Birds Page 5

Black Phoebe (rare)

Found near the Rio Grande or other marshy areas.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Western Kingbird

Warbling Vireo

Plain but musical. This vireo is often high in the trees. The white eyebrow is obvious but the darker line through the eye is less obvious.

Piñon Jay

Spectacularly colorful and noisy flocks arrive in the summer and can clean out the bird feeder in no time. Flocks tend to follow the piñon nut crop.

Scrub Jay

Common jay year round eating from platform feeders and suet.

Steller's Jay, Cyanocitta stelleri

30 - 34 cm. This is the only western jay with a crested head which is black and melds into a blue body. Rocky Mountain varieties have white eyebrows. Its call is a raucous shack-shack-shack or chook-chook-chook voice. It will mimic the voice of hawks and other birds. It lives in coniferous forests; pine and oak forests. It lays 3-5 spotted greenish eggs in a well hidden neat twiggy bowl lined with small roots and fibers. Jays are omnivores and quickly become accustomed to eating the crumbs left around campsites and picnic areas. Feeder attractions are peanuts, suet, cracked corn, peanut butter and sunflower seeds.

Beautiful crested jay that is common year round. Will feed from platform feeders.

Blue Jay

Clark's Nutcracker

Fairly common in spring, summer and fall.

Black-billed Magpie

Common Raven

Very common bird in Los Alamos. Can often be seen soaring in the skies. The rounded tail of the raven can be used to differentiate them from the crow.

Horned Lark

Photo taken at VCNP.

Tree Swallow

Barn Swallow