Introduced to New York from Europe in the mid 1850s, the House Sparrow is totally dependent on humans for its present distribution in North America. Its populations have decreased tremendously since the horse, and its over flowing feed bags, were largely replaced by automobiles. Distinctly different geographical populations with unique colors and sizes have evolved in North America since it was first introduced. The nest is usually in a cavity and lined with grass, feathers and hair.
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Nesting in mountainous pine and oak woodlands, the Hepatic Tanager stays high in the tree crowns. Here it gleans and flies out to catch insects from the vegetation but in the later summer includes more fruits in its diet. The nest is made of loose grass and moss and placed high on a horizontal branch.
A denizen of thick shrubby undergrowth, the Green-tailed Towhee is most noticeable when it is noisily scratching in dry leaf litter with both feet to expose insects and seeds on the ground underneath. Its song is highly variable as it incorporates portions of other bird species singing nearby. Breeding higher in the mountains than where it winters, the nest is hidden at the base of a bush and is large with grass, twigs and stems the main construction materials.
Wintering low in open forest edge, riparian areas and along water courses, this obscure flycatcher is most readily identified by the distinctive raising and slow lowering of its tail as it sits on an exposed branch waiting for an insect to fly by. The Gray Flycatcher frequently catches insects off the ground as well. During the summer it nests in open sagebrush and pinon-juniper woodlands. The nest is made of plant down and grass, and it is placed low in a bush or juniper tree.
Typically found in dense shrubbery and forest edge, the Gray Catbird can often be secretive and hard to see. In the southwest, it is found primarily in dense riparian vegetation. The bulky nest is made of grass and twigs and placed in a low bush. Its blue-green eggs make it difficult for cowbirds to hide their spotted brown eggs in the Catbird nest. During the winter, fruits and berries are a favorite food, but during the summer insects and spiders are preferred. Occasionally it mimics parts of other bird species\ songs. '
Occupying dense coniferous stands, pine-oak woodlands and closed riparian forests, this species feeds on insects in the mid to high levels of the trees where it often joins mixed species foraging flocks. Its nest is made of twigs and moss and placed in the fork of a high horizontal branch. In the northern part of its range it frequently hybridizes with the Western Tanager.
Found only on steep, rocky, arid slopes the Five-striped Sparrow is difficult to find unless it is singing from a high perch of cactus or shrubbery. A single male can sing over 150 different songs. They feed on the ground looking for seeds most of the year, but during the nesting season find insects to feed to their young. The nest is a deep cup hidden in a grass clump or base of a bush.
Although it sits obviously on undergrowth branches flicking its tail, its obscure colors make it difficult to distinguish from other similar species. The Dusky Flycatcher nests in open woodlands on mountainsides. The cup like nest is made of grass and lined with feathers and hair and placed in a small crotch of a low bush or tree. It feeds exclusively on insects, most of which are snatched out of the air or from nearby vegetation.
An inconspicuous but common bird in the mountain forests of the interior west, the Cordilleran Flycatcher sits on low to mid level branches waiting for an insect to fly by. It then flies out to catch the insect in the air or sometimes from a nearby leaf. Its nest of moss, lichens and leaves is usually placed far back in the recess of a ledge or tangle of vegetation, but rarely it will be in a tree cavity.
Colonial nesters, the gourd-shaped mud nests of this swallow are often packed together under bridges, eaves of buildings, cliffs and other shaded vertical surfaces. The Cliff Swallow spends much of the day flying over water and open fields and it specializes on eating insects captured in its short but broad bill during these flights. This species winters in southern South America.