Scientific Name: Corvus brachyrhynchos
Family: Corvidae
Native Range: United States and southern Canada
Size: Length: 16-21 in (40–53 cm); Wingspan: 33 to 30 in (85 to 100 cm)
Active: Year round
Color and Appearance: Black, iridescent plumage overall; Broad wings and squared off tail; Long, heavy, black bill; Brown eyes; Black legs and feet
From Alderfer’s Field Guide to Birds, p. 147.
Scientific Name: Dumetella carolinensis
Family: Mimidae
Native Range: Eastern and Central United States to the Rockies, southern Ontario to Central America
Size: Length: Adults 8.1 to 9.4 in (20.5 to 24 cm). Wingspan: 8.7 to 11.8 in (22 to 30 cm). Weight: 0.8 to 2.0 oz (23.2 to 56.5 g)
Active: Spring through fall
Color and Appearance: Dark gray overall, black cap; Long, black tail, often cooked; Undertail coverts chestnut; Dark eyes; Short, dark bill.*
From: Jonathan Alderfer, p. 185.
Scientific Name: Thryothorus ludovicianus
Family: Troglodytidae
Native Range: Eastern North America from extreme southern Ontario to extreme northern Mexico*
Size: Length: 4.9 to 5.5 in (12.5 to 14 cm); Wingspan: 11 in (29 cm); Weight: 0.63 to 0.81 oz (18 to 23 g)*
Active: Year round
Color and Appearance: Rusty brown body. White eye stripe. Whitish buff belly.
From Wikipedia.
Scientific Name: Cardinalis cardinalis
Family: Cardinalis
Native Range: Southeastern Canada, Eastern United States, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala*
Size: Body length body: 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 in)*
Active: Year round
Color and Appearance: Male is red with a distinctive crest and black face mask. Female is reddish olive with a gray face mask
*From Wikipedia.
Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia
Family: Passerellidae
Native Range: North America, Pennsylvania
Size: Length: 11 to 18 cm (4.3 to 7.1 in); Wingspan: 18 to 25.4 cm (7.1 to 10.0 in) (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_sparrow)
Active: Year-round resident
Field Markings: “Underparts whitish, with streaks on sides and breast that converge into a dark breast spot; Streaked brown and gray above, broad, grayish eyebrow; broad, dark malar stripe; Long rounded tail.” (Alderfer p. 232-233)
Scientific Name: Spinus tristis
Family: Fringillidae
Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania
Size: Medium finch: Length: 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in); Wingspan: 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in)
Active: Year-round resident*
Field Markings: “Breeding male is bright yellow with black cap; female and winter male duller overall, lacking cap; ‘;[Black wings with white bars; Black-and-white tail; white undertail coverts.” (Alderfer p. 258-259)
Scientific Name: Buteo jamaicensis
Family: Accipitridae
Native Range: North and Central America, Pennsylvania
Size: Length: 45–65 cm (18–26 in); Wingspan: 110–141 cm (3 ft 7 in–4 ft 8 in)
Active: Year-round resident*
Field Markings: “Brown above; red tail on adults; Whitish belly with broad band of dark streaking; Dark bar on leading edge of underwing; Immature has brown, banded tail.” (Alderfer p. 77-76)
Scientific Name: Dumetella carolinensis
Family: Mimidae
Native Range: Eastern and Central United States America, Eastern Central America, Pennsylvania
Size: Length: 20.5 – 24 cm (8.1 to 9.4 in); Wingspan: 22 – 30 cm (8.7 to 11.8 in)
Active: Year-round resident in very southeastern part of Pennsylvania. Our catbirds seem to nest here spring-fall, but be largely absent in winter*
Field Markings: “Dark gray overall; black cap; long, black tail, often cocked; Undertail coverts chestnut; dark eyes; short, dark bill.” (Alderfer p. 184-185)
Scientific Name: Mimus polyglottos
Family: Mimidae
Native Range: Mexico, United States, Southern Canada; Pennsylvania
Size: Medium mimid: Length: 20.5 to 28 cm (8.1 to 11.0 in); Wingspan: 31–38 cm (12–15 in)
Active: Year-round resident*
Field Markings: “Gray overall; darker above; White wing patches and outer tail feathers flash conspicuously in flight; Long, blackish wings and tail; Short, black bill” (Alderfer p. 186-187)
August 7, 2020: Across the street from out house is a tall evergreen tree with a bare leader. Our local mockingbird perches at the top and sings and does its flip display. One afternoon, I heard a cell phone ring while I was in the yard, which morphed into a bird call and then into another. I looked up and realized that the mocking bird had learned to ring like a phone.
Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris
Family: Trochilidae
Native Range: Summer Range: North America, Pennsylvania; Winter Range:
Size: Length: 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in) long; Wingspan: 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in)
Active: Spring – fall*
Field Markings: “Metallic green above; Adult male has brilliant red gorget, black chin, whitish underparts, dusky green sides; Female lacks gorget, has whitish throat and underparts, and a buffy wash on sides.” (Alderfer p. 118-119)
