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Intro | Types | Counts | Food

According to a 2011 survey published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, roughly one in five Americans - about 47 million people are birdwatchers. They are huge revenue generators for the U.S. economy, spending over $40 billion on equipment and activities related to bird watching.

Raptors (Hawks, Falcons, Eagles, Owls) | Perching Birds - Songbirds | Shore birds | Ducks & Geese | Bird Orders

(These categories are somewhat arbitrary. I couldn't find a good bird classification list.)
Of the 27 orders of living birds, with over 9,000 species. 20 (including 75 families and 2,055 species * ) are found in North America. The largest order, Passeriformes (perching birds), includes 27 families with over 300 species.

This page is inconsistent; In some cases, hawks, it lists species and in others, woodpeckers (family:Picidae) with at least 17 species of woodpecker plus several species of flicker and sapsucker, it only lists the 3 generic names.
We've only listed about 125 of the more common names here.
See: Bird Orders | Birds of the World

Classification:
Phylum Chordata (animals with a nerve chord) [45,820]
 - Sub-Phylum: Vertebrata 
    - Class Aves (Birds)
      - Order Ciconiiformes (sometimes listed as Accipitriformes)
          Family
           Accipitridae
             Genus (Sometimes listed as Family or sub-family)
                Buteo (Broad Winged Hawk, Red tail Hawk, Red Shouldered Hawk)
                Accipiter (Coopers Hawk, Sharp shinned hawk)
                Haliaeetus (Bald Eagle)
                Aquila (Golden Eagle)
            Falconidae (Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel)
              (sometimes listed as order Falconiformes)
            Pandionidae (Osprey)
             
            The bald eagle is actually a sea eagle (Haliaeetus species) 

Raptors (Birds of Prey)

A carnivorous bird of prey characterized by sharp talons, a hook shaped beak, and excellent eyesight.
Butos: (Genus: Buto)
Buteos Broad wings and broad rounded tails; Often seen soaring in circles high in the air.
broad wing hawk
broad wing hawk - google picts
Natl Geographic
red tail hawk
red tail hawk - google picts
Natl Geographic

red sholdered
red sholdered hawk - google picts
Natl Geographic
Accipiters: (Genus: Accipiter)
Accipters Short, Wide, Rounded wings; Long Tails: Flap, flap, flap-sail Flight.

coopers hawk
Coopers Hawk - google picts
Natl Geographic

sharp shinned hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk - google picts
Natl Geographic

Falcons: (Genus: Falco)
Falcons Streamlined-Long pointed wings; Longish compressed tapered tails; Strong rowing wing beats; Lose some of their pointed wing & tapered tail look when not in direct flight.
kestrel
Kestrel - google picts
Natl Geographic
Paregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon - google picts
Natl Geographic: about | video

Harriers and Ospreys:
Sometimes included with Falcons, but they are a different Genus
osprey
osprey - google picts
Natl Geographic
Northern Harrier
Northern Harrier - google picts

Eagles and Vultures:
bald eagle
bald eagle - google picts
Natl Geographic
bald eagle
bald eagle
bald eagle
golden eagle
turkey vulture
turkey vulture
black vulture
black vulture

Other Raptors:
Owls (Genus: Tyto, Athene, Otus, Bubo, Asio, ...)
Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared owl, Short-Eared Owl, Barn Owl, Snowy Owl, Barred Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Hawk Owl, ...
Kites

See Also:
New to Hawkwatching? | Hawk Migration Association of North America
Carolina Raptor Center - Raptor Species
Silhouette Hawk ID Guide)
Hawk ID Chart (pdf)

Links:
Kites, Hawks, Eagles, and Allies, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Falcons
Texas Raptor Photographic Identification Section


Perching birds (Songbirds)

Order: Passeriformes
(I couldn't find a good list of songbirds, so some of these may belong in other categories.)
Blackbird, Blue Bird, Blue Jay, Bushtits, Canaries, Cardinal, Chickadee, Crows, Finch, Flycatcher, Goldfinch, Grosbeak, House Finch, Hummingbirds , Juncos, Kingbirds, Kinglet, Larkes, Magpie, Martin, Mockingbirds, Oriole, Purple Finch, Ravin, Robin, Scrub Jays, Siskin, Sparrows, Stellar's Jay, Starlings, Swallow, Swift, Tanager, Thrushes, Titmouse, Towhees, Warbler, Waxwings, Wren

Tree Climbing birds

Creepers, Flicker, Nuthatch, Woodpecker, Sapsucker

Gallinaceous Birds

Grouse, Chicken, Chukar, Quail , Turkey , Partrige, Pheasant

Pigeons and Doves

Band-tailed pigeon, Passenger pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ground Dove, White-winged dove

Wading birds - Water and Shore birds

order: Charadriiformes
Bitterns, Black Skimmer, Crane, Dunlin Red Knot, Egret, Gull, Ibis, Heron, Marsh Wren, Oyster Catcher, Pelican, Phalarope, Plover, Rail, Ruddy, Ruff, Turnstone, Sanderling , Sandpiper, Seagull, Stilt, Tern, Woodcock
Diving Birds: Grebe, Loon, Murres, Puffin
Shore birds: Avocet, Kildeer, Snipe, Curlew, Willet,

Ducks & Geese like birds

Canada Geese, Cormorant, Duck, Eider, Mallard Duck, Mandarin Duck, Merganser, Pintail Duck, Shoveler, Snow Geese, Swans, Teal, Wigeon, Wood Duck.
World Geese Species at goose.org

Others


Cuckoos, Roadrunner
Parrot
Kingfisher

Bird (Class: Aves) Orders in North America:
Gaviiformes: loons 
Podicipediformes: grebes 
Procellariiformes: Tubenoses (albatross, fulmars,)
Pelecaniformes: pelicans and allies 
Ciconiiformes: storks, herons and allies 
Phoenicopteriformes: flamingos 
Anseriformes: waterfowl 
Falconiformes: falcons, eagles, hawks, vultures and allies 
Galliformes: fowl (turkeys, grouse, quail, pheasant)
Gruiformes: cranes and allies 
Charadriiformes: shorebirds, gulls, button-quails, plovers and allies 
Columbiformes: doves and pigeons 
Psittaciformes: parrots and allies 
Cuculiformes: cuckoos, roadrunners and turacos 
Strigiformes: owls 
Caprimulgiformes: nightjars, goatsuckers and allies 
Apodiformes: swifts and hummingbirds 
Trogoniformes: trogons 
Coraciiformes: kingfishers and allies 
Piciformes: woodpeckers and allies 
Passeriformes: passerines, perching birds, songbirds 
* There are 2,055 species on the 2008 The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Check-list of North American Birds. However the American Birding Association (ABA) 1998 list has 914 species; The 2007 Annual Report of the ABA lists additions to bring the total to 947
The differences between AOU and ABA are the area covered:
ABA: Continental United States, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon, and adjacent waters to a distance of 200 miles from land.
A.O.U. includes Mexico, Central America, Hawaii, Bahamas, Greenland, ...

Books:
Hawks in flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors, by Dunne, Sibley and Sutton
"Birds of North America", Chandler S. Robbins, 1966
"Birds of America", T. Gilbert Pearson (editor), 1936

Bird Counts

Christmas Bird Count (CBC) Dec.14 - Jan 5
Marin County 2012
New Jersey 2013-14
Somerset County NJ 2015

Great Backyard Bird Count Middle of Feburary
he GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where birds are across the U.S. and Canada.
Over 100,000 people participated in 2011.
Great Backyard Bird Count | National Audubon Society Birds
Great Backyard Bird Count at BirdSource.org
Great Backyard Bird Count: 2012 Results: Bridgewater, NJ - all of New Jersey
Great Backyard Bird Count: 2012 Results: Davis, California

Other:
Chimney Rock Hawk Watch
Somerset Naturalists Annual Spring Migrating and Nesting Bird walk
Birds of Middlesex County.pdf
Birding in the North Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake area
  On a Sierra Club trip I ran in 2007 some birders spotted 41 species.

Bird Food:

 Songbirds - Sunflower seeds
Woodpeckers - Suet
Sources:
Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary
Bardy Farms
Agway
Links:
Birds of America, by John James Audubon Listed by family at audubon.org
Bird Orders | Birds of the World
The American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) Check-list of North American Birds
The 914 wild bird species of North America (as of 1998) at the American Birding Association (ABA)
  ABA Recording Rules And Interpretations
birdguide.blogspot.com/
American Bird Guide | Bird Watching and Birding Information
Bird Guide: at blogspot.com
Backyard Bird Identification Guide at birdWatchersDigest.com
Bird feeders
All About Birds - Bird Guide at Cornell
Birds in the Tahoe-Donner Area
Silhouette Hawk ID Guide at hmana.org
Bird Species Index
Ohio Birds: A Photo Collection
Chimney Rock Hawk Watch
Identifycation cards at compleatnaturalist.com
Large Hawks and Falcons and Woodland Hawks at Fish & Wildlife in Alberta Canada
Wildlife Photography
Cool Starling Video
Binoculars Wildlife Photography

last updated 24 Oct 2012