Birds of the Sonoran Desert

[Craft]

Roadrunner vs Diamondback Rattlesnake

They taste like chicken.
The snake. Not the bird.

What do birds taste like then?

[Goose55]

Gila Woodpecker

These adaptable woodpeckers can nest in urban trees such as fan palms and chinaberry. Their most usual nest hole in the Sonoran Desert is excavated into the main trunk or a side branch of the Saguaro Cactus. After a hole is made the cactus forms a tough callous thereby creating a durable and dry nest hole. Years after a saguaro has died and rotted away these old nest holes remain and are known as 'Saguaro Boots' because there shape resemble the footwear.

In town the males seem to appreciate the louder-than-usual noise that can be generated by tapping on metal objects such as roof flashing or light covers. Year-round Resident - No Migration

[Goose55]

Phainopepla nitens Year-round Resident with Elevational Movement

The biology of Desert Mistletoe and the Phainopepla in the Sonoran Desert are intricately linked. The berries of mistletoe ripen in late spring and are voraciously eaten by these crested birds with conspicuous red eyes. As the birds feed occasionally a sticky seed adheres to the bill only to be scraped off onto the branch of a potential new host. Some seeds also remain viable after passing through the bird's digestive tract, a process taking less than an hour. Once deposited onto a branch the seeds may germinate and initiate a new parasitic relationship with a host plant. Male phainopeplas are glossy black whereas the females are dark gray. They are roughly the size of the familiar cardinal, but have a more upright and slender posture.

[Goose55]

One of the most familiar birds in the cities of the Arizona-Sonoran Desert. They sustain themselves by hunting for insects and spiders in lawns. They are also highly frugivorous, i.e. they eat a wide variety of fruits; berries of lantana and pyracantha are mainstays. Males and females have similar plumage: nearly uniform gray except for long dark tail and white patch in open wing. Males are the singers that often practice all night long on a concatenation of bird songs borrowed from a variety of other bird species.

Northern Mockingbird can be found in the Sonoran Desert far from human habitation especially when there is an abundance of berries.

[Goose55]

Smallest of the three common woodpeckers in the Sonoran Desert. It is a year-round resident inhabiting mostly low trees and shrubs especially along canyon bottoms and desert washes with trees.

Fine barring of black-and-white on the back. The belly and chest are off-white with variable light spotting. Black and white bars on sides of head. Male has bright red on back of the head. Year-round Resident

[hugodrax]

Goose is plagiarizing copyrighted material again.

[Goose55]

Goose is plagiarizing copyrighted material again.

It's on Youtube, therefore public domain, so please therefore refrain.

[hugodrax]

Goose is plagiarizing copyrighted material again.

It's on Youtube, therefore public domain, so please therefore refrain.

Poor dumb Goose. One plagiarizes the written word.

[Goose55]

Male Gilded Flicker Woodpecker.

One handsome fellow, above, and masterpiece of creation. He appears dressed up like a rock star. Only males have that red mustache strip. Loud, sharp calls of flickers carry for a kilometer or more and are one of the characteristic sounds of the Sonoran Desert.

Female Flicker drinking nectar from Saguaro Cactus blooms....

[durangopipe]

This is a fascinating thread, Goose.
I’m always amazed by the incredible variety of life that thrives in what appears at first to be a place hostile to life.

[Goose55]

This is a fascinating thread, Goose.
I’m always amazed by the incredible variety of life that thrives in what appears at first to be a place hostile to life.

What makes it so is that the Sonoran Desert is a green desert. And you're right, there is an enormous variety of life here.

[Goose55]

Female & male Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Smallest of the three common woodpeckers in the Sonoran Desert. It is a year-round resident inhabiting mostly low trees and shrubs especially along canyon bottoms and desert washes with trees.

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are small woodpeckers with a square head, short neck, and stiff tail that they lean against for support. The bill is rather small but straight and chisel-like. Fine barring of black-and-white on the back. The belly and chest are off-white with variable light spotting. Black and white bars on sides of head. Male has bright red on back of the head.

[Goose55]

Black-tailed gnatcatcher

Field Identification: white eye ring, white outer tail feathers. Season: year-round. A fairly small bird, only 4 - 1/2 inches long w/ a wingspan of 5 - 1/2 inches

[Goose55]

Male Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's hummingbirds are now the most commonly seen hummingbird in gardens and at backyard feeders in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Prior to the 1960's they were mostly a temporary resident during the winter months - the remainder of the year their permanent home was coastal Southern California. The popularity of feeders no doubt has played a role in this population shift.

[Goose55]

White-winged Dove

These large doves inhabit both in urban and natural Sonoran Desert habitats in the Arizona Desert. By the beginning of September most white-wings migrate away from the Sonoran Desert leaving their smaller cousins behind to face the gauntlet of dove hunting season.

[Thunktank]

White-winged Dove

These large doves inhabit both in urban and natural Sonoran Desert habitats in the Arizona Desert. By the beginning of September most white-wings migrate away from the Sonoran Desert leaving their smaller cousins behind to face the gauntlet of dove hunting season.

There were plenty of them when I was hunting them near Yuma last September. Their bigger size makes them even better for table fair. You should head over to the river and meet us there and become part of the “gauntlet” you talked about, goose. You just might come to appreciate these birds even more then.

[hugodrax]

I’m really going to miss Thunktank.

[Thunktank]

I’m really going to miss Thunktank.

You didn’t think I was going to give him a gun do you? He just needs to shoot the action with a camera. If it turns out anything like last time it would make good comedy for all missing I did, plus he’d be happy because I did miss so many.

[hugodrax]

I’m really going to miss Thunktank.

You didn’t think I was going to give him a gun do you? He just needs to shoot the action with a camera. If it turns out anything like last time it would make good comedy for all missing I did, plus he’d be happy because I did miss so many.

It's almost like I can still hear his voice.

[Thunktank]

I’m really going to miss Thunktank.

You didn’t think I was going to give him a gun do you? He just needs to shoot the action with a camera. If it turns out anything like last time it would make good comedy for all missing I did, plus he’d be happy because I did miss so many.

It's almost like I can still hear his voice.