the genus Chen rather than the more traditional "grey" goose genus Anser.This goose breeds in northern Canada, mainly in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory...

, Chen rossii (R)
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

, Branta hutchinsii (R)
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

, Branta canadensis (n)
Brant
Brent Goose
The Brant or Brent Goose, Branta bernicla, is a species of goose of the genus Branta. The Black Brant is an American subspecies. The specific descriptor bernicla is from the same source as "barnacle" in Barnacle Goose, which looks similar but is not a close relation.-Appearance:The Brant Goose is...

, Branta bernicla
Barnacle Goose
Barnacle Goose
The Barnacle Goose belongs to the genus Branta of black geese, which contains species with largely black plumage, distinguishing them from the grey Anser species...

, Branta leucopsis (R)
Mute Swan
Mute Swan
The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...

, Cygnus olor (I) (n)
Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus
Wood Duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...

, Aix sponsa (n)
Gadwall
Gadwall
The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...

, Anas strepera (n)
Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope
American Wigeon
American Wigeon
The American Wigeon, also American Widgeon or Baldpate, is a species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus Anas. If this is split up, all wigeons will go into their old genus Mareca again...

, Anas americana (n)
Mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....

, Anas platyrhynchos (n)
American Black Duck
American Black Duck
The American Black Duck is a large dabbling duck. American Black Ducks are similar to Mallards in size, and resemble the female Mallard in coloration, although the Black Duck's plumage is darker...

, Anas rubripes (n)
Blue-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
The Blue-winged Teal is a small dabbling duck from North America.-Description:The Blue-winged Teal is long, with a wingspan of , and a weight of . The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult...

, Anas discors (n)
Cinnamon Teal
Cinnamon Teal
The Cinnamon Teal is a small, reddish dabbling duck found in marshes and ponds of western North and South America.thumb|left|Female Anas cyanoptera septentrionalium...

, Anas cyanoptera (R)
Northern Shoveler
Northern Shoveler
The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...

, Anas clypeata (n)
Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail
The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...

, Anas acuta (n)
Garganey
Garganey
The Garganey is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India Santragachi and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in 1758...

, Anas querquedula
Green-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
The Green-winged Teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Common Teal The Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis) is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of...

, Anas crecca (n)
Canvasback
Canvasback
The Canvasback is the largest of the North American diving ducks, that ranges from between long and weighs approximately , with a wingspan of . The canvasback has a distinctive wedge-shaped head and long graceful neck. The adult male has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black...

, Aythya valisineria
Redhead
Redhead (duck)
The Redhead is a medium-sized diving duck, 37 cm long with an 84 cm wingspan.The adult male has a blue bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, yellow eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a darker bluish bill with a black tip.The breeding habitat is...

, Aythya americana
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Duck
The Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck from North America.The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian Tufted Duck, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back...

, Aythya collaris (n)
Tufted Duck
Tufted Duck
The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...

, Aythya fuligula (R-female and imm only)
Greater Scaup
Greater Scaup
The Greater Scaup , just Scaup in Europe, or colloquially known as "Bluebill", for its bright blue bill, is small compared to other diving ducks, however it is larger than the closely related Lesser Scaup...

, Aythya marila
Lesser Scaup
Lesser Scaup
The Lesser Scaup is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the Little Bluebill or Broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill...

, Aythya affinis
Steller's Eider
Steller's Eider
The Steller's Eider is a medium-large sea duck that breeds along the Arctic coasts of eastern Siberia and Alaska. The lined nest is built on tundra close to the sea, and 6-10 eggs are laid....

, Polysticta stelleri (R)
King Eider
King Eider
The King Eider is a large sea duck that breeds along northern hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July...

, Somateria spectabilis
Common Eider
Common Eider
The Common Eider, Somateria mollissima, is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on...

, Somateria mollissima (n)
Harlequin Duck
Harlequin Duck
The Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...

, Histrionicus histrionicus
Labrador Duck
Labrador Duck
The Labrador Duck was a striking black and white eider-like sea duck that was never common, and is believed to be the first bird to become extinct in North America after 1500. The last Labrador Duck is believed to have been seen at Elmira, New York on December 12, 1878; the last preserved specimen...

, Camptorhynchus labradorius (E)
Surf Scoter
Surf Scoter
The Surf Scoter is a large sea duck, which breeds in Canada and Alaska. It is placed in the subgenus Melanitta, along with the Velvet and White-winged Scoters, distinct from the subgenus Oidemia, Black and Common Scoters.It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of the northern USA...

, Melanitta perspicillata
White-winged Scoter
White-winged Scoter
The White-winged Scoter is a large sea duck.-Description:It is characterised by its bulky shape and large bill. This is the largest species of scoter. Females range from 950-1950 grams and 48–56 cm , averaging 1180 grams and 52.3 cm . She is brown with pale head patches...

, Melanitta fusca
Black Scoter
Black Scoter
The Black or American Scoter is a large sea duck, 43 to 49 centimeters in length. Together with the Common Scoter M. nigra, it forms the subgenus Oidemia; the two are sometimes considered conspecific, the Black Scoter then being referred to as M. nigra americana...

, Melanitta americana
Long-tailed Duck
Long-tailed Duck
The Long-tailed Duck or Oldsquaw is a medium-sized sea duck. It is the only living member of its genus, Clangula; this was formerly used for the goldeneyes, with the Long-tailed Duck being placed in Harelda...

, Clangula hyemalis
Bufflehead
Bufflehead
The Bufflehead is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.-Description:...

, Bucephala albeola
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....

, Bucephala clangula
Barrow's Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This bird was named after Sir John Barrow....

, Bucephala islandica
Hooded Merganser
Hooded Merganser
The Hooded Merganser is a small duck and is the only member of the genus Lophodytes.Hooded Mergansers have a crest at the back of the head which can be expanded or contracted. In adult males, this crest has a large white patch, the head is black and the sides of the duck are reddish-brown...

, Lophodytes cucullatus (n)
Common Merganser
Common Merganser
The Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...

, Mergus merganser (n)
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...

, Mergus serrator (n)
Masked Duck
Masked Duck
The Masked Duck is a tiny stiff-tailed duck ranging through the tropical Americas. They are found from Mexico to South America and also in the Caribbean...

, Nomonyx dominicus (R)
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Duck
The Ruddy Duck is a small stiff-tailed duck.Their breeding habitat is marshy lakes and ponds throughout much of North America, and in South America in the Andes. They nest in dense marsh vegetation near water. The female builds her nest out of grass, locating it in tall vegetation to hide it from...

, Oxyura jamaicensis (n)

Turkeys
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

. Family: Meleagrididae

Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle

Wattle (anatomy)

A wattle is a fleshy dewlap or caruncle hanging from various parts of the head or neck in several groups of birds, goats and other animals. In some birds the caruncle is erectile tissue.The wattle is frequently an organ of sexual dimorphism...

that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a snood. As with many galliform species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, the female (the hen) is smaller than the male (the tom), and much less colorful. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 meters (almost 6 feet), the turkeys are the largest birds in the open forests in which they live, and are rarely mistaken for any other species.

Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

, Meleagris gallopavo (n)

Grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

. Family: Tetraonidae

Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. They are game

Game (food)

Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...

and are sometimes hunted for food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

. In all Massachusetts species, Males are polygamous, and have elaborate courtship displays. These heavily built birds have legs feather

Feather

Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...

ed to the toes. Most species are year-round residents, and do not migrate

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...

, Bonasa umbellus (n)
Heath Hen/Greater Prairie-chicken
Heath Hen
The Heath Hen was a distinctive subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido, a large North American bird in the grouse family, or possibly a distinct species....

, Tympanuchus cupido cupido (ex)
Willow Ptarmigan, Lagopus lagopus (R)

Pheasants

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

. Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump, with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds, or have been domesticated as a food source for humans. In Massachusetts, 1 species has been introduced.

Ring-necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus (I) (n)

New World quail
New World quail
The New World quails or Odontophorids are small birds only distantly related to the Old World Quails, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family Odontophoridae, whereas Old World Quail are in the pheasant family Phasianidae...

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

. Family: Odontophoridae

The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus (n)

Loon
Loon
The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...

s

Order: Gaviiformes

Gaviiformes

Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia , though prehistoric species were more widespread.-Classification and evolution:There are five living...

. Family: Gaviidae

Loons are aquatic birds size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. Their plumage is largely grey or black, they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well, and fly adequately, but, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body, are almost hopeless on land. In Massachusetts, three species have been recorded.

Red-throated Loon
Red-throated Diver
The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...

, Gavia stellata
Pacific Loon
Pacific Diver
The Pacific Loon or Pacific Diver , is a medium-sized member of the loon, or diver, family. It may be conspecific with Black-throated Diver/Arctic Loon, which it closely resembles....

, Gavia pacifica (R)
Common Loon
Great Northern Diver
The Great Northern Loon, Great Northern Diver, or Common Loon , is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds...

, Gavia immer (n)

Grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s

Order: Podicipediformes. Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-large sized freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes, and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. In Massachusetts, five species have been recorded.

Pied-billed Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
The Pied-billed Grebe is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Since the Atitlán Grebe, Podilymbus gigas, has become extinct, it is the sole extant member of the genus Podilymbus.-Description:...

, Podilymbus podiceps (n)
Horned Grebe
Slavonian Grebe
The Horned Grebe or Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The Slavonian Grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater...

, Podiceps auritus
Red-necked Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
The Red-necked Grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes...

, Podiceps grisegena
Eared Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
The Black-necked Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, known in North America as the Eared Grebe, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.-Taxonomy:There are three subspecies:*P. n...

, Podiceps nigricollis (R)
Western Grebe
Western Grebe
The Western Grebe, , is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe"....

, Aechmorphorus occidentalis (R)

Albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...

es

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Diomedeidae

The albatrosses are amongst the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus Diomedea have the largest wingspans of any extant birds. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Yellow-nosed Albatross
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
The Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos, is a large seabird in the albatross family. This small mollymawk was once considered conspecific with the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross and known as the Yellow-nosed Albatross...

, Thalassarche chlororhynchos (R)
Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed Albatross
The Black-browed Albatross or Black-browed Mollymawk, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae, and it is the most widespread and common albatross.-Taxonomy:...

, Thalassarche melanophris (R)

Fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...

s, petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

s and shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...

s

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Procellariidae

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...

The Procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. In Massachusetts, seven species have been recorded.

Northern Fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...

, Fulmarus glacialis
Black-capped Petrel
Black-capped Petrel
The Black-capped Petrel is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. It is also known as the Diablotín. The extinct Jamaica Petrel was a related dark form, often considered a subspecies of this bird.This long-winged petrel has a grey-brown back and wings, with a white nape and rump...

, Pterodroma hasitata (R)
Cory's Shearwater
Cory's Shearwater
The Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...

, Calonectris diomedea
Great Shearwater
Great Shearwater
The Great Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. Its relationships are unclear. It belongs in the group of large species that could be separated as genus Ardenna ; within these, it might be allied with the other black-billed, blunt-tailed species Short-tailed...

, Puffinus gravis
Sooty Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...

, Puffinus griseus
Manx Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...

, Puffinus puffinus (xn)
Audubon's Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater
Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....

, Puffinus lherminieri (R)

Storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...

s

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Hydrobatidae

The Storm-petrels are the smallest of seabirds, relatives of the petrel

Petrel

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

s, feeding on plankton

Plankton

Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...

ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

-like. In Massachusetts, four species have been recorded.

Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
Wilson's Storm-petrel
Wilson's Storm Petrel , also known as Wilson's Petrel, is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly in the seas of the southern hemisphere but extending northwards during the summer of the northern...

, Oceanites oceanicus
White-faced Storm-Petrel
White-faced Storm-petrel
The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....

, Pelagodroma marina (R)
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Leach's Storm-petrel
The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....

, Oceanodroma leucorhoa (n)
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
Madeiran Storm-petrel
The Band-rumped Storm Petrel or Madeiran Storm Petrel, is of the storm petrel family Hydrobatidae.The Band-rumped Storm Petrel is 19–21 cm in length with a 43–46 cm wingspan, and weighs 44-49g. It is mainly black with an extensive white rump...

, Oceanodroma castro (R)

Tropicbird
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...

s

Order: Phaethontiformes. Family: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their long wings have black markings, as does the head. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

White-tailed Tropicbird
White-tailed Tropicbird
The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...

, Phaethon lepturus (R)
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-billed Tropicbird
The Red-billed Tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus, also known as the Boatswain Bird is a tropicbird, one of three closely related seabirds of tropical oceans.-Distribution and habitat:...

, Phaethon aethereus (R)

Stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....

s

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and are mute. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Wood Stork
Wood Stork
The Wood Stork is a large American wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was formerly called the "Wood Ibis", though it is not really an ibis.-Appearance:...

, Mycteria americana (R)

Frigatebird
Frigatebird
The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...

s

Order: Suliformes

Suliformes

The Order Suliformes is a proposed order by the International Ornithologist's Union...

. Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large sea-birds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black or black and white, with long wings and deeply-forked tails. The males have inflatable coloured throat pouches. They do not swim or walk, and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Magnificent frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebird
The Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....

, Fregata magnificens (R)

Boobies
Booby
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...

and gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

s

Order: Suliformes

Suliformes

The Order Suliformes is a proposed order by the International Ornithologist's Union...

. Family: Sulidae

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...

The Sulids comprise the gannet

Gannet

Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

s and boobies

Booby

A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...

. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

s that plunge-dive for fish. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Brown Booby
Brown Booby
The Brown Booby is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. The adult brown booby reaches about in length. Its head and upper body are covered in dark brown, with the remainder being a contrasting white. The juvenile form is gray-brown with darkening on the head, wings and tail...

, Sula leucogaster (R)
Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...

, Morus bassanus

Cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s

Order: Suliformes

Suliformes

The Order Suliformes is a proposed order by the International Ornithologist's Union...

. Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of coloured skin on the face. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature among the Pelecaniformes order. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico...

, Phalacrocorax auritus (n)
Great Cormorant
Great Cormorant
The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...

, Phalacrocorax carbo (n)

Darter
Darter
The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to...

s

Order: Suliformes

Suliformes

The Order Suliformes is a proposed order by the International Ornithologist's Union...

. Family: Anhingidae

Darters are cormorant-like water birds with very long necks and long, straight beaks. They often swim with only the neck above water, and are fish-eaters. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Anhinga
Anhinga
The Anhinga , sometimes called Snakebird, Darter, American Darter, or Water Turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word "anhinga" comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird.It is a cormorant-like bird with an average body length of , a...

, Anhinga anhinga (R)

Pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

s

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

American White Pelican
American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is a large aquatic bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America, in winter....

, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (R)
Brown Pelican
Brown Pelican
The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is in length, weighs from and has a wingspan from .-Range and habits:...

, Pelecanus occidentalis (R)

Bittern
Bittern
Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s, and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...

s

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

. Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and Egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Unlike other long necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. In Massachusetts, 14 species have been recorded.

American Bittern
American Bittern
The American Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. New evidence has led the American Ornithologists' Union to move the heron family into the order Pelecaniformes .-Description:...

, Botaurus lentiginosus (n)
Least Bittern
Least Bittern
The Least Bittern is a small wading bird, the smallest heron found in the Americas.This bird's underparts and throat are white with light brown streaks. Their face and the sides of the neck are light brown; they have yellow eyes and a yellow bill. The adult male is glossy greenish black on the...

, Ixobrychus exilis (n)
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

, Ardea herodias (n)
Great Egret
Great Egret
The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...

, Ardea alba (n)
Little Egret
Little Egret
The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....

, Egretta garzetta (R)
Western Reef-Heron
Western Reef Heron
The Western Reef Heron, Egretta gularis, also known as the Western Reef Egret, is a medium-sized heron. It occurs mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and east to India...

, Egretta gularis (R)
Snowy Egret
Snowy Egret
The Snowy Egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas....

, Egretta thula (n)
Little Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
The Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, is a small heron. It breeds from the Gulf states of the USA through Central America and the Caribbean south to Peru and Uruguay. It is a resident breeder in most of its range, but some northern breeders migrate to the southeastern USA or beyond in winter...

, Egretta caerulea (n)
Tricolored Heron
Tricolored Heron
The Tricolored Heron formerly known in North America as the Louisiana Heron, is a small heron. It is a resident breeder from the Gulf states of the USA and northern Mexico south through Central America and the Caribbean to central Brazil and Peru...

, Egretta tricolor (n)
Reddish Egret
Reddish Egret
The Reddish Egret is a small heron. It is a resident breeder in Central America, The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast of the United States, and Mexico. There is post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range...

, Egretta rufescens (R)
Cattle Egret
Cattle Egret
The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...

, Bubulcus ibis (n)
Green Heron
Green Heron
The Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron , and together they were called "Green-backed Heron"...

, Butorides virescens (n)
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...

, Nycticorax nycticorax (n)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron , also called the American Night Heron or squawk, is a fairly small heron, similar in appearance to the Black-crowned Night Heron...

, Nyctanassa violacea (n)

Ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

es and spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...

s

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

. Family: Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...

The family Threskiornithidae includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings. Their bodies tend to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills. 3 species occur in Massachusetts.

American White Ibis
American White Ibis
The American White Ibis is a species of wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It occurs from the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics...

, Eudocimus albus (R)
Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis
The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

, Plegadis falcinellus (n)
White-faced Ibis
White-faced Ibis
The White-faced Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western USA south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to...

, Plegadis chihi (R)

New World vulture
New World vulture
The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in fivegenera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas....

s

Order: Accipitriformes

Accipitriformes

The Accipitriformes is an order that has been proposed to include most of the diurnal birds of prey: hawks, eagles, vultures, and many others, about 225 species in all. For a long time, the majority view has been to include them with the falcons in the Falconiformes, but some authorities have...

. Family: Cathartidae

The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers. However, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they locate carcasses. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Black Vulture
American Black Vulture
The Black Vulture also known as the American Black Vulture, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to Central Chile and Uruguay in South America...

, Coragyps atratus (n)
Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...

, Cathartes aura (n)

Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

Order: Accipitriformes

Accipitriformes

. Family: Pandionidae

The family Pandionidae is a family of fish-eating birds of prey, possessing a very large, powerful hooked beak for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. The family is monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

; its sole member, the Osprey, is found in Massachusetts.

Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

, Pandion haliaetus (n)

Hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s, kite
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....

s, and eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s

Order: Accipitriformes

Accipitriformes

. Family: Accipitridae

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...

The family Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include the Osprey, hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight.

Swallow-tailed Kite
Swallow-tailed Kite
The Swallow-tailed Kite is an elanid kite which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. Most North and Central American breeders winter in South America where the species is resident year round...

, Elanoides forficatus (R)
White-tailed Kite
White-tailed Kite
The White-tailed Kite is an elanid kite of genus Elanus found in western North America and parts of South America.Their coloration is gull-like, but their shape and flight falcon-like, with a rounded tail...

, Elanus leucurus (R)
Mississippi Kite
Mississippi Kite
The Mississippi Kite is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is 12 to 15 inches beak to tail and has a wingspan averaging 3 feet . Weight is from 214 to 388 grams . Adults are gray with darker gray on their tail feathers and outer wings and lighter gray on their heads...

, Ictinia mississippiensis (R)
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

, Haliaeetus leucocephalus (n)
White-tailed Eagle
White-tailed Eagle
The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...

, Haliaeetus albicilla (R)
Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus (n)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins" or "sharpies" are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller...

, Accipiter striatus (n)
Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Canada to Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female...

, Accipiter cooperii (n)
Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis (n)
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico.-Description:...

, Buteo lineatus (n)
Broad-winged Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk is a small hawk of the genus Buteo. During the summer some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the neotropics from Mexico down to southern Brazil. Other subspecies are all-year...

, Buteo platypterus (n)

Swainson's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk
The Swainson's Hawk , is a large buteo hawk of the Falconiformes, sometimes separated in the Accipitriformes like its relatives. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist...

, Buteo swainsoni (R)
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...

, Buteo jamaicensis (n)
Rough-legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus
Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

, Aquila chrysaetos

Caracara
Caracara
Caracaras are birds of prey in the family Falconidae. They are traditionally placed in the subfamily Polyborinae, but are sometimes considered part of their own subfamily, Caracarinae, or members of the true falcon subfamily, Falconinae...

s and falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

s

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Falconidae

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their feet. In Massachusetts, seven species have been recorded.

Crested Caracara
Crested Caracara
The Northern Caracara, or Crested Caracara as it is properly known where it lives in the Americas, is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Southern Caracara and the extinct Guadalupe Caracara as the "Crested Caracara"...

, Caracara cheriway (R)
Eurasian Kestrel, Falco tinnunculus (R)
American Kestrel
American Kestrel
The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...

, Falco sparverius (n)
Merlin
Merlin (bird)
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...

, Falco columbarius
Red-footed Falcon
Red-footed Falcon
The Red-footed Falcon , formerly Western Red-footed Falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting. It is migratory, wintering in Africa...

, Falco vespertinus (R)
Gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...

, Falco rusticolus
Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

, Falco peregrinus (n)

Rails, gallinule
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

s, and coot
Coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

s

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Rallidae

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. The most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. In Massachusetts, nine species have been recorded.

Yellow Rail
Yellow Rail
The Yellow Rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis, is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Adults have brown upperparts streaked with black, a yellowish-brown breast, a light belly and barred flanks. The short thick dark bill turns yellow in males during the breeding season. The feathers on the back...

, Coturnicops noveboracensis (R)
Black Rail
Black Rail
The Black Rail is a mouse-sized member of the Rallidae family of birds. It is found in scattered parts of North America and the Pacific region of South America, usually in coastal salt marshes but also in some freshwater marshes. It is extinct or threatened in many locations due to habitat loss...

, Laterallus jamaicensis (R)
Clapper Rail
Clapper Rail
The Clapper Rail is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. Some researchers believe that this bird and the similar King Rail are a single species; the two birds are known to interbreed.-Distribution and habitat:...

, Rallus longirostris (n)
King Rail
King Rail
The King Rail, Rallus elegans, is a waterbird, the largest North American rail.Distinct features are a long bill with a slight downward curve, with adults being brown on the back and rusty-brown on the face and breast with a dark brown cap. They also have a white throat and a light belly with...

, Rallus elegans (n)
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail
The Virginia Rail, Rallus limicola, is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. They have long toes, a short tail and a long slim reddish bill...

, Rallus limicola (n)
Sora
Sora (crake)
The Sora is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the Sora Rail or Sora Crake.Adults Soras are long, with dark-marked brown upperparts, a blue-grey face and underparts, and black and white barring on the flanks. They have a short thick yellow bill, with black...

, Porzana carolina (n)
Purple Gallinule
American Purple Gallinule
The American Purple Gallinule is a "swamp hen" in the rail family Rallidae.A medium-sized rail with big yellow feet, purple-blue plumage with a green back, and red and yellow bill. It has a pale blue forehead shield and white undertail.Juveniles are brown overall with a brownish olive back...

, Porphyrio martinica
Common Gallinule
Common Gallinule
The Common Gallinule, is a North American bird in the Rallidae family which has recently been split from the Common Moorhen by the AOU in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions, or many tropical rainforests...

, Gallinula galeata (n)
American Coot
American Coot
The American Coot is a bird of the family Rallidae, inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies. Measuring in length and across the wings, adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes...

, Fulica americana (n)

Crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

s

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances". In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...

, Grus canadensis (xn)

Lapwing
Lapwing
Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...

s and plover
Plover
Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water, although there are some exceptions. In Massachusetts, 11 species have been recorded.

Northern Lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....

, Vanellus vanellus (R)
Black-bellied Plover
Grey Plover
The Grey Plover , known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover breeding in arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding....

, Pluvialis squatarola
American Golden-Plover
American Golden Plover
The American Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.Adults are spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Their face and neck are black with a white border; they have a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black....

, Pluvialis dominica
Pacific Golden-Plover
Pacific Golden Plover
The Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...

, Pluvialis fulva (R)
Snowy Plover
Snowy Plover
The Snowy Plover is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern and western USA and the Caribbean...

, Charadrius nivosus (R)
Wilson's Plover
Wilson's Plover
The Wilson's Plover is a small plover.Wilson's Plover is a coastal wader which breeds on both coasts of the Americas from the equator northwards. Its range extends north to include much of the U.S. eastern seaboard, and the Pacific coast of Mexico on the west.It is a partial migrant. Birds leave...

, Charadrius wilsonia (R)
Common Ringed Plover
Ringed Plover
The Common Ringed Plover or Ringed Plover is a small plover.Adults are 17-19.5 cm in length with a 35–41 cm wingspan. They have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes...

, Charadrius hiaticula (R)
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Plover
The Semipalmated Plover is a small plover.This species weighs and measures in length and across the wings. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband...

, Charadrius semipalmatus
Piping Plover
Piping Plover
The Piping Plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck...

, Charadrius melodus (n)
Killdeer
Killdeer
The Killdeer is a medium-sized plover.Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering...

, Charadrius vociferus (n)
Mountain Plover
Mountain Plover
The Mountain Plover is a medium-sized ground bird in the plover family . It is misnamed, as it lives on level land...

, Charadrius montanus (R)

Oystercatcher
Oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatchers are large, obvious and noisy plover

Plover

Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatcher
The American Oystercatcher , occasionally called the American Pied Oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. The bird is marked by its black and white body and a long, thick orange beak...

, Haematopus palliatus (n)

Stilt
Stilt
Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates....

s and avocet
Avocet
The four species of Avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts.Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer...

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts .-Description and diet:...

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and the stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Black-necked Stilt
Black-necked Stilt
The Black-necked Stilt is a locally abundant shorebird of American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexico as far east as Florida, then south through Central America and the Caribbean...

, Himantopus mexicanus
American Avocet
American Avocet
The American Avocet is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.This avocet has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, "blue shanks". The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer...

, Recurvirostra americana

Sandpipers, curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

s, stint
Stint
A stint is one of several very small waders in the paraphyletic "Calidris" assemblage - often separated in Erolia -, which in North America are known as peeps...

s, godwit
Godwit
The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....

s, snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

s, and phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the Sandpipers, Curlews, Godwits, Shanks, Tattlers, Woodcocks, Snipes, Dowitchers and Phalaropes. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. In Massachusetts, 43 species have been recorded.

Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
The Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group...

, Tringa melanoleuca
Lesser Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
The Lesser Yellowlegs is a medium-sized shorebird similar in appearance to the larger Greater Yellowlegs. It is not closely related to this bird, however, but instead to the much larger and quite dissimilar Willet; merely the fine, clear and dense pattern of the neck shown in breeding plumage...

, Tringa flavipes
Spotted Redshank
Spotted Redshank
The Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Asia and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter...

, Tringa erythropus (R)
Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
The Solitary Sandpiper is a small wader .-Description:This species measures long, with a wingspan up to and a body mass of . It is a dumpy wader with a dark green back, greyish head and breast and otherwise white underparts. It is obvious in flight, with wings dark above and below, and a dark...

, Tringa solitaria
Willet
Willet
The Willet, Tringa semipalmata , is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family. It is a good-sized and stout scolopacid, the largest of the shanks...

, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus (n)
Wandering Tattler
Wandering Tattler
The Wandering Tattler, Tringa incana , is a medium-sized wading bird. It is similar in appearance to the closely related Gray-tailed Tattler, T. brevipes...

, Heteroscelus incanus (R)
Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
The Spotted Sandpiper is a small shorebird, 18–20 cm long. Together with its sister species, the Common Sandpiper they make up the genus Actitis...

, Actitis macularia (n)
Terek Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
The Terek Sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus.- Description and systematics :...

, Xenus cinereus (R)
Upland Sandpiper
Upland Sandpiper
The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...

, Bartramia longicauda (n)
Eskimo Curlew
Eskimo Curlew
The Eskimo or the "Northern Curlew" is a critically endangered shorebird, now considered by many to be extinct.-Taxonomy:The Eskimo Curlew is one of eight species of curlew, and is classed with them in the genus Numenius. It was formerly placed in the separate genus Mesoscolopax. Numenius is...

, Numenius borealis (E?)
Whimbrel
Whimbrel
The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....

, Numenius phaeopus
Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...

, Numenius arquata (R)
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew
The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America...

, Numenius americanus (R)
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...

, Limosa limosa (R)
Hudsonian Godwit
Hudsonian Godwit
The Hudsonian Godwit, Limosa haemastica, is a large shorebird.-Identification:Adults have long dark legs and a long pink bill with a slight upward curve and dark at the tip. The upper parts are mottled brown and the underparts are chestnut. The tail is black and the rump is white...

, Limosa haemastica
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...

, Limosa lapponica (R)
Marbled Godwit
Marbled Godwit
The Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, is a large shorebird. On average, it is the largest of the 4 species of godwit. The total length is , including a large bill of , and wingspan is . Body mass can vary from ....

, Limosa fedoa
Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone
The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...

, Arenaria interpres
Red Knot
Red Knot
The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...

, Calidris canutus
Sanderling
Sanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...

, Calidris alba
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, is a very small shorebird. It is sometimes separated with other "stints" in Erolia but although these apparently form a monophyletic group, the present species' old genus Ereunetes had been proposed before Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short stout...

, Calidris pusilla
Western Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
The Western Sandpiper, Calidris or Erolia mauri, is a small shorebird.Adults have dark legs and a short thin dark bill, thinner at the tip. The body is brown on top and white underneath. They are reddish-brown on the crown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny...

, Calidris mauri
Red-necked Stint
Red-necked Stint
The Red-necked Stint is a small migratory wader.- Description :These birds are among the smallest of waders, very similar to the Little Stint, Calidris minuta, with which they were once considered conspecific...

, Calidris ruficollis (R)
Little Stint
Little Stint
The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...

, Calidris minuta (R)
Least Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird.This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above...

, Calidris minutilla (xn)
White-rumped Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
The White-rumped Sandpiper is a small shorebird.Adults have black legs and a small thin dark bill. The body is dark brown on top and mainly white underneath, with brown streaks on the breast and a white rump. They have a white stripe over their eyes. This bird shows long wings in flight. In winter...

, Calidris fuscicollis
Baird's Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
The Baird's Sandpiper is a small shorebird. It is among those calidrids sometimes separated in Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short thin dark bill. They are dark brown on top and mainly white underneath with a black patch on the rump. The head and breast are light brown with dark streaks. In...

, Calidris bairdii
Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...

, Calidris melanotos
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
The Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Calidris acuminata is a small wader.- Taxonomy :More recently, a review of new data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus Philomachus- as P...

, Calidris acuminata (R)
Purple Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper
The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...

, Calidris maritima
Dunlin
Dunlin
The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...

, Calidris alpina
Curlew Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...

, Calidris ferruginea (non-alternate plumage only)
Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
The Stilt Sandpiper, Calidris himantopus or Micropalama himantopus, is a small shorebird; it bears some resemblance to the smaller calidrid sandpipers or "stints". DNA sequence information is incapable of determining whether it should be placed in Calidris or in the monotypic genus Micropalama...

, Calidris himantopus
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper
The Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small wading bird. It is the only member of the genus Limicola; some have proposed that it should be placed in the genus Erolia with the "stint" sandpipers, but more recent research suggests that it is should rather go into the genus Philomachus with the ruff and...

, Limicola falcinellus (R)
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis, is a small shorebird. It is a calidrid sandpipers and currently considered to be the only member of the genus Tryngites. Indeed, it probably belongs in the genus Calidris itself, or more precisely with the small species thereof which should be...

, Tryngites subruficollis
Ruff, Philomachus pugnax
Short-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitcher
The Short-billed Dowitcher like its congener the Long-billed Dowitcher, is a medium-sized, stocky, long-billed shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is an inhabitant of North America, Middle America, and northern South America. It is strongly migratory; it completely vacates in breeding areas...

, Limnodromus griseus
Long-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
The Long-billed Dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus, is a medium-sized shorebird.Adults have yellowish legs and a long straight dark bill. The body is dark brown on top and reddish underneath with spotted throat and breast, bars on flanks. The tail has a black and white barred pattern...

, Limnodromus scolopaceus
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Snipe is a small, stocky shorebird. This species was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Common Snipe, G. gallinago. Wilson's Snipe differs from the latter species in having a narrower white edge to the wings, and eight pairs of tail feathers instead of seven.Adults are...

, Gallinago delicata (n)
American Woodcock
American Woodcock
The American Woodcock , sometimes colloquially referred to as the Timberdoodle, is a small chunky shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America...

, Scolopax minor (n)
Wilson's Phalarope
Wilson's Phalarope
The Wilson's Phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor, is a small wader. This bird, the largest of the phalaropes, breeds in the prairies of North America in western Canada and the western United States. It is migratory, wintering around the central Andes in South America. They are passage migrants through...

, Phalaropus tricolor (n)
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....

, Phalaropus lobatus
Red Phalarope
Red Phalarope
The Red Phalarope , Phalaropus fulicarius, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia...

, Phalaropus fulicarius

Gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

s, tern
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

s, and skimmer
Skimmer
The Skimmers, Rynchopidae, are a small family of tern-like birds in the order Charadriiformes, which also includes the waders, gulls and auks. The family comprises three species found in South Asia, Africa, and the Americas....

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes and skimmers. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.

Black-legged Kittiwake
Kittiwake
The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...

, Rissa tridactyla
Ivory Gull
Ivory Gull
The Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea is a small gull, the only species in its genus. It breeds in the high arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through Greenland, northernmost North America, and Eurasia.-Taxonomy:...

, Pagophila eburnea (R)
Sabine's Gull
Sabine's Gull
The Sabine's Gull is a small gull. Its generic placement is disputed; some authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Xema as Xema sabini, while others retain it in the genus Larus as Larus sabini. It breeds in the arctic and has a circumpolar distribution through northernmost North America...

, Xema sabini
Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
The Bonaparte's Gull is a small gull.The Bonaparte's Gull is a small species, larger only than the Little Gull and the Saunders's Gull among all gull species. Adults are long with a wingspan and a body mass of . They have a black hood and a short thin dark bill. The body is mainly white with...

, Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Black-headed Gull
Black-headed Gull
The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...

, Chroicocephalus ridibundus (xn)
Little Gull
Little Gull
The Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of southern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and the northeast USA. As is the case with many gulls,...

, Hydrocoleus minutus
Ross's Gull
Ross's Gull
The Ross's Gull is a small gull, the only species in its genus, although it has been suggested it should be moved to the genus Hydrocoloeus, which otherwise only includes the Little Gull....

, Rhodostethia rosea (R
Laughing Gull
Laughing Gull
The Laughing Gull, Leucophaeus atricilla, is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. It breeds on the Atlantic coast of North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Northernmost populations migrate further south in winter, and this species occurs as a rare vagrant to western...

, Leucophaeus atricilla (n)
Franklin's Gull
Franklin's Gull
The Franklin's Gull is a small gull.-Description:It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern United States...

, Leucophaeus pipixcan (R)
Black-tailed Gull
Black-tailed Gull
The Black-tailed Gull is a medium-sized gull, with a wingspan of 126-128 cm. The bird is resident in East Asia, including China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. It is a vagrant to Alaska and northeastern North America....

, Larus crassirostris (R)
Mew Gull
Common Gull
The Common Gull or Mew Gull Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in northern Asia, northern Europe and northwestern North America. It migrates further south in winter...

, Larus canus (R)
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull
The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull.Adults are length and with a wingspan. The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims...

, Larus delawarensis (n)
California Gull
California Gull
The California Gull Larus californicus is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the Herring Gull but larger on average than the Ring-billed Gull, though may overlap in size greatly with both....

, Larus californicus (R)
Herring Gull
American Herring Gull
The American Herring Gull or Smithsonian Gull is a large gull which breeds in North America. It is often treated as a subspecies of the European Herring Gull but is now regarded as a separate species by some authorities.Adults are white with gray back and wings, black wingtips with white spots,...

, Larus argentatus smithsonianus (n)
Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
The Yellow-legged Gull , sometimes referred to as Western Yellow-legged Gull , is a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species...

, Larus cachinnans (R)
Thayer's Gull
Thayer's Gull
The Thayer's Gull is a large gull native to North America that breeds in the Arctic islands of Canada and primarily winters on the Pacific coast, from southern Alaska to the Gulf of California, though there are also wintering populations on the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi River...

, Larus thayeri (R)
Iceland Gull
Iceland Gull
The Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides, is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not Iceland, where it is only seen in the winter. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the eastern USA,...

, Larus glaucoides
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...

, Larus fuscus
Slaty-backed Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
The Slaty-backed Gull , is a large white-headed gull that breeds on the western coast of Alaska but travels widely during nonbreeding seasons. Claims have been made as to its presence throughout North America as well as the eastern coast of Asia. It is similar in appearance to the Western Gull...

, Larus schistisagus (R)
Glaucous Gull
Glaucous Gull
The Glaucous Gull is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere and the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the USA, also on the Great...

, Larus hyperboreus
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
The Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world, which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic...

, Larus marinus (n)
Gull-billed Tern
Gull-billed Tern
The Gull-billed Tern formerly Sterna nilotica , is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...

, Gelochelidon nilotica (R)
Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern
The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...

, Hydroprogne caspia
Royal Tern
Royal Tern
The Royal Tern is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This bird has two distinctive subspecies. T. m. maximus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico into the Caribbean. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis breeds in coastal west Africa...

, Sterna maxima
Elegant Tern
Elegant Tern
The Elegant Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds on the Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico and winters south to Peru, Ecuador and Chile....

, Sterna elegans (R)
Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis (R)
Roseate Tern
Roseate Tern
The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

, Sterna dougallii (n)
Common Tern
Common Tern
The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

, Sterna hirundo (n)
Arctic Tern
Arctic Tern
The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...

, Sterna paradisaea(n)
Forster's Tern
Forster's Tern
The Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri, is a member of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds inland in North America and winters south to the Caribbean and northern South America....

, Sterna forsteri (n)
Least Tern, Sternula antillarum (n)
Bridled Tern
Bridled Tern
The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...

, Onychoprion anaethetus (R)
Sooty Tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...

, Onychoprion fuscata (R)
White-winged Tern
White-winged Tern
The White-winged Tern, or White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across from Southeastern Europe east to Australia....

, Chlidonias leucopterus (R)
Black Tern
Black Tern
The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...

, Chlidonias niger
Brown Noddy
Brown Noddy
The Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...

, Anous stolidus (R)
Black Skimmer
Black Skimmer
The Black Skimmer, Rynchops niger, is a tern-like seabird, one of three very similar birds species in the skimmer family. It breeds in North and South America...

, Rynchops niger (n)

Skuas

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Stercorariidae

They are in general medium to large bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They have longish bills with a hooked tip, and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large dark gulls, but have a fleshy cere above the upper mandible. They are strong, acrobatic fliers. 5 species have been recorded in Massachusetts.

Great Skua
Great Skua
The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...

, Stercorarius skua (R)
South Polar Skua
South Polar Skua
The South Polar Skua, Stercorarius maccormicki, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick’s Skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen...

, Stercorarius maccormicki (R)
Pomarine Jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus
Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus
Long-tailed Jaeger, Stercorarius longicaudus (R)

Auk
Auk
An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits...

s, murres, and puffin
Puffin
Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...

s

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

. Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguin

Penguin

Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...

s due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins at all, being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. In Massachusetts, nine species have been recorded.

Dovekie, Alle alle
Common Murre, Uria aalge
Thick-billed Murre, Uria lomvia
Razorbill
Razorbill
The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...

, Alca torda
Great Auk
Great Auk
The Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis, formerly of the genus Alca, was a large, flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus, a group of birds that formerly included one other species of flightless giant auk from the Atlantic Ocean...

, Pinguinus impennis (E)
Black Guillemot
Black Guillemot
The Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...

, Cepphus grylle
Long-billed Murrelet
Long-billed Murrelet
The Long-billed Murrelet is a small seabird from the North Pacific. It is an unusual member of the auk family, often nesting far inland in old growth forests...

, Brachyramphus perdix (R)
Ancient Murrelet
Ancient Murrelet
The Ancient Murrelet, Synthliboramphus antiquus, is a bird in the auk family. It breeds from the Yellow Sea , through the Russian Pacific coast and the Aleutian Islands to the Haida Gwaii archipelago of British Columbia, where about half of the world population breeds.These birds breed in colonies,...

, Synthliboramphus antiquus (R)
Atlantic Puffin
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...

, Fratercula arctica

Pigeons and dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...

s

Order: Columbiformes

Columbiformes

Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order....

. Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Rock Pigeon, Columba livia (I) (n)
Band-tailed Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
The Band-tailed Pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata, is a medium-sized bird of the Americas. Its closest relatives are the Chilean Pigeon and the Ring-tailed Pigeon, which form a clade of Patagioenas with a terminal tail band and iridescent plumage on their necks.It ranges from British Columbia, Utah, and...

, Patagioenas fasciata (R)
European Turtle-Dove, Streptopelia turtur (R)
Eurasian Collared-Dove, Streptopelia decaocto (I)(R)
White-winged Dove
White-winged Dove
The White-winged Dove is a dove whose native range extends from the south-western USA through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. In recent years with increasing urbanization and backyard feeding, it has expanded throughout Texas and into Louisiana...

, Zenaida asiatica (R)
Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove is a member of the dove family . The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds...

, Zenaida macroura (n)
Passenger Pigeon
Passenger Pigeon
The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...

, Ectopistes migratorius (E)
Common Ground-Dove
Common Ground Dove
The Common Ground Dove is a small bird that inhabits the southern United States, parts of Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. The Common Ground Dove is considered to be the smallest dove that inhabits the United States...

, Columbina passerina (R)

Lorie
Lorie
Laure Pester, professionally known as Lorie, is a French singer. Her fame can be attributed to producer, songwriter and composer Johnny Williams and her father–manager Dominique Pester...

s, parakeet
Parakeet
Parakeet is a term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized species of parrot, that generally have long tail feathers...

s, macaw
Macaw
Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...

s, and parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

s

Order: Psittaciformes. Family: Psittacidae

Parrot

Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...

Parrots are small to large birds with a characteristic curved beak shape. Their upper mandibles have slight mobility in the joint with the skull and the have a generally erect stance. All parrots are zygodactyl, having the four toes on each foot placed two at the front and two back. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Monk Parakeet
Monk Parakeet
The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrot, is a species of parrot, in most treatments the only member of the genus Myiopsitta. It originates from the temperate to subtropical areas of Argentina and the surrounding countries in South America...

, Myiopsitta monachus (I)

Cuckoo
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...

s, roadrunner
Geococcyx
The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...

s, and anis
Ani (bird)
The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...

Order: Cuculiformes

Cuculiformes

The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...

. Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. In Massachusetts, three species have been recorded.

Common Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....

, Cuculus canorus (R)
Black-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
The Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus, is a cuckoo.Adults have a long brown tail and a black bill. The head and upper parts are brown and the underparts are white. There is a red ring around the eye. Juveniles are drabber, and the eye ring is greenish.Their breeding habitat is edges of...

, Coccyzus erythropthalmus (n)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, is a cuckoo. Common folk-names for this bird in the southern United States are Rain Crow and Storm Crow...

, Coccyzus americanus (n)

Barn owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

s

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Tytonidae

Tytonidae

Barn-owls are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons...

Barn owls are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Barn Owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

, Tyto alba (n)

Typical owl
Typical owl
True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...

s

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Strigidae

Typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. In Massachusetts, 11 species have been recorded.

Eastern Screech-Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
The Eastern Screech Owl or Eastern Screech-Owl is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada.-Description:...

, Megascops asio (n)
Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...

, Bubo virginianus (n)
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...

, Bubo scandiacus
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
The Northern Hawk-Owl is a non-migratory owl that usually stays within its breeding range. It sometimes irrupts southward.-General:It is the only living species in the genus Surnia...

, Surnia ulula (R)
Burrowing Owl
Burrowing Owl
The Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...

, Athene cunicularia (R)
Barred Owl
Barred Owl
The Barred Owl is a large typical owl. It goes by many other names, including eight hooter, rain owl, wood owl, and striped owl, but is probably best known as the hoot owl.-Description:...

, Strix varia (n)
Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa (R)
Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owl
The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...

, Asio otus (n)
Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...

, Asio flammeus (n)
Boreal Owl, Aegolius funereus (R)
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small owl native to North America.-Description:The scientific description of one of the sub-species of this owl is attributed to the Rev. John Henry Keen who was a missionary in Canada in 1896. Adults are long with a wingspan. They can weigh from with an average...

, Aegolius acadicus (n)

Nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

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Order: Caprimulgiformes

Caprimulgiformes

The Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...

. Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills that usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is crypically coloured to resemble bark or leaves. In Massachusetts, three species have been recorded.

Common Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk
The Common Nighthawk is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark , displaying cryptic colouration and intricate patterns, this bird becomes invisible by day. Once aerial, with its buoyant but erratic flight,...

, Chordeiles minor (n)
Chuck-will's-widow
Chuck-will's-widow
The Chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus carolinensis is a nocturnal bird of the nightjar family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the southeastern United States near swamps, rocky uplands, and pine woods...

, Caprimulgus carolinensis
Eastern Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus (n)

Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...

s

Order: Apodiformes

Apodiformes

Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...

. Family: Apodidae

The swifts are small aerial birds, spending the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings that resemble a crescent or a boomerang.

Chimney Swift
Chimney Swift
The Chimney Swift is a small bird .-Physical description:In flight, this bird looks like a flying cigar with long slender curved wings. The plumage is a sooty grey-brown; the throat, breast, underwings and rump are paler. They have short tails.-Reproduction:The breeding season of Chimney Swifts is...

, Chaetura pelagica (n)
Apus sp.
Apus (genus)
The bird genus Apus comprise some of the Old World members of the family Apodidae, commonly known as swifts.They are among the fastest birds in the world. They resemble swallows, to which they are not related, but have shorter tails and sickle-shaped wings...

(R)

Hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

s

Order: Apodiformes

Apodiformes

. Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards. In Massachusetts, six species have been recorded.

Broad-billed Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
The Broad-billed Hummingbird, Cynanthus latirostris, is a medium-sized hummingbird. It is 9–10 cm long, and weighs approximately three to four grams....

, Cynanthus latirostris (R)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird , is a small hummingbird. It is the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi River in North America.- Description :...

, Archilochus colubris (n)
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird
The Black-chinned Hummingbird is a small hummingbird.Adults are metallic green above and white below with green flanks. Their bill is long, straight and very slender. The adult male has a black face and chin, a glossy purple throat band and a dark forked tail...

, Archilochus alexandri (R)
Calliope Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
The Calliope Hummingbird is a very small hummingbird and the smallest bird found in Canada and the United States. It is the only member of the Stellula genus....

, Stellula calliope (R)
Rufous Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
The Rufous Hummingbird is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm long with a long, straight and very slender bill. The female is slightly larger than the male.-Description:...

, Selasphorus rufus (R)
Allen's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
The Allen's Hummingbird, Selasphorus sasin, is a species of hummingbird.The Allen's Hummingbird is a small bird, with mature adults reaching only 3 to 3½ inches in length. The male Allen's has a green back and forehead, with rust-colored rufous flanks, rump, and tail. The male's throat is also an...

, Selasphorus sasin (R)

Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Cerylidae

Water Kingfisher

The water kingfishers or Cerylidae are one of the three families of kingfishers, and are also known as the cerylid kingfishers. All six American species are in this family....

Kingfishers are medium sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
The Belted Kingfisher is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. It is depicted on the 1986 series Canadian $5 note. All kingfishers were formerly placed in one family, Alcedinidae, but recent research suggests...

, Megaceryle alcyon (n)

Woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....

s, sapsucker
Sapsucker
The Sapsuckers form the genus Sphyrapicus within the woodpecker family Picidae. All are found in North America.As their name implies, sapsuckers feed primarily on the sap of trees, moving among different tree and shrub species on a seasonal basis...

s, and flickers

Order: Piciformes

Piciformes

Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...

. Family: Picidae

Picidae

The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions...

Woodpeckers are small to medium sized birds with chisel like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward, and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. In Massachusetts, nine species have been recorded.

Lewis's Woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker
The Lewis's Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis, is a large North American species of woodpecker which was named for Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America during the Louisiana Purchase.-Description:...

, Melanerpes lewis (R)
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
The Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, is a small or medium-sized woodpecker from temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States.-Taxonomy:...

, Melanerpes erythrocephalus (n)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
The Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, is a medium-sized woodpecker of the Picidae family. It breeds in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas...

, Melanerpes carolinus (n)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker found in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.-Taxonomy:...

, Sphyrapicus varius (n)
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...

, Picoides pubescens (n)
Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, averaging approximately 250 mm in length with a 380 mm wingspan...

, Picoides villosus (n)
American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker
The American Three-toed woodpecker, Picoides dorsalis is a medium-sized woodpecker .This woodpecker has a length of 21 cm and a wingspan of 38 cm and closely resembles the Black-backed Woodpecker, which is also three-toed. Until recently, it was considered to be the same species as the Eurasian...

, Picoides dorsalis (R)
Black-backed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
The Black-backed Woodpecker also known as the Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker inhabiting the forests of North America. It is a medium sized woodpecker ....

, Picoides arcticus (R)
Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker
The Northern Flicker is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the Northern Flicker...

, Colaptes auratus (n)
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...

, Dryocopus pileatus (n)

Tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust with stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous. In Massachusetts, 23 species have been recorded.

Olive-sided Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher
The Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus cooperi, is a passerine bird. It is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher.- Description :Adults are dark olive on the face, upperparts and flanks. They have light underparts, a large dark bill and a short tail....

, Contopus cooperi (n)
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Wood Pewee
The Eastern Wood-pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the Western Wood-pewee were formerly considered to be a single species...

, Contopus virens (n)
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have brownish-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with yellowish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail...

, Empidonax flaviventris
Acadian Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
The Acadian Flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.- Description :Adults have olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars and a wide bill. The breast is washed with olive. The upper part of...

, Empidonax virescens (n)
Alder Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
The Alder Flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have olive-brown upperparts, browner on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. The breast is washed with...

, Empidonax alnorum (n)
Willow Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
The Willow Flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-grey. The upper...

, Empidonax traillii (n)
Least Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
The Least Flycatcher , , is a small insect-eating bird...

, Empidonax minimus (n)
Hammond's Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher, Empidonax hammondii is a small insect-eating bird. It is a small Empidonax flycatcher, with typical size ranging from 12.5-14.5 cm....

, Empidonax hammondii (R)
Gray Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
The American Gray Flycatcher, or just Gray Flycatcher, is a small, insectivorous passerine in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is common in the arid regions of western North America, especially the Great Basin...

, Empidonax wrightii (R)
Pacific-slope
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
The Pacific-slope Flycatcher is a small insectivorous bird of the family Tyrannidae. It is native to coastal regions of western North America, including the Pacific Ocean and the southern Sea of Cortez, as far north as British Columbia and southern Alaska, but is replaced in the inland regions by...

/Cordilleran Flycatcher
Cordilleran Flycatcher
The Cordilleran Flycatcher, Empidonax occidentalis, is a small insect-eating bird. It is a small Empidonax flycatcher, with typical length ranging from 13 to 17 cm....

* (R)
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe
The Eastern Phoebe is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal USA....

, Sayornis phoebe (n)
Say's Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
The Say's Phoebe is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have brownish-gray upperparts with an orange-brown belly and light gray on the throat and breast. Juveniles have cinnamon wing bars; adults have no wing bars....

, Sayornis saya (R)
Vermilion Flycatcher
Vermilion Flycatcher
The Vermilion Flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Tyrannidae, or tyrant flycatcher family. Most flycatchers are rather drab, but the Vermilion Flycatcher is a striking exception...

, Pyrocephalus rubinus (R)
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher
The Ash-throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in desert scrub, riparian forest, brushy pastures and open woodland from the western United States to central Mexico. It is a short-distance migrant, retreating from most of the U.S....

, Myiarchus cinerascens (R)
Sulphur-bellied
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
The Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Myiodynastes luteiventris, is a large Tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southeasternmost Arizona of the United States-, to Costa Rica...

/Streaked Flycatcher
Streaked Flycatcher
The Streaked Flycatcher, Myiodynastes maculatus, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from eastern Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago south to Bolivia and Argentina. The southern subspecies M. m...

* (R)
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
The Great Crested Flycatcher is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus, Myiarchus, in North America and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent...

, Myiarchus crinitus (n)
Tropical Kingbird
Tropical Kingbird
The Tropical Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the USA through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina and western Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago...

, Tyrannus melancholicus (R)
Couch's Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
The Couch's Kingbird, Tyrannus couchii, is a passerine tyrant flycatcher of the kingbird genus. It is found from southern Texas along the Gulf Coast to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Belize and northern Guatemala...

, Tyrannus couchii (R)
Cassin's Kingbird
Cassin's Kingbird
The Cassin's Kingbird, Tyrannus vociferans, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.Adults have a gray head with slightly darker cheeks; a dark unforked tail with a buffy fringe and gray-olive underparts.They have a pale throat and deep yellow lower breast....

, Tyrannus vociferans (R)
Western Kingbird
Western Kingbird
The Western Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-olive on the upperparts with a grey head and a dark line through the eyes; the underparts are light becoming light orange-yellow on the lower breast and belly. They have a long black tail with white outer feathers...

, Tyrannus verticalis
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-black on the upperparts with light underparts; they have a long black tail with a white end and long pointed wings. They have a red patch on their crown, seldom seen...

, Tyrannus tyrannus (n)
Gray Kingbird
Gray Kingbird
The Gray Kingbird, also known as Pitirre, Tyrannus dominicensis, is a passerine bird. It breeds from the extreme southeast of the USA through Central America, from Cuba to Puerto Rico as well as eastward towards all across the Lesser West Indies, south to Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago the Guiana and...

, Tyrannus dominicensis (R)
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is a long-tailed insectivorous bird of the genus, whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbirds are a group of large insectivorous birds in the tyrant flycatcher family...

, Tyrannus forficatus
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
The Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus savana, is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds.-Description and ecology:...

, Tyrannus savana (R)

Shrike
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Loggerhead Shrike
Loggerhead Shrike
The Loggerhead Shrike is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic....

, Lanius ludovicianus (n-ex)
Northern Shrike, Lanius excubitor

Vireo
Vireo
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Vireonidae

The vireos are a group of small to medium sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically greenish in colour and resemble wood warblers apart from their heavier bills. In Massachusetts, seven species have been recorded.

White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo, Vireo griseus, is a small songbird. It breeds in the southeastern USA from New Jersey west to northern Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also in eastern Mexico, northern Central America, Cuba and the Bahamas....

, Vireo griseus (n)
Bell's Vireo
Bell's Vireo
The Bell's Vireo is a small North American songbird. It is 4-3/4 to 5 inches in length, dull olive-gray above and whitish below...

, Vireo bellii (R)
Yellow-throated Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
The Yellow-throated Vireo, Vireo flavifrons, is a small American songbird.Adults are mainly olive on the head and upperparts with a yellow throat and white belly; they have dark eyes with yellow "spectacles". The tail and wings are dark with white wing bars...

, Vireo flavifrons (n)
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
The Blue-headed Vireo is a Neotropical migrating song bird found in North and Central America. There are currently two recognized sub-species that belong to the Blue-headed Vireo. It has a range that extends across Canada and the eastern coast of the United-States, Mexico and some of Central America...

, Vireo solitarius (n)
Warbling Vireo
Warbling Vireo
The Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus, is a small North American songbird.Its breeding habitat is open deciduous and mixed woods from Alaska to Mexico and the Florida Panhandle. It often nests along streams. It migrates to Mexico and Central America....

, Vireo gilvus (n)
Philadelphia Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
The Philadelphia Vireo, Vireo philadelphicus, is a small songbird.Adults are mainly olive-brown on the upperparts with yellow underparts; they have dark eyes and a grey crown. There is a dark line through the eyes and a white stripe just over them. They have thick blue-grey legs and a stout...

, Vireo philadelphicus
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
The Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus, is a small American songbird, 13–14 cm in length. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers...

, Vireo olivaceus (n)

Jay
Jay
The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

s, crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s, magpie
Magpie
Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...

s, and raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Corvidae

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...

The Corvidae family includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers, and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show levels of learned behavior of a high degree. In Massachusetts, six species have been recorded.

Gray Jay
Gray Jay
The Gray Jay , also Grey Jay, Canada Jay, or Whiskey Jack, is a member of the crow and jay family found in the boreal forests across North America north to the tree-line and in subalpine forests of the Rocky Mountains south to New Mexico and Arizona...

, Perisoreus canadensis (R)
Blue Jay
Blue Jay
The Blue Jay is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to North America. It is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. It breeds in both deciduous and coniferous forests, and is common near and in...

, Cyanocitta cristata (n)
Eurasian Jackdaw, Corvus monedula (R)
American Crow
American Crow
The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America...

, Corvus brachyrhynchos (n)
Fish Crow
Fish Crow
The Fish Crow is a species of crow that is associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States.-Taxonomy:The Fish Crow was first described by Alexander Wilson in 1812...

, Corvus ossifragus (n)
Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...

, Corvus corax (n)

Lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris (n)

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Hirundinidae

The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. In Massachusetts, nine species have been recorded.

Purple Martin
Purple Martin
The Purple Martin is the largest North American swallow. These aerial acrobats have speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked.-Description and taxonomy:...

, Progne subis (n)
Brown-chested Martin
Brown-chested Martin
The Brown-chested Martin is a species of passerine bird in the swallow family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and is a vagrant to Chile and...

, Progne tapera (R)
Tree Swallow
Tree Swallow
The Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, is a migratory passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe....

, Tachycineta bicolor (n)
Violet-green Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
The Violet-green Swallow, Tachycineta thalassina, is a small North American swallow.Their breeding habitat is semi-open areas in western North America from Alaska to Mexico...

, Tachycineta thalassina (R)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a small swallow.Adults are 13–15 cm in length, brown on top with light underparts and a forked tail. They are similar in appearance to the Bank Swallow but have a dusky throat and breast...

, Stelgidopteryx serripennis (n)
Bank Swallow, Riparia riparia (n)
Cliff Swallow
Cliff Swallow
The Cliff Swallow is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae — the swallows and martins.It breeds in North America, and is migratory, wintering in western South America from Venezuela southwards to northeast Argentina...

, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (n)
Cave Swallow
Cave Swallow
The Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, is a medium-sized, squarish tailed swallow belonging to the same genus as the more familiar and widespread Cliff Swallow of North America...

, Petrochelidon fulva (R)
Barn Swallow
Barn Swallow
The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...

, Hirundo rustica (n)

Chickadee
Chickadee
Chickadee is a group of birds in the Paridae familyChickadee may also refer to:* USS Chickadee , a minesweeper in the United States Navy* Chickadee , a Canadian children's magazine-See also:* Black-capped Chickadee...

s and titmice
Titmouse
The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects. In Massachusetts, three species have been recorded.

Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
The Black-capped Chickadee is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada...

, Poecile atricapilla (n)
Boreal Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
The Boreal Chickadee is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae.-Description:...

, Poecile hudsonica
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse
The Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family . The Black-crested Titmouse, found from central and southern Texas southwards, was included as a subspecies but is now considered a separate species B...

, Baeolophus bicolor (n)

Nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...

es

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Sittidae

Sittidae

Sittidae is a family of small passerine birds which contains the single genus Sitta containing about 24 species of nuthatches, which are found across Eurasia and North America....

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
The Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis, is a small songbird. The adult has blue-grey upperparts with cinnamon underparts, a white throat and face with a black stripe through the eyes, a straight grey bill and a black crown. Its call, which has been likened to a tin trumpet, is high-pitched...

, Sitta canadensis (n)
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird of the nuthatch family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are...

, Sitta carolinensis (n)

Treecreeper
Treecreeper
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

Brown Creeper
Brown Creeper
-Description:Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long tail. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female...

, Certhia americana (n)

Wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and inconspicuous birds, except for their loud songs. They have short wings and a thin down-turned bill. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous. In Massachusetts, seven species have been recorded.

Rock Wren
Rock Wren
The Rock Wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is the only species in the genus Salpinctes.The 12 cm long adults have grey-brown upperparts with small black and white spots and pale grey underparts with a light brown rump...

, Salpinctes obsoletus (R)
Carolina Wren
Carolina Wren
The Carolina Wren is a common species of wren, resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico...

, Thryothorus ludovicianus (n)
Bewick's Wren
Bewick's Wren
The Bewick's Wren is a wren native to North America. At about 14 cm long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina Wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other...

, Thryomanes bewickii (R)
House Wren
House Wren
The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...

, Troglodytes aedon (n)
Winter Wren
Winter Wren
The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...

, Troglodytes troglodytes (n)
Sedge Wren
Sedge Wren
The Sedge Wren, Cistothorus platensis, is a small songbird of the Wren family. It was formerly known as the Short-billed Marsh Wren, and in South America is known as the Grass Wren. There are about 20 different subspecies which are found across most of the Americas...

, Cistothorus platensis (n)
Marsh Wren
Marsh Wren
The Marsh Wren is a small North American songbird of the wren family. It is sometimes called Long-billed Marsh Wren to distinguish it from the Sedge Wren, also known as Short-billed Marsh Wren....

, Cistothorus palustris (n)

Kinglet
Kinglet
The kinglets or crests are a small group of birds sometimes included in the Old World warblers, but are frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice. The scientific name Regulidae is derived from the Latin word regulus for "petty king" or prince, and comes from the...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Regulidae

The kinglets are a small family of birds which resemble the titmice. They are very small insectivorous birds in the genus Regulus. The adults have coloured crowns, giving rise to their name. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Golden-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
The Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, is a very small songbird.Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black...

, Regulus satrapa (n)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula (n)

Gnatcatcher
Gnatcatcher
The 15-20 species of small passerine birds in the gnatcatcher family occur in North and South America . Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are resident, but the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the USA and southern Canada migrates south in winter...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Polioptilidae

These dainty birds resemble Old World warbler

Old World warbler

The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...

s in their structure and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers are mainly soft bluish grey in colour, and have the typical insectivore's long sharp bill. Many species have distinctive black head patterns (esp. males) and long, regularly cocked, black-and-white tails.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, is a very small songbird.Adult males are blue-grey on the upperparts with white underparts and have a long slender bill, long black tail and an angry black unibrow. Females are less blue without the unibrow...

, Polioptila caerulea (n)

Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

The Old World Flycatchers are a large family of small passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

bird

Bird

s mostly restricted to the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

. These are mainly small arboreal insectivore

Insectivore

An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....

s, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.

Northern Wheatear
Northern Wheatear
The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...

, Oenanthe oenanthe (R)

Thrushes
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Turdidae

The Thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. In Massachusetts, 13 species have been recorded.

Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....

, Sialia sialis (n)
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
The Mountain Bluebird is a medium-sized bird weighing about 2-5 ounces, with a length from 15–20 cm . They have light underbellies and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter beneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast,...

, Sialia currucoides (R)
Townsend's Solitaire
Townsend's Solitaire
Townsend's Solitaire is a medium-sized thrush, the only solitaire native to America north of Mexico.-Range and habitat:...

, Myadestes townsendi (R)
Veery
Veery
The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a small thrush species. It is occasionally called Willow Thrush or Wilson's Thrush. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant Catharus species, which also includes the cryptotaxa Grey-cheeked Thrush and Bicknell's Thrush The Veery, Catharus fuscescens, is a...

, Catharus fuscescens (n)
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush
The Grey-cheeked Thrush, Catharus minimus, is a medium-sized thrush. This species is 15–17 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes. It is a member of a close-knit group of migrant species together with the Veery and Bicknell's Thrush ;...

, Catharus minimus
Bicknell's Thrush
Bicknell's Thrush
The Bicknell's Thrush, Catharus bicknelli, is a medium-sized thrush, at 17.5 cm and 28 g . It was named after Eugene Bicknell, an American amateur ornithologist, who discovered the species on Slide Mountain in the Catskills in the late 19th century.Adults are olive-brown on the upperparts,...

, Catharus bicknelli (n)
Swainson's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush , also called Olive-backed Thrush, is a medium-sized thrush. This species is 16–18 cm in length, and has the white-dark-white underwing pattern characteristic of Catharus thrushes...

, Catharus ustulatus (n)
Hermit Thrush
Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-thrush.-Description:...

, Catharus guttatus (n)
Wood Thrush
Wood Thrush
The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American Robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico...

, Hylocichla mustelina (n)
Fieldfare
Fieldfare
The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...

, Turdus pilaris (R)
American Robin
American Robin
The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family...

, Turdus migratorius (n)
Varied Thrush
Varied Thrush
The Varied Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It breeds in western North America from Alaska to northern California. It is migratory, with northern breeders moving south within or somewhat beyond the breeding range...

, Ixoreus naevius

Mockingbird
Mockingbird
Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. There are about 17 species in three genera...

s and thrasher
Thrasher
Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the Mimidae family. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera.These do not form a clade but are a phenetic assemblage...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Mimidae

The Mimids are a family of passerine birds that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance. In Massachusetts, four species have been recorded.

Gray Catbird
Gray Catbird
The Gray Catbird , also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the "catbird" genus Dumetella...

, Dumetella carolinensis (n)
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Mockingbird
The Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Turdus polyglottos....

, Mimus polyglottos (n)
Sage Thrasher
Sage Thrasher
The Sage Thrasher is a medium-sized passerine bird from the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds, tremblers and New World catbirds. It is the only member of the genus Oreoscoptes. This seems less close to the Caribbean thrashers, but rather to the mockingbirds instead .O...

, Oreoscoptes montanus (R)
Brown Thrasher
Brown Thrasher
The Brown Thrasher , sometimes erroneously called the Brown Thrush, is a bird in the Mimidae family, a group that also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds.-Description:...

, Toxostoma rufum (n)

Starling
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

passerine birds with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct, and most are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit. The plumage of several species is dark with a metallic sheen. In Massachusetts, one species has been recorded.

European Starling
European Starling
The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...

, Sturnus vulgaris (I) (n)

Wagtail
Wagtail
The wagtails form the passerine bird genus Motacilla. They are small birds with long tails which they wag frequently. Motacilla, the root of the family and genus name, means moving tail...

s and pipit
Pipit
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, Anthus, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Motacillidae

Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

American Pipit
Buff-bellied Pipit
The Buff-bellied Pipit , or American Pipit as it is known in North America, is a small songbird found on both sides of the northern Pacific. It was first described by Marmaduke Tunstall in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica...

, Anthus rubescens
Sprague's Pipit
Sprague's Pipit
Sprague's Pipit is a small passerine bird that breeds in the short and mixed-grass prairies of North America and overwinters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Easiest to identify by the distinctive descending call that is delivered in the breeding season from a considerable...

, Anthus spragueii (R)

Waxwing
Waxwing
The waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae.-Description:Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Bombycillidae

The Waxwings are a group of passerine birds characterised by soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax, and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter. In Massachusetts, two species have been recorded.

Bohemian Waxwing
Bohemian Waxwing
The Bohemian Waxwing is a member of the waxwing family of passerines. A sleek bird, 18–21 cm long with a pointed crest, it travels in large, nomadic groups with a strong, direct flight. It breeds in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and western North America...

, Bombycilla garrulus
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
The Cedar Waxwing is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It breeds in open wooded areas in North America, principally southern Canada and the northern United States.-Description:...

, Bombycilla cedrorum (n)

Silky-flycatcher
Silky-flycatcher
The silky-flycatchers are a small family, Ptilogonatidae , of passerine birds. The family contains only four species in three genera. They were formerly lumped with waxwings and Hypocolius in the family Bombycillidae, and they are listed in that family by the Sibley-Monroe checklist...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Ptilogonatidae

Phainopepla
Phainopepla
The Phainopepla is the most northerly representative of the mainly tropical Central American family Ptilogonatidae, the silky flycatchers.-Description:...

, Phainopepla nitens (R)

Longspurs

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Calcariidae

Calcariidae

The Calcariidae -commonly known as longspurs or snow buntings- are a small family of passerine birds. There are 3 genera and 6 species worldwide.- Taxonomy :...

The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that have been traditionally grouped with the Emberizeridae (New World Sparrows), but differe in a number of respects, and are usually found in open grassy areas.

McCown's Longspur
McCown's Longspur
The McCown's Longspur is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the longspurs and snow buntings.-Description:...

, Rhyncophanes mccownii (R)
Lapland Longspur, Calcarius lapponicus
Smith's Longspur
Smith's Longspur
The Smith's Longspur, Calcarius pictus, is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the longspurs.-Overview:These birds have short cone-shaped bills, streaked backs, and dark tails with white outer retrices...

, Calcarius pictus (R)
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Chestnut-collared Longspur
The Chestnut-collared Longspur, Calcarius ornatus, is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae which also contains the longspurs.-Overview:...

, Calcarius ornatus (R)
Snow Bunting
Snow Bunting
The Snow Bunting , sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere...

, Plectrophenax nivalis

Wood-warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Parulidae

The Wood Warblers are a group of small often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some like are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores. In Massachusetts, 43 species have been recorded. In August 2011, the North American Committee of the AOU changed their classification of many of the wood warbers. Since this list is based on the AOU classification, changes to scientific names are updated here. Since many other taxonomic committees have yet to rule on these changes(including the South American Committee of the AOU, or have ruled in other ways, species pages remain with their original scientific names until more of a consensus is achieved.

Blue-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
The Blue-winged Warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera, is a fairly common New World warbler, 11.5 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern USA. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related...

, Vermivora cyanoptera (n)
Golden-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
The Golden-winged Warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera, is a New World warbler, 11.6 cm long and weighing 8.5 g. It breeds in eastern North America, southeastern Canada and the eastern USA...

, Vermivora chrysoptera (n)
Tennessee Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
The Tennessee Warbler, Oreothlypis peregrina, is a New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America across Canada and the northern USA. It is migratory, wintering in southern Central America and northern Colombia and Venezuela, with a few stragglers going as far south as Ecuador. It is a...

, Oreothlypis peregrina
Orange-crowned Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds are distinguished by their lack of wing bars, streaking on the underparts, strong face marking or bright colouring, resembling a fall Tennessee Warbler. The orange patch on the crown is usually not visible...

, Oreothlypis celata
Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler
The Nashville Warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, is a small songbird in the New World warbler family.They have olive-brown upperparts, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast; they have a white eye ring, no wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Adult males have a grey head with a rusty crown patch ;...

, Oreothlypis ruficapilla(n)
Lucy's Warbler
Lucy's Warbler
Lucy's Warbler, Oreothlypis luciae, is the smallest New World warbler found in North America, measuring a mere 4.25 inches in length....

, 'Oreothlypis' luciae (R)
Hooded Warbler
Hooded Warbler
The Hooded Warbler, Wilsonia citrina, is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America and across the eastern USA and into southernmost Canada, . It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies...

, Setophaga citrina (n)
Northern Parula
Northern Parula
The Northern Parula, Parula americana, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....

, Setophaga americana (n)
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Dendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...

, Setophaga petechia (n)
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
The Chestnut-sided Warbler is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies...

, Setophaga pensylvanica (n)
Magnolia Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Setophaga magnolia, commonly known as the Magnolia warbler, is a member of the Parulidae family of wood warblers. [4] This warbler was first discovered in magnolia trees in the 19th century by famed ornithologist Alexander Wilson while in Mississippi. [7]-Description:The magnolia warbler can be...

, Setophaga magnolia (n)
Cape May Warbler
Cape May Warbler
The Cape May Warbler, Dendroica tigrina, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding habitat spans across all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies...

, Setophaga tigrina
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
The Black-throated Blue Warbler, Setophaga caerulescens, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.Adult males have white underparts with black throat, face and flanks; the upperparts are deep blue; immature males are similar with upperparts more greenish...

, Setophaga caerulescens (n)
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler , its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler , the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler , and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler —are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler .-Classification:Since...

, Setophaga coronata (n)
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
The Black-throated Gray Warbler is a songbird of the New World warbler family. It is 13 cm long and has black, grey, and white plumage. It breeds in western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States...

, Setophaga nigrescens (R)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
The Black-throated Green Warbler, Setophaga virens, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.It is 12 cm long and weighs 9 g, and has an olive-green crown, a yellow face with olive markings, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, an olive-green back and pale underparts with...

, Setophaga virens (n)
Townsend's Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
The Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have a yellow face with a black stripe across their cheeks, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, olive upperparts with black streaks on their backs and flanks, and a white belly...

, Setophaga townsendi (R)
Hermit Warbler
Hermit Warbler
The Hermit Warbler, Dendroica occidentalis, is a small perching bird. It is a species of New World warbler.Mature Hermit Warblers normally grow to be 4½ to 5 inches long. Hermit Warblers are dark gray in coloration on top, and white below, and their flanks are streaked with black. The wings...

, Setophaga occidentalis (R)
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
The Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica fusca , is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina....

, Setophaga fusca (n)
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
The Yellow-throated Warbler, Dendroica dominica, is a small migratory songbird species breeding in temperate North America. It belongs to the New World warbler family .-Description:...

, Setophaga dominica
Pine Warbler
Pine Warbler
The Pine Warbler, Dendroica pinus, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have white bellies, white wing bars, dark legs and thin, relatively long pointed bills; they have yellowish lines over their eyes. Adult males have olive upperparts and bright yellow throats and...

, Setophaga pinus (n)
Prairie Warbler
Prairie Warbler
The Prairie Warbler, Dendroica discolor, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks, and olive upperparts with rusty streaks on the back; they have a yellow line above the eye, a dark line through it, and a yellow spot...

, Setophaga discolor (n)
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
The Palm Warbler, Dendroica palmarum, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.The species comprises two distinct subspecies that may merit specific status....

, Setophaga palmarum
Bay-breasted Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
The Bay-breasted Warbler, Dendroica castanea , is a New World warbler. They breed in northern North America, specifically in Canada, into the Great Lakes region, and into northern New England....

, Setophaga castanea
Blackpoll Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
The Blackpoll Warbler, Dendroica striata , is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks and white wing bars. The Blackpoll breeds in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and...

, Setophaga striata (n)
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
The Cerulean Warbler, Dendroica cerulea, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.-Description:Adult males have pale cerulean blue upperparts and white underparts with a black necklace across the breast; they also have black streaks on the back and flanks...

, Setophaga cerulea (n)
American Redstart
American Redstart
The American Redstart is a New World warbler. It is the only member of its genus and is unrelated to the Old World redstarts. It derives its name from the male's red tail, start being an old word for tail.-Description:...

, Setophaga ruticilla (n)
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
The Black-and-white Warbler is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern and eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....

, Mniotilta varia (n)
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
The Prothonotary Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria....

, Protonotaria citrea (n)
Worm-eating Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
The Worm-eating Warbler is a small New World warbler. It is the only species classified in the genus Helmitheros....

, Helmitheros vermivorus (n)
Swainson's Warbler
Swainson's Warbler
Swainson's Warbler, Limnothlypis swainsonii, is a small species of New World warbler. It is monotypic, the only member of the genus Limnothlypis.-Description:...

, Limnothlypis swainsonii (R)
Ovenbird
Ovenbird
The Ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family . This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and moves south in winter.-Taxonomy:...

, Seiurus aurocapilla (n)
Northern Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
The Northern Waterthrush is one of the larger New World warblers. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada, and in the northern United States, . This bird is migratory, wintering in Central America, the West Indies, and Florida; also Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador...

, Parkesia noveboracensis (n)
Louisiana Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
The Louisiana Waterthrush is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southernmost Canada and south through the eastern USA, excluding Florida and the coast....

, Parkesia motacilla (n)
Connecticut Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
The Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These 15 cm long birds have light yellow underparts and olive upperparts; they have a light eye ring, pink legs, a long tail, pale wing bars and a thin pointed bill...

, Oporornis agilis
Mourning Warbler
Mourning Warbler
The Mourning Warbler, Oporornis philadelphia, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These 13 cm long birds have yellow underparts, olive-green upperparts and pink legs. Adult males have a grey hood and a black patch on the throat and breast...

, Geothlypis philadelphia (n)
MacGillivray's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
The MacGillivray's Warbler, Oporornis tolmiei, is a small species of New World warbler. Like all members of the genus Oporornis, these birds are sluggish and heavy warblers with short tails, preferring to spend most of their time on, or near the ground, except when singing.The MacGillivray's...

, Geothlypis tolmiei (R)
Kentucky Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
The Kentucky Warbler, Oporornis formosus, is a small species of New World warbler. The Kentucky Warbler, like all members of the genus Oporornis, is a sluggish and heavy warbler with a short tail, preferring to spend most of its time on or near the ground, except when singing.Adult Kentucky...

, Geothlypis formosa
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
The Common Yellowthroat is a New World warbler. They are abundant breeders in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico....

, Geothlypis trichas (n)
Wilson's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
The Wilson's Warbler, Wilsonia pusilla, is a small New World warbler. It is primarily greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch which is greatly reduced or missing entirely in the female...

, Cardellina pusilla
Canada Warbler
Canada Warbler
The Canada Warbler is a small 13 cm long songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have yellow underparts, blue-grey upperparts and pink legs; they also have yellow eye-rings and thin, pointed bills. Adult males have black foreheads and black necklaces...

, Cardellina canadensis (n)
Painted Redstart
Painted Redstart
The Painted Redstart, Myioborus pictus, is a species of New World warbler. It is also known as the Painted Whitestart.-Taxonomy:When he first described the species in 1829, naturalist William John Swainson assigned it to the genus Setophaga — the same genus as that of the American Redstart — where...

, Myioborus pictus (R)
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat
The Yellow-breasted Chat is a large songbird, formerly considered the most atypical member of the New World warbler family, though the long-standing suspicion is that it does not actually belong there. Its placement is not definitely resolved. It is the only member of the genus Icteria...

, Icteria virens (n)

American sparrow
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....

s, towhee
Towhee
A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the genus Pipilo or Melozone within the family Emberizidae ....

s, and junco
Junco
A Junco , genus Junco, is a small North American bird. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Emberizidae

Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as Sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns. In Massachusetts, 32 species have been recorded.

Green-tailed Towhee
Green-tailed Towhee
The Green-tailed Towhee, Pipilo chlorurus, is the smallest towhee, but is still one of the larger members of the "American sparrow" family Emberizidae....

, Pipilo chlorurus (R)
Spotted Towhee
Spotted Towhee
The Spotted Towhee is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Eastern Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee...

, Pipilo maculatus (R)
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Towhee
The Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Spotted Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee....

, Pipilo erythrophthalmus (n)
American Tree Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
The American Tree Sparrow , formerly known as the Winter Sparrow, is a medium-sized sparrow.Adults have a rusty cap and grey underparts with a small dark spot on the breast. They have a rusty back with lighter stripes, brown wings with white bars and a slim tail. Their face is grey with a rusty...

, Spizella arborea
Chipping Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
The Chipping Sparrow is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. It is widespread, fairly tame, and common across most of its North American range.-Description:...

, Spizella passerina (n)
Clay-colored Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
The Clay-colored Sparrow is a small sparrow of North America.-Overview:Adults have light brown upperparts and pale underparts, with darker streaks on the back. They have a pale crown stripe on a dark brown crown, a white line over the eyes, a dark line through the eyes, a light brown cheek patch...

, Spizella pallida
Brewer's Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.-Description and systematics:...

, Spizella breweri (R)
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow
The Field Sparrow is a small sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts, a light brown breast, a white belly, wing bars and a forked tail. They have a grey face, a rusty crown, a white eye ring and a pink bill....

, Spizella pusilla (n)
Vesper Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
The Vesper Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Pooecetes.Adults have light brown upperparts and light underparts, both with darker streaking. They have a white eye ring and a long dark brown tail which shows white outer feathers in flight.Their breeding...

, Pooecetes gramineus (n)
Lark Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
The Lark Sparrow is a fairly large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Chondestes.This passerine bird breeds in southern Canada, much of the United States, and northern Mexico. It is much less common in the east, where its range is contracting...

, Chondestes grammacus
Lark Bunting
Lark Bunting
The Lark Bunting is a medium-sized sparrow. It is monotypic, the only member of the genus Calamospiza .-Overview:...

, Calamospiza melanocorys (R)
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
The Savannah Sparrow is a small American sparrow. It is the only widely accepted member of the genus Passerculus...

, Passerculus sandwichensis (n)
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
The Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, is a small sparrow. The Ammodramus genus of 11 species inhabit grasslands and marshes....

, Ammodramus savannarum (n)
Henslow's Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, is a small American sparrow.Adults have streaked brown upperparts with a light brown breast with streaks, a white belly and a white throat...

, Ammodramus henslowii (n)(R)
Le Conte's Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
The Le Conte’s Sparrow, Ammodramus leconteii, is one of the smallest sparrow species in North America.It is a very secretive bird that prefers to spend most of its time on the ground under the cover of tall grasses. They are typically very difficult to flush, often only flushing at a distance of...

, Ammodramus leconteii (R)
Nelson's Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
The Nelson's Sparrow is a small sparrow. Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, a cream-coloured breast with light or indistinct streaking and a white throat and belly; they have an orange face with grey cheeks and a short pointed tail.Their breeding habitat is marshes on...

, Ammodramus nelsoni
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
The Saltmarsh Sparrow, Ammodramus caudacutus, is a small sparrow. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's Sparrow were thought to be a single species, the Sharp-tailed Sparrow...

, Ammodramus caudacutus (n)
Seaside Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
The Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus, is a small American sparrow. The 11 Ammodramus species inhabit marshes and grasslands.Adults have brownish upperparts with grey on the crown and nape, and a grayish buff colored breast with dark streaks; they have a dark face with grey cheeks, a white...

, Ammodramus maritimus (n)
Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
The Fox Sparrow is a large American sparrow. It is the only member of the genus Passerella, although some authors split the genus into four species .-Taxonomy:...

, Passerella iliaca
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
The Song Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is grey with a streak...

, Melospiza melodia (n)
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
The Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii, is a medium-sized sparrow.Adults have dark-streaked olive-brown upperparts with a light brown breast with fine streaks, a white belly, and a white throat. They have a brown cap with a grey stripe in the middle, olive-brown wings, and a narrow tail. Their...

, Melospiza lincolnii (n)
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
The Swamp Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow related to the Song Sparrow.Adults have streaked rusty, buff and black upperparts with a gray breast, light belly and a white throat. The wings are strikingly rusty. Most males and a few females have a rust-colored caps. Their face is gray with a dark...

, Melospiza georgiana (n)
White-throated Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae.-Description:The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae...

, Zonotrichia albicollis (n)
Harris's Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
The Harris's Sparrow, Zonotrichia querula, is a large sparrow.Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada . In fact, this bird is Canada's only endemic breeder...

, Zonotrichia querula (R)
White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
The White-crowned Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow native to North America.- Description :Adults are long and have black and white stripes on their head, a grey face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are grey. Their bill is pink or yellow...

, Zonotrichia leucophrys
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
The Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla, is a medium-sized sparrow. It is slightly larger than the closely related White-crowned Sparrow.-Description:...

, Zonotrichia atricapilla (R)
Dark-eyed Junco
Dark-eyed Junco
The Dark-eyed Junco is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic...

, Junco hyemalis (n)

Cardinal
Cardinal (bird)
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....

s, grosbeak
Grosbeak
Grosbeak is a form taxon containing several species of seed-eating passerine birds with large beaks. Although they all belong to the superfamily Passeroidea, they are not a natural group but rather a polyphyletic assemblage of distantly related songbirds....

s and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Cardinalidae

The Cardinals are a family of passerine birds that are robust, seed-eating birds, with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages. In Massachusetts, eight species have been recorded.

Summer Tanager
Summer Tanager
The Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra, is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family...

, Piranga rubra
Scarlet Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
The Scarlet Tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family . The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.-Description:Adults have pale...

, Piranga olivacea (n)
Western Tanager
Western Tanager
The Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family , it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family...

, Piranga ludoviciana (R)
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...

, Cardinalis cardinalis (n)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, is a large seed-eating songbird in the cardinal family . It breeds in cool-temperate North America, migrating to tropical America in winter.-Description:...

, Pheucticus ludovicianus (n)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak
The Black-headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalus, is a medium-size seed-eating bird in the same family as the Northern Cardinal, the Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, P...

, Pheucticus melanocephalus (R)
Blue Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak , is a medium-sized seed-eating bird in the same family as the Northern Cardinal, "tropical" or New World buntings, and "cardinal-grosbeaks" or New World grosbeaks....

, Passerina caerulea (n)
Lazuli Bunting
Lazuli Bunting
The Lazuli Bunting, Passerina amoena, is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli.The male is easily recognized by its bright blue head and back , its conspicuous white wingbars, and its light rusty breast and white belly...

, Passerina amoena (R)
Indigo Bunting
Indigo Bunting
The Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the...

, Passerina cyanea (n)
Painted Bunting
Painted Bunting
The Painted Bunting is a species of bird in the Cardinal family, Cardinalidae, that is native to North America.-Taxonomy:...

, Passerina ciris (R)
Dickcissel
Dickcissel
The Dickcissel is a small American seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is the only member of the genus Spiza, though some sources list another supposedly extinct species...

, Spiza americana (n)

Blackbird
Icterid
The Icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. The family is extremely varied in size, shape, behavior and coloration...

s, meadowlark
Meadowlark
Meadowlarks are birds belonging to the genus Sturnella in the New World family Icteridae.This genus includes seven species of largely insectivorous grassland birds...

s, cowbird
Cowbird
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are brood parasitic New World birds which are unrelated to the Old World cuckoos, one of which, the Common Cuckoo, is the best-known brood parasitic bird....

s, grackle
Grackle
Grackle can refer to any of eleven black passerine birds native to North and South America. All are members of the Icterid family but belong to multiple genera.* Genus Quiscalus** Boat-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus major...

s, and oriole
New World oriole
New World orioles, comprising the genus Icterus, are a group of birds in the blackbird family. They are not related to Old World orioles which are in the family Oriolidae, but are strikingly similar in size, diet, behaviour and in their strongly contrasting plumage, and are a good example of...

s

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Icteridae

The Icterids are a group of small to medium, often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage colour, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. In Massachusetts, 12 species have been recorded.

Bobolink
Bobolink
The Bobolink is a small New World blackbird and the only member of genus Dolichonyx.-Description:Adults are 16–18 cm long with short finch-like bills. They weigh about . Adult males are mostly black, although they do display creamy napes, and white scapulars, lower backs and rumps...

, Dolichonyx oryzivorus (n)
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...

, Agelaius phoeniceus (n)
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark
The Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to the Western Meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to South America, where it is also most widespread in the east.-Description:...

, Sturnella magna (n)
Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Not to be confused with Eastern MeadowlarkThe Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America. It feeds mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries...

, Sturnella neglecta (R)
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird, and the only member of the genus Xanthocephalus....

, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Rusty Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
The Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus, is a medium-sized blackbird, closely related to grackles .-Appearance:...

, Euphagus carolinus (n)
Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
The Brewer's Blackbird is a medium-sized New World blackbird, named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer....

, Euphagus cyanocephalus (R)
Boat-tailed
Boat-tailed Grackle
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the southeastern USA. It is found in coastal saltwater marshes, and, in Florida, also on inland waters. The nest is a well-concealed cup in trees or shrubs near water; three to five...

/Great-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
The Great-tailed Grackle is a medium-sized, gregarious passerine bird native to North and South America. A member of the Icteridae family, it is of the ten extant species of grackle and is closely related to the Red-bellied Grackle and the Velvet-fronted Grackle...

* (R)
Common Grackle
Common Grackle
The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large icterid.-Description:The long adult has a long dark bill, pale yellowish eyes and a long tail; its feathers appear black with purple, green or blue iridescence on the head, and primarily bronze shine in the body plumage...

, Quiscalus quiscula (n)
Shiny Cowbird
Shiny Cowbird
The Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis, is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America apart from the most dense jungles, mountains and deserts , the coldest southernmost regions , and on Trinidad and Tobago...

, Molothrus bonariensis (R)
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasitic icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or...

, Molothrus ater (n)
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Oriole
The Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, is the smallest North American species of icterid blackbird. The subspecies of the Caribbean coast of Mexico, I. s. fuertesi, is sometimes considered a separate species, the Ochre Oriole....

, Icterus spurius (n)
Bullock's Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
The Bullock's Oriole, , is a small New World blackbird. At one time, this species and the Baltimore Oriole were considered to be a single species, the Northern Oriole...

, Icterus bullockii (R)
Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
The Baltimore Oriole is a small icterid blackbird that averages 18 cm long and weighs 34 g. This bird received its name from the fact that the male's colors resemble those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore...

, Icterus galbula (n)

Finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Fringillidae

Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have 12 tail feathers and 9 primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. In Massachusetts, 12 species have been recorded.

Common Chaffinch
Chaffinch
The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...

, Fringilla coelebs (R)
Brambling
Brambling
The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Etymology :The common English name is probably derived from the German "brâma", meaning bramble or a thorny bush. It has also been called the Cock o' the North and the Mountain Finch.- Description...

, Fringilla montifringilla (R)
Pine Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak
left|thumb|Adult femaleThe Pine Grosbeak is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and Siberia...

, Pinicola enucleator
Purple Finch
Purple Finch
The Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae.-Taxonomy:The Purple Finch is one of 24 birds in the genus Carpodacus and is included in the finch...

, Carpodacus purpureus (n)
House Finch
House Finch
The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus...

, Carpodacus mexicanus (n)
Red Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra (n)
White-winged Crossbill, Loxia leucoptera (n)
Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll
The Common Redpoll is a species in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic Redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. Nominate C. f. flammea breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, Icelandic Redpoll...

, Carduelis flammea
Hoary Redpoll, Carduelis hornemanni (R)
Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin
The Pine Siskin is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range.-Description:...

, Carduelis pinus (n)
American Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
The American Goldfinch , also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, is a small North American bird in the finch family...

, Carduelis tristis (n)
Evening Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak
The Evening Grosbeak is a large finch. In the past, it was treated in a genus of its own as Hesperiphona vespertina, but is now usually placed in the same genus as the Hawfinch of Eurasia....

, Coccothraustes vespertinus (n)

Old World sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

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Order: Passeriformes. Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or greyish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects.

House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...

, Passer domesticus (I)(n)

Supplemental list

The MARC believes individual bids of the following species could have occurred as wild representatives, but captive origin could not be ruled out:

Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...

, Cygnus buccinator
American Flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber
White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
The White-tailed Hawk is a large bird of prey species found in tropical or subtropical environments across the Americas.-Description:...

, Buteo albicaudatus
Black-billed Magpie
Black-billed Magpie
The Black-billed Magpie is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America. It is notable for its domed nests, and for being one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length The Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) is a...

, Pica pica
Eurasian Siskin
Eurasian Siskin
The Eurasian Siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European Siskin, Common Siskin or just Siskin. Other names include Black-headed Goldfinch, barley bird and aberdevine. It is very common throughout Europe and Asia...

, Carduelis spinus
European Goldfinch
European Goldfinch
The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...

, Carduelis carduelis

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

TurkeysTurkey (bird)A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

GrouseGrouseGrouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

Pheasants

LoonLoonThe loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...s

GrebeGrebeA grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...s

AlbatrossAlbatrossAlbatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...es

TropicbirdTropicbirdTropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...s

StorkStorkStorks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....s

FrigatebirdFrigatebirdThe frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...s

CormorantCormorantThe bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...s

PelicanPelicanA pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....s

New World vultureNew World vultureThe New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in fivegenera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas....s

OspreyOspreyThe Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

CraneCrane (bird)Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...s

OystercatcherOystercatcherThe oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...s

Skuas

Pigeons and doveDovePigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...s

Typical owlTypical owlTrue owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...s

NightjarNightjarNightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...s

SwiftSwiftThe swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...s

KingfisherKingfisherKingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...s

VireoVireoThe vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...s

LarkLarkLarks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...s

Swallows and martins

NuthatchNuthatchThe nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...es

TreecreeperTreecreeperThe treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...s

WrenWrenThe wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....s

GnatcatcherGnatcatcherThe 15-20 species of small passerine birds in the gnatcatcher family occur in North and South America . Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are resident, but the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the USA and southern Canada migrates south in winter...s

Old World flycatcherOld World flycatcherThe Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...s

WaxwingWaxwingThe waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae.-Description:Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage...s

Longspurs

Wood-warblerNew World warblerThe New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....s

Old World sparrowSparrowThe sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...s

Supplemental list

External links

Turkeys
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

Grouse
Grouse
Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. They are sometimes considered a family Tetraonidae, though the American Ornithologists' Union and many others include grouse as a subfamily Tetraoninae in the family Phasianidae...

Loon
Loon
The loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia...

s

Grebe
Grebe
A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s

Albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...

es

Tropicbird
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...

s

Stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....

s

Cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

s

Pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

s

New World vulture
New World vulture
The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in fivegenera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas....

s

Osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

Crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

s

Oystercatcher
Oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

s

Pigeons and dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...

s

Typical owl
Typical owl
True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...

s

Nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

s

Swift
Swift
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...

s

Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s

Vireo
Vireo
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...

s

Lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...

s

Nuthatch
Nuthatch
The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...

es

Treecreeper
Treecreeper
The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains ten species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis...

s

Wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....

s

Gnatcatcher
Gnatcatcher
The 15-20 species of small passerine birds in the gnatcatcher family occur in North and South America . Most species of this mainly tropical and subtropical group are resident, but the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of the USA and southern Canada migrates south in winter...

s

Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...

s

Waxwing
Waxwing
The waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae.-Description:Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage...

s

Wood-warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....

s

Old World sparrow
Sparrow
The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

s