American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

We viewed an American Dipper from a bridge just off State Route 49 - their nest was under the bridge. This bird is about a "dull" as a bird can get, but makes up for it by it with a unique and totally entertaining foraging technique, as it dives into fast running streams, walks underwater, and then pops up like a cork to perch for a moment on a favored rock before diving in again. Seen mostly in the mountains, in western regions from Alaska down to Mexico and even to Panama! Some populations are short-distance migrants, but many are resident.

Note the very short tail - they don't do a lot of flying!

Low light limits feather detail. Body is gray, head browner.

Brief Taxonomy-

Family: Cinclidae - the Dippers, and only one genus. No close relatives in the New World.

Genus: Cinclus - The Dipper. Five species worldwide, all very similar.

Species: Cinclus mexicanus

Mountain Bluebird - Sialia currucoides

Lot's of reasons to explore inland and higher, and perhaps none so up-lifting as the sight of a male Mountain Bluebird, Sialia currucoides. Its range extends from Alaska south to Mexico, down through the western states. We don't often get to see it on the coast in California, but it can be found regularly in the central valley and montane regions. This male perched quietly to preen in the shade of a corral in the Sierra Valley. Temperature was over 90, so he seemed content to rest and preen rather than flycatch over the nearby fields. Like the Western Bluebird, the Mountain Bluebird will hover while searching for insects. Distance and shade limited photo detail.

Taxonomy-

Family - Turdidae - The Thrushes. Currently about 175 species of "True Thrushes" usually recognized. Previously the family was larger, and included about 155 chat-thrushes, but most authorities favor the separation. The True Thrushes include 18 species seen in the U.S., among which we find Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, the Bluebirds, Varied Thrush and the Spotted Thrushes such as our Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes. See Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior for a good discussion. For a really serious discussion see Roberson's great website: http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/thrushes.html

Genus - Sialia - The  3 Bluebirds, including the Western Bluebird and Eastern Bluebird.

Species - Sialia currucoides - Mountain Bluebird. No subspecies.

American Coot - Fulica americana - Chick

Wrote recently about the American Coot (see Blogspot and scroll down:http://lenblumin.blogspot.com/), so today I'll let you enjoy the very young chicks that we saw swimming along Marble Hot Springs Road in the Sierra Valley. A parent was nearby and occasionally brought food to one of the 3 youngsters. Not sure if they are called "chicks", or maybe "cootlets"?

The first shot shows one of the chicks fluttering its just emerging wings, just the way passerine chicks will beg. I presume the coot young are semi-precocial. They clearly leave the nest and swim soon after hatching, but perhaps are fed by the parent for a short period of time. Wonder if anyone has speculated about why the chicks have such bright head color - maybe the parents don't have good vision?!

Regarding the color of the American Coot chick, I found an interesting explanation on Wikipedia:

Much research has been done on the breeding habits of American Coots. Studies have found that mothers will preferentially feed offspring with the brightest plume feathers, a characteristic known as chick ornaments.[4]

Davies, Nicholas B.; John R. Krebs and Stuart A. West (2012). "8". Behavioural Ecology. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley and Sons.

[further]

Chick ornaments The first evidence for parental selection of exaggerated, ornamental traits in offspring was found in American Coots.[27] Black American Coot chicks have conspicuously orange-tipped ornamental plumescovering the front half of their body that are known as “chick ornaments” that eventually get bleached out after six days. This brightly colored, exaggerated trait makes Coot chicks more susceptible to predation and does not aid in thermoregulation, but remains selected for by parental choice. These plumes are not necessary for chick viability, but increased chick ornamentation increases the likelihood that a chick will be chosen as a favorite by the parents. Experimental manipulation of chick ornamentation by clipping the bright plumes have shown that parents show clear preferences for ornamented chicks over non-ornamented ones.[27]

Yuba Pass - Evening Grosbeak - Coccothraustes vesperinus

Every birder visiting Yuba Pass hopes to see the Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vesperinus, and our group was not disappointed. These shots of a male were taken at the SF State Sierra Campus, down a bit from Yuba Pass along Hway 49. Another good spot is along the highway, where road salt collects in the gutter. Sadly, this habit of roadside foraging leads to the death of many birds from collisions with vehicles.

A single photo of the male make it clear that a field guide is not needed for identification, as this truly handsome species stands out among all other perching birds. The male has a bright yellow supercillium and forehead. The huge bill becomes lime green in the spring, and is used for cracking the seeds of fruit before they are swallowed. (Coccothraustes means "grain cracker" or "nut cracker"). Interesting to read that these birds have no interest in the fleshy part of fruit, like on a cherry, and will strip it away before cracking and swallowing the seed. Their preferred habitat is a mixed coniferous forest.

"Soft" shot here, because of low light level, but nice to see one in a tree!

Historically the Evening Grosbeak was mostly a species of the Western US and Canada, but its range has extended east in part because of the extensive planting of Box Elder, which has seeds highly favored by the Evening Grosbeak. They are also very partial to Spruce Budworms! In our coastal areas the species is seen unpredictably as an irruptive migrant.

Taxonomy-

Family - Fringillidae - Finches and allies, including Siskins and Crossbills). 176 species, including 12 species with the name "Grosbeak". Closest relatives of the Evening Grosbeak are the Hooded Grosbeak of Mexico and the Hawfinch of Eurasia.

Note: "Grosbeak" is a descriptive term, meaning "large beak". Grosbeaks are not all related, as fully 17 Grosbeaks are found in a different family, the Cardinalidae (Saltators, Cardinals and Allies).

Genus: Coccothraustes - 3 species, including the Hawfinch and Hooded Grosbeak.

Species: Coccothraustes vesperinus - Evening Grosbeak, so named because it was thought to sing more often in the evening. 3 subspecies - ours is probably C. v. brooksii.

Vesper Sparrow -Pooecetes gramineus

On a recent trip to Yuba Pass and the Sierra Valley we viewed a number of breeding bird species, including this cooperative Vesper Sparrow, Pooecete gramineus. We don't see the Vesper Sparrow on the coast here, so it's always fun to spot them in the sagebrush habitats of the eastern Sierra, at locations such as Mono Lake and Sierra Valley (north of Truckee). The Vesper is reputed to be a fine vocalist, and perhaps easier to spot in May when it sings from low brush in sagebrush or grassy habitats. Right now it spends more time on the ground foraging for seeds and a few insects, but it does like to have a look around from a wire perch.

Taxonomy-

Order - Passeriformes - Perching birds, 5,000+ species, i.e, more than 50% of all bird species).

Family - Emberizidae - New World Sparrows. 55 species in the ABA area, including many that do not have "sparrow" in their name, such as the Seedeater (1), Grassquits (2), Towhees (6), Juncos (2), and Buntings (8). Words like "sparrow" and "bunting" are really just descriptive, so you'll find sparrows and buntings in other (unrelated) families.

Genus - Pooecetes - A monotypic genus, i.e., only one species. The closest relative among the New World Sparrows may be the Lark Sparrow (BNA). May rarely hybridize with the Field Sparrow (BNA).

Species - Pooecetes gramineus - Vesper Sparrow. There are 3-4 subspecies, depending on which authority you consult. This is probably the "Great Basin Vesper Sparrow", P. g. confinis, of the eastern Sierra. Further west the "Oregon Vesper Sparrow", P. g. affinis may be found. Learned this in a GREAT new book, Birds of the Sierra Nevada, by Edward C. Beedy and Edward R. Pandolfino, with gorgeous illustrations of every species by Marin's very own Keith Hansen. This book is an absolute "must have" for the California birder. 

American Coot - Fulica americana

In winter the San Francisco Bay Area hosts many thousands of American Coots, Fulica americana, seen just about anywhere you find a significant collection of water. We see rafts of up to 1,000 on Richardson Bay, for instance. By the end of May many have departed to find secluded marshes to build nesting platforms, but a few remain here to breed (the young have amazing red heads!). This bird was at Las Gallinas in March, and although I don't often photograph Coots (they are difficult subjects for technical reasons) I did like the way the light brought out the red color in the iris and the claret-brown color of the button callus button on the white frontal shield. The also have a black ring near the tip of the bill, sort of like the unrelated Pied-billed Grebe.

The "shield" is an unusual fleshy structure that extends upward from the tissue of the upper mandible to cover a portion of the forehead. Function uncertain, but speculation includes protection, as well as use in individual identification and in breeding display. The shield, and the pigmented button of callus near the top, vary a lot with age and sex and the shape has been used to differentiate individual coots.

Taxonomy:

The Coots are in Gruiformes, a diverse order includes 11 different families of birds.

Family: Railidae - Rails, Gallinules, Coot and Crake - 135-140 species in all.

Other gruiform families (# species) include: Limpkin (1), Cranes (15), Mesites (3), Buttonquail (16), Cranes (15), Trumpeters (3), Finfoots (3), Kagu (1), Sunbittern (1), Seriema (2), and the Bustards (26). Some birders like to try and see all the families of the world (numbering around 230), so the Gruiformes provide them with some good targets.

Genus: Fulica - The Coots, 11 species in all - 9 of them seen in the Americas. Our only Coot is the American Coot, unless you count the Hawaiian Coot, which is indeed a separate species.