kids encyclopedia robot

List of birds of Channel Islands National Park facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Welcome to the amazing world of birds found in Channel Islands National Park! This special park is located in California, USA. It's home to many different kinds of birds. This list tells you about the 387 bird species that were recorded here by November 2011.

Scientists organize birds into groups to make them easier to study. This list follows a special order created by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). It uses their names for birds and their families.

Some birds live in the park all the time, while others visit during summer or winter, or just pass through. The park's bird checklist also tells us how often each bird is seen. Here's what the tags mean:

  • R (Rare): These birds are seen every year, but only a few of them (5-10 times a season). There are 73 rare species.
  • C (Casual): These birds are not seen every year (only one or two times a season). There are 29 casual species.
  • Irr (Irregular): The number of these birds changes a lot each year. Sometimes they are few, or even absent. There is 1 irregular species.
  • A (Accidental): These birds have been seen only five or fewer times in total across all the islands. There are 151 accidental species.
  • NN (Non-native): These birds didn't originally live in the Channel Islands. They were brought here by people, or came from other places where people introduced them. There are 11 non-native species.

Some birds are only found on one specific island. Here are the tags for those islands:

  • ANA – Anacapa Island
  • SM – San Miguel Island
  • SB – Santa Barbara Island
  • SC – Santa Cruz Island
  • SR – Santa Rosa Island

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae This family includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are great at living in water. They have webbed feet, flat bills, and special oily feathers that shed water easily.

New World Quail

Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae New World quails are small, plump birds that live on land. They look and act like the quails from the Old World, but they are not closely related.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae This family includes pheasants, partridges, grouse, and turkeys. They are land birds that vary in size. Many are hunted for sport or raised for food.

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridae Flamingos are tall, wading birds that live in groups. They are known for their unique, upside-down beaks, which they use to filter small shellfish and algae from the water.

  • Flamingo species, probably Phoenicopterus sp. (A) (SC)

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes Family: Podicipedidae Grebes are diving birds that live in freshwater. They have lobed toes, making them excellent swimmers. However, their feet are set far back on their bodies, so they are clumsy on land.

Pigeons and Doves

Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae These birds have sturdy bodies, short necks, and thin bills. They also have a soft, fleshy area at the base of their bill called a cere.

Cuckoos

Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae This family includes cuckoos and roadrunners. These birds have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. Some cuckoos are known for laying their eggs in other birds' nests.

Nightjars and Allies

Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Caprimulgidae Nightjars are medium-sized birds that are active at night. They usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Their soft feathers help them blend in with bark or leaves.

Swifts

Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae Swifts spend most of their lives flying. They have very short legs and can only perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, swept-back wings that look like a crescent moon.

Hummingbirds

Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae Hummingbirds are tiny birds famous for hovering in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backward!

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae This large family includes rails, crakes, and coots. They usually live in dense plants near water. They are often shy and hard to spot. Most have strong legs and long toes, good for walking on soft ground.

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae Cranes are large birds with long legs and necks. Unlike herons, cranes fly with their necks stretched out. Many cranes have loud and fancy courtship dances.

Stilts and Avocets

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae This family includes avocets and stilts. Avocets have long legs and bills that curve upwards. Stilts have extremely long legs and thin, straight bills.

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Haematopodidae Oystercatchers are large, noticeable, and noisy birds. They have strong bills that they use to smash open or pry apart molluscs like oysters.

Plovers and Lapwings

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae This family includes plovers and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies and short, thick necks. They live in open areas, often near water.

Sandpipers and Allies

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae This is a big family of shorebirds like sandpipers, curlews, and phalaropes. Most of them eat small insects and worms from mud or soil. Different bill and leg lengths allow many species to feed in the same area without competing for food.

Skuas and Jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Stercorariidae Skuas and jaegers are medium to large birds that look like dark gulls. They have hooked bills and webbed feet. They are strong, agile flyers.

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Alcidae Alcids look a bit like penguins with their black and white colors, but they can fly! They live in the open sea and only come to land to nest.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae This family includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. They are medium to large seabirds, usually gray or white with black markings. They have strong bills and webbed feet.

Tropicbirds

Order: Phaethontiformes Family: Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans. They have very long central tail feathers and black markings on their wings and head.

Loons

Order: Gaviiformes Family: Gaviidae Loons are aquatic birds, about the size of a large duck. They are mostly gray or black with spear-shaped bills. Loons are excellent swimmers but struggle on land because their legs are at the back of their bodies.

Albatrosses

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Diomedeidae Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds. Some, like the great albatrosses, have the biggest wingspans of any living bird.

Southern Storm-Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Oceanitidae Storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds. They are related to petrels and feed on tiny sea creatures and small fish from the water's surface, often while hovering.

Northern Storm-Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Hydrobatidae These storm-petrels look and act like the southern storm-petrels, but genetic differences show they belong to a separate family.

Shearwaters and Petrels

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae This group includes medium-sized "true petrels." They have nostrils that are joined together and a long outer primary feather.

Frigatebirds

Order: Suliformes Family: Fregatidae Frigatebirds are large seabirds found in tropical oceans. They are mostly black or black and white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. Males have colorful throat pouches that can inflate. They are amazing flyers and can stay in the air for over a week!

Boobies and Gannets

Order: Suliformes Family: Sulidae This family includes gannets and boobies. They are medium-large coastal seabirds that dive headfirst into the water to catch fish.

Cormorants and Shags

Order: Suliformes Family: Phalacrocoracidae Cormorants are medium to large water birds, usually dark in color. They have long, thin, hooked bills and webbed feet with four toes.

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae Pelicans are very large water birds with a unique pouch under their beak. Like other birds in their group, they have four webbed toes.

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae This family includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are tall wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns are usually shorter-necked and more secretive. These birds fly with their necks pulled back.

Ibises and Spoonbills

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Threskiornithidae This family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings and long necks and legs. Ibises have bills that curve downwards, while spoonbills have straight, flat bills.

New World Vultures

Order: Cathartiformes Family: Cathartidae New World vultures are scavengers, meaning they eat dead animals. Unlike Old World vultures, these birds have a good sense of smell to find carcasses.

Osprey

Order: Accipitriformes Family: Pandionidae The Osprey is a unique bird of prey that eats fish. It has a very large, hooked beak, strong legs, powerful talons, and excellent eyesight.

  • Osprey, Pandion haliaetus (R)

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae This family includes hawks, eagles, and harriers. These birds of prey have very large, powerful hooked beaks to tear meat from their prey. They also have strong legs, powerful talons, and sharp eyesight.

Barn-Owls

Order: Strigiformes Family: Tytonidae Barn-owls are medium to large owls with big heads and a special heart-shaped face. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons.

Owls

Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae Typical owls are solitary birds of prey that are active at night. They have large eyes that face forward and a circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.

Woodpeckers

Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks. They have stiff tails and long tongues for catching insects. Many woodpeckers tap loudly on tree trunks.

Falcons and Caracaras

Order: Falconiformes Family: Falconidae This family includes falcons. They are different from hawks and eagles because they kill their prey with their beaks instead of their talons.

Tyrant Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae Tyrant flycatchers are passerine birds found in North and South America. They are mostly insect-eaters and have strong bills.

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

Order: Passeriformes Family: Vireonidae Vireos are small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World. They are usually greenish and look like wood-warblers, but have heavier bills.

Shrikes

Order: Passeriformes Family: Laniidae Shrikes are passerine birds known for catching small animals and impaling them on thorns. Their beak is hooked, similar to a bird of prey.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae This family includes crows, ravens, and jays. They are larger than average passerine birds and some are very intelligent. The island scrub-jay lives only on Santa Cruz Island.

  • Island scrub-jay, Aphelocoma insularis (SC)
  • Common raven, Corvus corax

Larks

Order: Passeriformes Family: Alaudidae Larks are small land birds known for their beautiful songs and display flights. Most larks are plain in color and eat insects and seeds.

Swallows

Order: Passeriformes Family: Hirundinidae Swallows are built for catching food in the air. They have slender bodies, long pointed wings, and short bills with wide mouths. Their feet are good for perching, not walking.

Long-tailed Tits

Order: Passeriformes Family: Aegithalidae Long-tailed tits are small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They build woven, bag-shaped nests in trees and eat a mix of insects.

Kinglets

Order: Passeriformes Family: Regulidae Kinglets are a small family of very tiny insect-eating birds. Adult kinglets have colorful crowns, which is how they got their name.

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae Waxwings have soft, silky feathers and unique red tips on some wing feathers that look like sealing wax. These birds live in northern forests and eat insects in summer and berries in winter.

Silky-Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Ptiliogonatidae Silky-flycatchers are a small family of passerine birds found mostly in Central America. They are related to waxwings and most have small crests on their heads.

Nuthatches

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sittidae Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, unlike most other birds. They have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Treecreepers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Certhiidae Treecreepers are small woodland birds that are brown on top and white underneath. They have thin, curved bills to pull insects from tree bark. Their stiff tail feathers help them support themselves on vertical trees.

Gnatcatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Polioptilidae These delicate birds look like Old World warblers. They move constantly through leaves looking for insects. Gnatcatchers are usually soft bluish-gray and have long, sharp bills.

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes Family: Troglodytidae Wrens are small, often hard-to-spot birds, but they have very loud songs. They have short wings and thin, downward-curved bills. Many species hold their tails upright. All wrens eat insects.

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Mimidae This family includes thrashers and mockingbirds. These birds are famous for their amazing ability to copy the songs of other birds and other sounds they hear. They are usually dull gray and brown.

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae Starlings are small to medium-sized Old World passerine birds with strong feet. They fly strongly and directly and often live in large groups. They prefer open areas and eat insects and fruit.

Dippers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Cinclidae Dippers are perching birds that live near water. They are named for their bobbing movements. These birds can dive underwater and walk on the bottom to find insect larvae.

Thrushes and Allies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae Thrushes are a group of passerine birds, mostly found in the Old World. They are plump, soft-feathered, and eat insects or sometimes everything. They often feed on the ground and many have lovely songs.

Old World Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passeridae Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. They are generally plump, brownish or grayish, with short tails and strong, conical beaks. Sparrows eat seeds but also small insects.

Wagtails and Pipits

Order: Passeriformes Family: Motacillidae This family includes wagtails and pipits. They are slender, ground-feeding insectivores found in open areas. They have medium to long tails.

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, small to medium-large, with strong, often conical beaks. They have a bouncing flight pattern and most sing well.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

Order: Passeriformes Family: Calcariidae Longspurs are passerine birds that live in open grassy areas. They were once grouped with New World sparrows but are now in their own family.

New World Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passerellidae Most birds in this family are called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many have unique patterns on their heads.

Yellow-breasted Chat

Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteriidae This species was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but scientists decided in 2017 that it belonged in its own family.

Troupials and Allies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae This group includes blackbirds and orioles. They are small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds found only in the New World. Many species are mostly black, sometimes with bright yellow, orange, or red.

New World Warblers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae Wood warblers are a group of small, often colorful passerine birds found only in the New World. Most live in trees, but some are more ground-dwelling. Most members of this family eat insects.

Cardinals and Allies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Cardinalidae Cardinals are a family of strong, seed-eating birds with powerful bills. They usually live in open woodlands. Males and females often have different feather colors.

See also

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of birds of Channel Islands National Park Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.