Birds
Backyard List
S=Summer,F=Fall
W=Winter,Sp=Spring
- Inca Dove - S,F,W,Sp
- House Sparrow - S,F,W,Sp
- Verdin - S,F,W,Sp
- Anna's Hummingbird S,F,W,Sp
- House Finch - S,F,W,Sp
- Northern Mockingbird - S,F,W,Sp
- Mourning Dove - S,F,W,Sp
- Rock Pigeon - S,F,W,Sp
- European Starling - S,F,W,Sp
- Abert's Towhee - S,F,W,Sp
- Cliff Swallow - Sp,S
- Gila Woodpecker - S,F,W,Sp
- White-winged Dove - Sp,S
- Great-Tailed Grackle - S,F,W,Sp
- Lesser Nighthawk- Sp,S
- Peach-faced Lovebird - S,F,W,Sp
- Common Raven - W
- Yellow-rumped Warbler - W,Sp
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet - W,Sp
- Black-chinned Hummingbird!- S
- Curve-billed Thrasher - S,F,W,Sp
- Gambel's Quail - S,F,W,Sp
- Great-horned Owl - S,F,W,Sp
- Cactus Wren - S,F,W,Sp
- American Kestrel - W
- Lincoln's Sparrow!- W
- Green-tailed Towhee!- W,Sp
- Orange-crowned Warbler- W
- Canada Goose! - Sp
- Common Poorwill!- Sp
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The Verdin, a Sonoran Desert specialty, ranging from southeast California to Texas, is a very small bird, only slightly larger than our common hummingbirds. Their diet consists almost entirely of insects. They also take nectar from flowers and sometimes try to use hummingbird feeders, but because they cannot hover, they must grasp onto the unit with their feet.
The bird list at left will be pretty typical for an urban lot within Phoenix. The most common species are at the top of the list.
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American Kestrels prefer a high perch from which to hunt for smaller birds. In this case it is using a dead California Fan Palm in a neighbor's yard in central Phoenix, Arizona, January 2009. Kestrel families have fledged at least two clutches of young from a nest on this snag in the past 18 months. Someone with a terrestrial view eventually decided the tree was unsightly and cut it down, unknowing.
Peach-faced Lovebirds (now called Rosy-faced Lovebird) were brought to America through the pet trade. Over time escaped and released birds have been able to colonize the city environs in Maricopa County, Arizona. They are now common birds in many neighborhoods. They frequently roost in the crowns of California Fan Palms, especially those left un-pruned.
