PLOVERS • Charadriidae
STILTS AND AVOCETS • Recurvirostridae
SANDPIPERS AND RELATIVES • Scolopacidae
GULLS AND TERNS • Laridae
PIGEONS AND DOVES • Columbidae
CUCKOOS AND ROADRUNNERS • Cuculidae
BARN OWL • Tytonidae
TYPICAL OWLS • Strigidae
NIGHTHAWKS AND RELATIVES • Caprimulgidae
SWIFTS • Apodidae
HUMMINGBIRDS • Trochilidae
KINGFISHERS • Alcedinidae
WOODPECKERS • Picidae
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS • Tyrannidae
SHRIKES • Laniidae
VIREOS • Vireonidae
JAYS AND RELATIVES • Corvidae
LARKS • Alaudidae
SWALLOWS • Hirundinidae
CHICKADEES AND TITMICE • Paridae
VERDIN • Remizidae
BUSHTIT • Aegithalidae
NUTHATCHES • Sittidae
CREEPERS • Certhiidae
WRENS • Troglodytidae
GNATCATCHERS • Polioptilidae
DIPPERS • Cinclidae
KINGLETS • Regulidae
WRENTIT • Sylviidae
THRUSHES AND RELATIVES • Turdidae
MOCKINGBIRDS AND THRASHERS • Mimidae
STARLINGS • Sturnidae
PIPITS • Motacillidae
WAXWINGS • Bombycillidae
SILKY FLYCATCHERS • Ptilogonatidae
WOOD-WARBLERS • Parulidae
SPARROWS AND RELATIVES • Emberizidae
GROSBEAKS AND RELATIVES • Cardinalidae
BLACKBIRDS AND RELATIVES • Icteridae
FINCHES AND RELATIVES • Fringillidae
OLD WORLD SPARROWS • Passeridae
Appendices
1 Checklist of Sierra Birds
2 Rare, Casual, and Accidental Birds of the Sierra Nevada
3 Methods Used to Determine Population Trends
4 Common and Scientific Names of Plant Species
Glossary
Bibliography
Index of Common Names
Index of Scientific Names
About the Authors and Artist
PREFACE
A day spent in the Sierra paying close attention to every aspect of landscape, weather, plants, and wildlife can be timeless, a healthy bit of immortality captured in a single day. Or, as John Muir put it: “Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.”
The Sierra, Muir’s “Range of Light,” is rightly noted for its spectacular landscapes, but for the visitor who takes time to watch and listen, even the most unassuming corner is filled with wonders, delights, and surprises. The mountains hum with activity of all sorts of animals, but none are as readily observed and enjoyed as the birds. Nearly 300 species are regular visitors, and each has its own unique story to tell about where it came from, where it is going, and how it uses these mountains. And these stories are not static. In the past several decades, new species of birds have colonized the Sierra, some species have nearly vanished, populations of others have grown and spread, while some have dwindled.
We wanted to create a book that would update our knowledge of all the birds of the Sierra and would enhance and deepen the experience of a day in this range for the serious ornithologist as well as the casual hiker. We wanted to take full advantage of the latest research that takes us deeper into the natural history of these birds. We also wanted to reap the benefit of the much finer scale of status and distribution information now available. The number of people who have the skills to find and identify these birds has increased greatly and with that, our knowledge of behaviors and ranges of Sierra birds has likewise expanded.
Words alone could never do justice to the wonder and diversity of these birds. Therefore, while not making any attempt to create a “field guide,” we chose to prepare a richly illustrated book showing all the regularly occurring birds of the Sierra. We went well beyond our own personal experience and tapped into the priceless local knowledge of birders and ornithologists who live, work, and play in the Sierra. Our hope is that readers will find that time spent with this book alters the way they experience a day in the Sierra, helping them find, in that day, “true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.”
EDWARD C. BEEDY
EDWARD R. PANDOLFINO
KEITH HANSEN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In a region as vast and dynamic as the Sierra Nevada, no one could ever acquire or maintain detailed, up-to-date knowledge of the status, distribution, and natural history of every bird. To make this book as current and accurate as possible, we relied heavily on the experience and boundless generosity of the following local and regional experts and avid Sierra birders: Dan Airola, Elizabeth Ammon, Bob Barnes, Matt Brady, Ryan Burnett, Walt Carnahan, Mark Chichester, Rudy Darling, Katy Delaney, David DeSante, Bruce Deuel, Colin Dillingham, Jon Dunn, Todd Easterla, Mary Jo Elpers, Jim Estep, Tom Hahn, Aaron Haiman, Rob Hansen, Matt Heindel, Tom and Jo Heindel, Josh Hull, Rodd Kelsey, Barney Kroeger, Jack Laws, Kelli Levinson, John Lockhart, Jim Lomax, Tim Manolis, Guy McCaskie, Chris McCreedy, Mac McCormick, Joe Medley, Bob Meese, Martin Meyers, Bartshé Miller, Joe Morlan, Kristie Nelson, Will Richardson, Deren Ross, Susan Sanders, Dave Shuford, Rich Stallcup, Susan Steele, John Sterling, Brad Stovall, Jerry Tecklin, Phil Unitt, Bruce Webb, Bud and Margaret Widdowson, John Wilson, and Bill Yeates. We also thank all those who participated in any of the 44 Breeding Bird Surveys or 25 Christmas Bird Counts we used to detect and validate population trends of Sierra birds. Any mistakes that remain are entirely the responsibility of the authors.
We are indebted to Peter Pyle, Steve Howell, David Sibley, and David DeSante for their careful reviews of Keith Hansen’s art. We thank Steve Beckwitt for preparing the maps, which deftly balance clarity and detail. Elliot Minner performed the digital magic needed to put the paintings into the format needed for this book. Katrina Beedy spent many hours helping us to prepare the index. Tim Messick’s botanical expertise was essential for defining the various ecological zones and bird habitats of the Sierra.
Steve Granholm, coauthor of Discovering Sierra Birds, offered his generous and enthusiastic support for using ideas and text from that original book. We thank Shirley Beedy, Bill and Lorraine Dicke, Burr Heneman, and Janet Visick for reviewing portions of the manuscript and improving the quality of our prose.
Dan Airola, Bob Barnes, Chris Conard, Kathleen Lynch, Martin Meyers, Kristie Nelson, Dave Quady, Phil Robertson, Susan Sanders,