The following are some of the more common birds around Frankfort and their most common behavior. Click on the underlined bird names for pictures of the birds.
American Crows are black all over, including legs, eyes and bill. These very intelligent birds hang out in large groups (families, actually), are inquisitive and mischievous, and can be seen chasing away (mobbing) larger birds including hawks, owl and herons. In flight, their wingtips look like thick “fingers.” Their call is the very familiar “caaw, caaw, caaw.” A group of crows is called a murder of crows. Perhaps the smartest bird in Kentucky. Can devise and use tools.
Canada Geese often fly in flocks, assuming a V formation with their long neck stretched forward. These geese have a black head and neck with white cheeks and chinstrap. Look for these large birds near water or grazing on park lawns and farm fields. Canada Geese and ducks’ long necks extend in front of them in flight. Great Egrets’ and heron’s long legs extend behind.
Northern Cardinals are as breathtakingly beautiful in the winter as they are in the summer. The male is bright red with a bright red beak and bright red crest. A thin black mask outlines the beak and eye, as if wearing bold eyeliner. The female has the same silhouette but her colors are muted. She is one of the few female songbirds in North America that sings, and she might even sing while sitting on the nest. Cardinal songs are often the first ones heard in the morning. Listen for a cheerful “cheer, cheer, cheer” or “birdie, birdie, birdie.” Look for cardinals sitting low in shrubs and trees or foraging on or near the ground. They are often in pairs and both defend their territory. They may attack their own reflection in a window, car mirror, or anything shiny.
Gray Catbirds copy the songs of other species, stringing them together to make their own songlast up to 10 minutes. They get their name from the coarse cat-like mewing that forms their typical call. If you hear that call, look for the bird at the top of a dense, tangled thicket or in damp shaded areas. They are usually solitary and their plumage is a unique combination of small black cap, slate gray body, blackish tail, and a rufous-brown patch under the tail. No other eastern bird is this color.
Chimney Swifts look like a cigar with wings as it flies high overhead catching small insects. The body is small and uniformly dark. Wings are long, pointed, and swept back. It often flies in small groups, but may roost in large groups of thousands. It is the only swift commonly found in Kentucky. As the name implies, Chimney Swifts build nests in manmade chimneys.
Carolina Chickadees are small songbirds (less than 5 inches long) that hang out in small groups,flitting about nervously and acrobatically as they search wooded areas for food. Carolina Chickadee is the only chickadee common to Kentucky. Its black cap and bib are separated by stark white cheeks; rest of body is basically a soft gray. The neck is very short.
Eastern Bluebirds move about in a mix of open fields and trees, usually in groups of 10 or fewer. No other eastern bird has bright blue wings and tail with orange breast.
Falcons are noted for smooth, powerful wingbeats and high-speed dives (constant flapping followed by a steep dive); will soar high when air current is right. They rarely hover. Kentucky commonly has only two falcons – Peregrine Falcon and American Kestrel. Kestrels are nearly half the size of peregrines and have weaker, shallower wingbeats. They are the most common and the most colorful falcon in North America.
American Goldfinches are small songbirds that look like happy little acrobats as they fly in a bouncy undulating pattern, often singing long twitters and warbles as they fly. Their call is sometimes interpreted as a quiet po-ta-to-chip. Breeding males become a brilliant yellow with a black forehead and black wings during late winter, just in time to herald the approach of spring. Adult females are less brilliant with more olive color on the back.
Common Grackles look like really big blackbirds with a glossy-iridescent body and glossy purple head. Adult grackles have a bright golden eye, giving them an intense expression. They dominate over smaller birds at feeders or while foraging on the ground. Look for them in parks and fields as part of a larger flock of blackbirds and starlings.
Great Blue Herons stand patiently on a bank or in shallow water, hunting with great stealth. Egrets are active foragers and chase their prey around in shallow water. Look for both near water habitats rather than upland.
Hawks are of two types: accipiters live in wooded areas and prey on birds, buteos soar over open areas and prey on rodents. Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper ’s hawk are accipiters. Their flight pattern is flap-flap-glide. Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk are buteos. Their flight pattern is soar-soar-glide. (Soaring maintains height relative to ground, but gliding without those rising air currents needed for soaring always results in moving downward. Sunny days with puffy clouds are good soaring days.)
Jays are gregarious and fussy. They are common and easy to recognize with their crested topknot and brilliant blue, white and black plumage. Blue Jays are smaller than crows and larger than robins. Like crows, they are noisy, aggressive, intelligent, and exhibit tight family bonds. Sometimes Blue Jays mimic hawk calls when approaching a feeder, causing other birds to scatter.
Mallards are one of the most familiar of ducks. Easier to recognize than the drab female, males sport a yellow bill, iridescent green head, narrow white neck ring, rusty chest, gray body, and orange-red feet and legs. The central tail feathers curl upward toward the back. Look for mallards swimming in shallow water, occasionally tipping upside-down to feed on insects and aquatic plants.
Northern Mockingbirds get their name from their ability to imitate other birds’ songs, singing varied phrases repeated two to six times. They sing all day and into the night. They are a very conspicuous songbird with a long tail, which, in flight, bears a white stripe on either side. The wings flash a bright white patch on both the upper and under sides. When you hear a mockingbird singing, look for it sitting conspicuously on high vegetation, a fence, an eave, or a telephone wire. On the ground, they run with the tail raised. The Northern Mockingbird is a year-round resident in Kentucky.
Northern Flicker is the only flicker found in Kentucky. Unlike most woodpeckers, flickers eat ants and beetles found in the soil. If you’re hiking, you might scare one up from the ground. When they fly, look for a flash of yellow under the wings and a bright white flash on top of the rump. If they are in a tree, look for a large, brownish woodpecker perched upright on horizontal branches instead of leaning against the side of the trunk like other woodpeckers.
Red-winged Blackbird is Kentucky’s most distinctive blackbird. The male is easily recognized by its glossy black body, flash of red and yellow on the shoulder and its very distinctive song. Females are more difficult to recognize as they look like a very large sparrow. Males sit on high perches singing loudly and long, as if they are trying very hard to be noticed. Look for them during summer near wetlands with cattails, along watercourses, and wet roadsides. During winter, they forage for seeds on the ground so look for them in meadows and old fields.
American Robins are one of our most recognizable birds. On the ground, it stands tall as if at attention, beak tilted upward and showing off its rusty-orange breast. It’s often seen bounding across a lawn or tugging an earthworm out of the ground. It’s the quintessential early bird because its cherry song might be the first you hear in the morning. Its song is a combination of “cheerily” and “cheer up” phrases.
Rock Pigeons are what we call city pigeons. They have a small head which bobs up and down as they walk, foraging for seeds. Their legs are short and pinkish. They are heard giving a low cooing sound and usually seen in small flocks. Their wings produce a soft whistle on takeoff and their flight is fast and powerful. They roost on narrow ledges and cliffs. Although common, Rock Doves are not native to Kentucky.
European Starlings are among the most numerous songbirds in North America. A native of Europe, they have found much success in American with plenty of food and few predators – so they seem to be everywhere! Starlings are year-round residents, living in large noisy flocks. Their winter plumage is dark brownish black with tiny white spots and dark bill. Summer plumage is a glossy greenish-black with a prominently yellow bill. Although summer plumage is similar in color to a Common Grackle, starlings are smaller and have dark eyes. The iris of a grackle is yellow. The combination of short tail, long slender beak, and short triangular wings makes starlings look like a four-pointed star during flight. On the ground, they move quickly across lawns and fields, beak down, probing the grass for food.
Swallows are perching birds that feed on the wing. A slender body, forked tail and long pointed wings are associated with many of the swallows, but some, such as the Cliff Swallow, have a square tail. All have a graceful, swooping flight and are often seen perched on overhead wires from which they watch for flying insects. Many have glossy dark blue or green plumage on the upper side of their body. Several of the swallows have names that reflect where they nest, such as Cliff Swallow and Barn Swallow.
Vultures look hawk-like in flight but spend much more time soaring high overhead and doing very little flapping. Sometimes the soar looks as if the bird is teetering in the wind. Wings are held in a characteristic shallow V. There are two kinds of vultures in Kentucky: Turkey Vulture and Black Vulture. Turkey Vultures are usually seen alone or in small groups. Black Vultures are often seen in pairs or small groups and fly higher than Turkey Vultures. Turkey Vultures have white underlining on their wings and a red head. (Young turkey vultures have a black head.) Black Vultures have pale wing tips and a black head. The tetrahedral (“V” shape of wings) the Black Vulture is a much flatter flight than that of the Turkey Vulture.
Wrens hold their tail in a cocked position and often bounce from side to side They are small buff-brown songbirds, slightly larger than chickadees, and usually solitary. They have a narrow head with a white eye stripe and long, slender bill used for probing into crevices for food. Carolina Wren is Kentucky’s only common year-round resident wren, although House Wrens also nest in the northern part of the state and other species migrate through. Their song of the Carolina Wren is a loud “tea-kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle” and their nests are often found in outdoor hanging plants.
Woodpeckers climb the side of tree trunks like a lineman scaling a telephone pole and the drumming sound made as they excavate insects is distinctive. Pileated Woodpeckers are crow size woodpeckers, and the model for Woody Woodpecker . They generally fly in an undulating pattern, flapping their wings for short bursts then tucking them under for a short rest. Flickers and sapsuckers also belong to the woodpecker family.
For more bird behavior: http://www.backyardnature.net/birds.htm