Winter Birds of the Desert

Winter Birds of the Desert PICTURES AND STORY BY HARRY L. AND RUTH CROCKETT

Winter birds, to most people, mean the few hardy species that remain during the winter in colder climates. Arizona's winter bird population of the desert sections and warm valleys is large and interesting, both in species and individual birds. Like the people of these areas they fall into two general classes, residents and winter visitors. Many remain the year around, while others arrive when it gets colder in their summer range in the higher elevations or farther north. The Gambel's Sparrows seem to be the most regular in their arrival in the fall. From the notes of a number of observers in the desert areas the first Gambel's arrive within a ten day period of the first of October. Gambel's shift about during the winter in waves, as one flock moves from an area another takes its place. Records show each wave is made at least in part of birds that arrived with the same wave in previous years. As these flocks spread out over the desert and irrigated sections they feed on weed seeds. The Gambel's Sparrow, a sub-species of the White-crowned Sparrow, has the black and white striped crown. The immature arrive with buff and brown striped crowns, but before they leave in mid April these colors will change to the white and black like the parents.

Flock singing is a characteristic of many winter birds. We find large flocks of Brewer's Sparrows, lesser flocks of Chipping Sparrows or mixed flocks gathered in trees enjoying the warm sunshine and singing in chorus. The Brewer's and Chipping Sparrows are small sparrows. The Brewer's are inconspicious gray with darker stripings, while the Chipping has a rusty crown and higher color in body feathers. The Desert Sparrow a resident on the desert also sings in winter. It is a trim little fellow with white under parts and black throat-patch. They are the only desert bird which we have never seen on irrigated land. When land is irrigated they seem to give it up.

The Audubon's Warbler's make their first appearance about October 15th. They arrive in a blue-gray attire which covers most of their markings. During the winter these new feathers wear away and when they are ready to return to the north at the end of March, five bright yellow spots are ex-posed. The Audubon's Warblers feed in trees as warblers and also fly out into the air to catch insects as flycatchers. During the winter showers they feed on as if they enjoyed the wetting. A favorite feed spot is along tree-lined desert washes.

Winter shelter nests are another unusual feature of the desert. The Verdin a very small gray bird with a yellowish head, gathers thorny twigs from the catclaw, ironwood or similar growth and makes a small hollow ball with the entrance hole below center. Lined with soft plant material and feathers it serves as a bed chamber for one bird. Finished about the middle of October, they are very prominent on the desert. They are noticed in the trees along the washes where they are built to hang out over the wash, however they may be found in any thorny trees or cactus in their range.The Cactus Wren, State Bird of Arizona, the largest member of the Wren family, is the other winter nest builder. Its nest is a tunnel of straw with a changer at the end. This is lined with soft materials of which feathers is a favorite.

These two shelter nest builders, the Verdin and Cactus Wren live with us the year around and build larger nests in the spring for their brooding nests. They are both insect eaters.

The Gila Woodpecker is the common woodpecker in this area. He is easily encouraged to come to our house for suet and scraps from the table. When once invited he will give a clarion "squak-squak" when he is forgotten. They are the principal diggers in our Giant Cactus. These excavations are typical woodpecker nests dug in the soft pulpy fiber of the cactus. The cactus, reluctant to give up its moisture, seals the sides of the cavity over with a scar tissue which is rather permanent.

Another woodpecker on the desert and closely associated with the Giant Cactus, the Mearns' Gilded Flicker, can be distinguished by the yellow quills in tail and wing. The Redshafted Flicker having red quills is found as a winter visitor.

The House Finch is associated by many people with farm and orchard, but they are also desert dwellers. We find small colonies way back from the beaten paths and larger

Continued from page eight.groups closer to the desert water holes. They are residents and build nests in the most formidable cactus.Palmer's Thrasher with his heavy curved bill which gives him an advantage in digging in the ground for his food is a resident.He is seen as he runs on the ground or works through the cactus in short flights. His sharp loud whistle "pretty quick" is often his introduction to newcomers. Another Thrasher, Bendire's, covers much of the same range but, the Bendire's has a shorter, straight bill.The Sage Thrashers gather in flocks on the desert in winter. These gray thrashers remind many people of Robins as they run along the ground.

The doves are well represented in Arizona. The white-winged Dove pictured on the front cover is a summer visitant, leaving Arizona in September, after nesting and raising its young.

The Mourning Dove is a resident of the lower areas throughout the year and is seen wherever you go. Their routine on the desert includes flights to water morning and evening where they gather in great numbers along the banks of the ponds or canals.

These water trips are definite routes and can be called lesser flyways.

Two small scaled doves are residents of the warm valleys but are partial to the proximity of human habitations.

They are the Inca Dove, gray with dark edgings on each body feather to give it a scaled appearance and burnt orange under and on top of the wing to give a high color when the wings are opened. As the cover wing feathers are gray the bird is very neutral in color when the wings are closed.

These little sun worshipers delight in sitting in the sun with a wing raised like a sail to soak up the sunshine, then turning the other side for the same.

The Mexican Ground Doves are similar to the Inca except that the tail is shorter and the sides of the breast bluer. The Inca is by far the most numerous of the small doves.

This seems to be a changing condition for as we look back over our notes to twenty-five years ago the proportion was reversed. To make the picture complete the fifth dove the Band-tailed Pigeon is a summer visitant in our mountains.

During the winter season the hawks seem to be on display. Probably the most noticed is the Desert Sparrow Hawk, A member of the Falcon Family. A small individual not much larger than a Robin, he is often seen perching on a Giant Cactus or a power pole from which he flies out to catch grasshoppers and occasionally a mouse. He is the only small hawk in the area with a rufous-red tail.

The red-tailed Hawk, a large hawk with a rufous-red tail, will be seen soaring against the sky.

They depend on rodents in a great measure for their food, occasionally taking a snake to vary the diet. They belong to the Buteos or soaring family. Other soaring hawks that may be seen are the Swainson's and the Harris', although not so numerous.

The Marsh Hawk, a winter visitor, glides low over the fields with its wings held above horizontal.

The distinguishing-ing mark is a white rump spot at the base of the tail, on top. They bel-ong to the Harriers Family. Between the Sparrow Hawks and Buteos in size are the Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper's Hawk. These are very fast hawks that dart out at a bird or other prey in a short fast Strike using a tree as a screen. Because of their swiftness they are seldom seen by an inexperienced observer.

Watch for the members of the hawk family and learn to identify them for they do a great good, except the Sharpshinned and Cooper's. Their value is great as an insect and rodent control and when removed the insects and rodents take over.

Winter plumage makes the identification of some birds more exciting as few of our bird guides describe this phase.

Our first such experience was a number of years ago at Tucson where we watched great flocks of birds feeding on seeds on the desert.

The flocks traveled as they fed, those in the back flew over the others to the front giving the effect of the flock rolling over the ground. There seemed to be no two exactly alike in color; spotty, splotched with brown and black in no regular pattern.

They even fed at our door step in such numbers they sounded like rain as they picked up the food from the ground.

We searched and asked but found no clue to their identity. Finally spring came and with it their change in plumage.

The change seemed rapid as the males turned into black birds with large white wing patches, and the females brown with stripings on the breast. Then we knew we had seen Lark Bunting in winter plumage.

Soon after the change came they started north to the prairie country in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado to raise their families.

They sometimes gather in our towns in Arizona in winter. and line the wires between feedings.

The Mockingbird should need no introduction for he seems to be able to make himself known to all. He is a resident. Slender and long tailed, with white patches on tail and wings. He is an accomplished singer and mimic being able to produce some mechanical sounds and the calls of other birds. His favorite pastime of singing on bright moonlight nights is not appreciated by some.

Another bird in the gray, black and white pattern is the White-rumped Shrike, it has a bigger head and a black mask over the eyes. The easiest way to distinguish it from the Mockingbird is its direct bullet flight and hooked bill. They hunt from a perch and consume quantities of grasshoppers and such insects with an occasional mouse or small bird. They are called "Butcher Birds" because of their custom of hanging their food on a thorn or barbed-wire barb as they continue to hunt for more.

Their call which is a shrill scream is easily remembered. Few people have enjoyed their low, sweet song, which they sing from an almost hidden perch. It is often so soft and low that it is little more than a whisper and almost unbelievable, after hearing their harsh call.

Through the winter they continue to hunt in pairs and do not flock as many birds do.

Probably not so many in number but one of the most brilliant in Arizona during the winter is the Vermilion Flycatcher. A small flycatcher with head and under parts a flaming vermilion-red; tail and upper parts black. This little fire-ball will be seen in a tree or high bush, then darting out into the air snapping up insects as they fly by, returning to the perch to consume them. They frequent river bottoms and margins of ponds when such a location can be found. In summer they seek a little more elevation, perhaps in the mouth of a canyon, to build their nest. The vermilion female is a plainer bird with a breast of light salmon under darker stripes.

Another small flycatcher is the Black Phoebe, this coalblack fellow with a white vest prefers to stay near the ponds and irrigation canals and there is hardly a head-gate or bridge which does not support a pair of Black Phoebes. They are residents. Another flycatcher slightly larger is the Say's Phoebe, with a rusty breast, brownish back and black tail. This flycatcher group does a great good for the plants and mankind by their constant snapping up insects so they will do no more harm.

The Arizona Cardinal, an all red bird with a crest, is easily recognized, while the female is a yellowish brown high lighted with red. They are similar to other Cardinals throughout the United States; perhaps slightly smaller. They have a distinctive whistle and a shy way of edging away. They seem to have increased in number since the country has been more settled and are seen more and more. A similar bird frequenting the arid areas covered by Mesquite and Chaparral is called the Pyrrhuloxia, the male is gray of body with a rosecolored breast and crest. The female is gray backed and yellow breasted. They are not so numerous as Cardinals and often confused with the female Cardinal.The Albert's Towhee, a buffy brown bird of the ground, is seen throughout the year. A bird which gains a living by turning over leaves and eating the insects it finds. They never walk but run from bush to bush finally taking off in a short, low flight. The characteristic marks are an ivory bill, black around the bill, and a rusty patch on the body under the tail. In our experience many people have seen this Towhee but few know its name, unless it is a name they have made up.

The Spurred Towhee spends its summer in the higher mountains but comes into the warm valleys and desert in winter. It is black with white breast and belly, rufous sides. The wings and shoulders heavily white splashed. They frequent brushy places and have the Towhee characteristic of scratching in the leaves.

By winter the Gambel's Quail have gathered in coveys and are feeding along the dry washes or going up and down them, using them for highways. He is a beautiful fellow with his striking plume of five or six jet-black feathers carried high. His crown is reddish-brown bordered by a narrow band of white. The flanks are chestnut streaked with white. The mate is more subdued in color. Your first experience probably will be to come upon a covey and they will rise with a great "whir" and glide to cover under bushes or trees fifty yards away. You may be startled but you will admire the maneuver.

The Robin is probably the universally known bird. In this area it is the Western Robin. They raise their young in the high mountains and as it gets colder there and food becomes harder to get they drop down into the warm valleys. Some years when food is scarce or it is extremely cold there are great vertical migrations and flocks composed of thousands of Robins systemetically work over the areas in the valleys for food. Flocks in the irrigated sections feed on the Washingtonia Palm nut, "China Berry" and Pyrocanthia berry. This condition does not occur every year, there will be years in succession that only a normal winter migration occurs, then another year the enormous flocks arrive. The situation of food and climate varying elsewhere have a bearing on others of the winter bird population. The two most striking examples are the Long-crested Jay and the

Killdeer Clark's Nutcracker Chipping Sparrow

Clark's Nutcracker, both birds of the higher elevations and not seen on the desert until a winter when the food fails or it is unusually cold. Then they appear on the desert, eating new foods and enjoying a warmer climate.

Blackbirds are numerous in the winter. The Red-winged Blackbird is resident. The Brewer's, the blackbird with the white eye, nests in the higher elevations. The Yellow-headed Blackbird returns from the north. They gather in great mixed flocks and feed over the fields. Most of them return after the grain is harvested, however they do some damage because of their great numbers.

Phainopepla is a rather difficult word but is the latin name for a slim glossy-black bird with a thin crest and white patches on the wings which show in flight. The female is dark gray. They are residents appearing numerous but not flocking even in winter. The desert washes are their favorite location.

The Killdeer, though a shore bird, seems to be able to find situations where they can live on the desert in the proximity of water, along the trickles which make the streams and at stock tanks. Flocks of Mountain Plover also visit the desert during the winter.

The Western Meadowlark flock on the desert, going through the grass for seeds and insects, finding a better living during the wet years.

The owls of the desert are night workers but often you see the Burrowing Owls in front of their ground hole sunning. They are small and bare-legged. Another small owl is the Saguaro Screech owl, about eight inches high. In the day time they sleep in the trees and occasionally you see one. The smaller owl family is the Elf Owl, not much larger than a sparrow. They appear rarely on an overcast day in the trees along the dry washes. If you see one in the day time count yourself a lucky person.

The resident bird life and winter visitors on the desert are so abundant and the possibilities of unusual, casual visitors being found out of their normal range or off theirmigratory course so extensive, that observation is both fascinating and exciting. The concentration of numbers is breathtaking. Who could ask for more than a flock of hundreds of Mountain Bluebirds or Chestnut-backed Blue-birds catching insects over a desert strip? An experienced observer with diligent work might see forty species of birds during a winter day. Again he could seek out a warm canyon where the Chupa Rosa was blooming and find a Costa's Hummingbird flashing his gorget as he flits from flower to flower.

Gambel's Quail