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.

Cinnamon Teal - Anas cyanoptera

By the end of May around here a lot of the duck species have departed for their breeding grounds, but some remain in our area to breed, such as the Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall and Cinnamon Teal. We watched this male Cinnamon Teal swim toward a hen Shoveler, until the watchful male Shoveler nixed that idea. The active swimming caused a slight loss of sharpness, but the red eye still looks good.

Red eyes are seen in a variety of birds, including Grebes some songbirds. Other ducks with a bright red eye are the Canvasback and Wood Duck. Note how the black bill flares near the end a bit like that of the Northern Shoveler.

Recall that the Cinnamon Teal is one of the 3 Anas species seen here that have the pale blue wing patch (cyanoptera = "blue wing"). The others are the Blue-winged Teal and the Northern Shoveler. I suppose some would add the rarely seen Garganey, as Asian species that has wandered a few times down our coast. And a world traveler could add 3 more Shoveler species to the list.

Taxonomy - note how in a diverse Order there can be a lot of subdivisions.

Order: Anseriformes - Ducks, Geese, Swans and Screamers

Family: Anatadae - Waterfowl. 150 species, excluding the Screamers (don't ask).

Subfamily: Anatinae - True Ducks, the Geese and Swans have been dropped, as well as the Whistling-Ducks, which are more closely related to the Geese.

Tribe: Anatini - The Dabbling Ducks - 50+ species, including Wood Duck, etc.

Genus: Anas - 43 species worldwide, including 12 seen in the U.S.

Species: Anas cyanoptera - Cinnamon Teal, a fairly common breeder in Marin.

Cheers, Len

Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifron

At Ellis Creek we spotted a gray goose swimming with some somewhat larger Canada Geese. The white feathering where the bill joins the face is the basis for the name "White-fronted". This white-front feature is seen in other birds, such as the female Scaups and White-front Ibis. The Greater White-fronted Goose has an extensive range in the Eurasia and Western North America. They breed in tundra areas (many of ours going to Alaska), are long-lived, form stable pair bonds and even family units spanning one or more generations, and the young flying south with the parents for the winter.

Greater White-fronted Goose - adult - Ellis Creek, Petaluma, CA

In California we see large numbers of Greater White-front Geese in the Central Valley where they can easily be seen on ponds at many refuges. Most are the subspecies A. a. frontalis, sometimes called the Pacific White-fronted Goose. In the Valley there is also a small population of a larger subspecies, A. a. elgasi, the Tule Goose. Other subspecies are seen in Eurasia.

Note the pink bill with a peach tip, and orange feet. The barring of the breast and underparts led the hunters to call it the "Specklebelly", a goose they prize for the table.

Brief taxonomy: There are 6 species in the genus Anser. As you might guess, there is a Lesser White Fronted Goose, as well the large Swan Goose (some of them introduced here), plus Bean, Pink-footed, and Graylag Geese (often domesticated).

Pigeon Guillemot - Cepphus columba

On an outing to Bodega Bay last week we stopped at the Bodega Head overlook, where some friends called us over to check out a pair of Pigeon Guillemots that were perhaps contemplating a nesting site. It's not often we get leisurely looks at these pelagic birds, and they are usually bobbing along beyond the breaking waves, when not diving for fish like a penguin.

The Pigeon Guillemots nest on island or rocky cliffs, usually in a cavity

The Pigeon Guillemot is an alcid (auk) of the Pacific Northwest. Ours are mostly year-round residents, feeding just off rocky shorelines where they dive to the bottom for fish and other critters. They use their wings to "swim" underwater, sort of like penguins, and paddle a bit with their striking red feet. The species is very similar to the Black Guillemot of the Atlantic, which lacks a black wedge on the white wing patch (you can just see a bit of the wedge in one photo - seen better when they fly).

Note the black "wedge" on the white wing patch, seen on the Pigeon but not the Black Guillemot

Better view here of the bright red webbed foot.

Taxonomy-

Order: Charadriiformes - Assorted group that includes the shorebirds, gulls, terns and alcids.

Family: Alcidae - The alcids, or auks. Included in this group of diving seabirds birds are the Auks and Auklets, Murres and Murrelets, Puffins, Razorbill, Dovekie, and the Guillemots. 23 species worldwide, 21 of them seen along our coasts. The families within Charadriiformes are being rearranged now, and word has it (ABA Blog) that the Alcids will be placed between the Skuas and the Gulls.

Genus: Cepphus - 3 species. Besides the Pigeon and Black there is the Spectacled Guillemot seen along the coast from Russia down to Korea.

Species: Cepphus columba - Pigeon Guillemot. 5 regional subspecies. Our is C. c. eureka, seen from Oregon to California.