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List of birds of Guadalupe Mountains National Park facts for kids

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Welcome to a list of amazing birds you can find in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park! This special park is located in Texas, USA. This list helps you learn about the many different bird species that live there or visit.

The information here comes from the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). They have counted about 269 types of birds in the park!

Birds are grouped by their families, which is a way scientists organize them. This helps us understand how different birds are related.

You'll see some special notes next to certain birds:

  • *(PP) means the bird is Probably Present. The park thinks it's there, but it's not always seen.
  • *(UC) means Unconfirmed. This bird might be there, but it hasn't been officially confirmed yet.
  • *(I) means Introduced. This bird was brought to the area by people, not by nature.

Contents

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl: Birds of the Water

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

This group includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are super good at living in water! They have webbed feet for swimming and special feathers that shed water easily. Their bills are often flat, which helps them find food in the water.

New World Quail: Small Ground Birds

Order: Galliformes   Family: Odontophoridae

New World quails are small, plump birds that live on the ground. They look a bit like quails from other parts of the world, but they are actually different.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies: Game Birds

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

This family includes pheasants and similar birds. They live on the ground and vary in size. They are usually plump with short, wide wings. Many of these birds are hunted for sport or raised for food.

Grebes: Diving Water Birds

Order: Podicipediformes   Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-sized birds that dive in freshwater. They have special lobed toes that make them excellent swimmers and divers. However, because their feet are set far back on their bodies, they are quite clumsy on land.

Pigeons and Doves: Common Birds

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are birds with sturdy bodies, short necks, and thin bills. They have a soft, fleshy area at the base of their bill called a cere. They eat seeds, fruits, and plants.

Cuckoos: Birds with Long Tails

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

The cuckoo family includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds come in different sizes. They usually have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.

Nightjars and Allies: Nighttime Hunters

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized birds that are active at night. They usually build their nests on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Their soft feathers are colored to help them blend in with tree bark or leaves.

Swifts: Masters of Flight

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds that spend most of their lives flying. They have very short legs and almost never land on the ground. Instead, they perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, swept-back wings that look like a crescent moon or a boomerang.

Hummingbirds: Tiny Hovering Jewels

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are tiny birds famous for hovering in mid-air. They flap their wings incredibly fast. They are the only birds that can fly backward!

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots: Shy Water Birds

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

This is a large family of small to medium-sized birds. They include rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. Most of them live in thick plants near lakes, swamps, or rivers. They are usually shy, which makes them hard to spot. They have strong legs and long toes, perfect for walking on soft, uneven ground.

Cranes: Tall and Graceful Birds

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large birds with long legs and long necks. When they fly, they keep their necks stretched out, unlike herons, which pull their necks back. Many cranes perform fancy and loud "dances" to find a mate.

Plovers and Lapwings: Shoreline Birds

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae

This family includes plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, pointed wings. You can find them in open areas around the world, especially near water.

Sandpipers and Allies: Wading Birds

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

This is a large group of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, snipes, and more. Most of these birds eat small insects and worms they find in mud or soil. Different bill and leg lengths allow many species to feed in the same areas without competing for food.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers: Seabirds

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

This family includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are usually gray or white, often with black on their heads or wings. They have strong bills and webbed feet. Terns are generally medium to large seabirds, often gray or white with black markings on their heads. Most terns dive for fish, but some pick insects off the water's surface. Skimmers are tropical birds with a unique lower bill that is longer than the upper one. They use it to skim the water for small fish while flying low.

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns: Wading Birds

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

This family includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns have shorter necks and are more secretive. When they fly, these birds pull their necks back, which is different from other long-necked birds like storks.

Ibises and Spoonbills: Unique Bills

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Threskiornithidae

This family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, wide wings and long bodies with long necks and legs. Their bills are also long; ibises have a downward-curving bill, while spoonbills have a straight, flattened bill that looks like a spoon.

New World Vultures: Nature's Clean-Up Crew

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae

New World vultures look like Old World vultures, but they are not closely related. They look similar because they both adapted to the same job: eating dead animals. Unlike Old World vultures, which find food by sight, New World vultures have a great sense of smell to find carcasses.

Osprey: Fish-Eating Hunter

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

The Osprey is the only bird in this family. It's a bird of prey that eats fish. It has a very large, strong hooked beak, powerful legs, sharp talons, and excellent eyesight.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites: Powerful Hunters

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

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

Barn-Owls: Nighttime Hunters with Heart-Shaped Faces

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Tytonidae

Owls in this family are medium to large with big heads. They have a special heart-shaped face that helps them hear sounds better.

Owls: True Owls of the Night

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

These are the typical or "true" owls. They are usually solitary birds of prey that hunt at night. They have large eyes that face forward, good hearing, a hawk-like beak, and a circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Kingfishers: Fisher Birds

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads and long, pointed bills. They have short legs and stubby tails. They are known for diving into water to catch fish.

Woodpeckers: Tree Tappers

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks. They have short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues that help them catch insects. Many woodpeckers tap loudly on tree trunks with their beaks to find food.

Falcons and Caracaras: Fast Hunters

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

This family includes falcons and caracaras. They are birds of prey that are active during the day. They are different from hawks and eagles because they kill their prey with their beaks instead of their talons.

Tyrant Flycatchers: Insect Eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are found across North and South America. They look a bit like other flycatchers but are stronger and have more powerful bills. They are not known for their singing. Most of them eat insects.

Vireos and Allies: Small Greenish Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae

Vireos are small to medium-sized birds found in the Americas. They are usually greenish and look like wood-warblers, but they have stronger bills.

Shrikes: Hook-Billed Hunters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are known for catching other birds and small animals. They sometimes impale their uneaten prey on thorns, like a butcher. A shrike's beak is hooked, similar to a bird of prey.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies: Smart Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae

This family includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. Corvids are larger than most other perching birds. Some of the bigger species are very intelligent.

Penduline-Tits: Tiny Nest Builders

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Remizidae

The Verdin is the only member of this family found in North America. It's one of the smallest perching birds here. Verdins eat insects and are usually alone, except when they pair up to build their noticeable nests.

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice: Adaptable Woodland Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Paridae

The Paridae family includes small, sturdy woodland birds with short, strong bills. Some have crests on their heads. They are adaptable birds that eat a mix of seeds and insects.

Larks: Ground Birds with Songs

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small birds that live on the ground. They often have fancy songs and display flights. Most larks look quite plain. They eat insects and seeds.

Swallows: Aerial Feeders

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

This family is built for catching food while flying. Swallows have slender, streamlined bodies, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide mouth. Their feet are better for perching than walking.

Long-tailed Tits: Small Birds with Long Tails

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Aegithalidae

Long-tailed tits are a family of small perching birds with medium to long tails. They build woven bag-shaped nests in trees. Most of them eat a mix of insects.

Kinglets: Tiny Crowned Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Regulidae

Kinglets are a small family of birds that look like some warblers. They are very tiny birds that eat insects. The adult birds have colored crowns on their heads, which is how they got their name.

Waxwings: Silky Plumage and Red Tips

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae

Waxwings are perching birds with soft, silky feathers. They have unique red tips on some of their wing feathers that look like sealing wax. These birds live in northern forests and eat insects in summer and berries in winter.

Silky-Flycatchers: Crested Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Ptiliogonatidae

Silky-flycatchers are a small family of perching birds found mostly in Central America. They are related to waxwings, and most species have small crests on their heads.

Nuthatches: Head-First Climbers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, which most other birds can't do. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Treecreepers: Bark Explorers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small woodland birds that are brown on top and white underneath. They have thin, pointed, downward-curved bills. They use their bills to pull insects out of tree bark. They also have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which help them support themselves on vertical trees.

Gnatcatchers: Tiny Insect Hunters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae

These delicate birds look and act like some warblers. They move constantly through leaves looking for insects. Gnatcatchers are usually soft bluish-gray and have a long, sharp bill for catching insects. Many species have distinct black head patterns and long, black-and-white tails that they often hold upright.

Wrens: Small Birds with Loud Songs

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and often hard to see, but they have very loud songs! They have short wings and thin, downward-curved bills. Several species often hold their tails straight up. All wrens eat insects.

Mockingbirds and Thrashers: Amazing Mimics

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mimidae

This family includes thrashers, mockingbirds, and catbirds. These birds are famous for their voices, especially their amazing ability to copy the sounds of many other birds and outdoor noises. They usually have dull gray and brown feathers.

Starlings: Social Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized birds with strong feet. They fly strongly and directly, and most are very social, living in large groups. They prefer open areas and eat insects and fruit. Many species have dark feathers with a shiny, metallic look.

Dippers: Underwater Walkers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cinclidae

Dippers are perching birds that live near water in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. These birds have special adaptations that allow them to go underwater and walk on the bottom to find insect larvae to eat.

Thrushes and Allies: Sweet Singers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

Thrushes are a group of perching birds found mostly in the Old World. They are plump, soft-feathered, and small to medium-sized. They eat insects or sometimes a mix of things, often feeding on the ground. Many thrushes have beautiful songs.

Old World Sparrows: Small Seed Eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small perching birds. They are generally small, plump, brownish or grayish birds with short tails and strong, short beaks. Sparrows mainly eat seeds, but they also eat small insects.

Wagtails and Pipits: Slender Ground Feeders

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Motacillidae

This family includes wagtails and pipits. They are small perching birds with medium to long tails. They are slender birds that eat insects on the ground in open areas.

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies: Seed-Eating Singers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae

Finches are perching birds that eat seeds. They are small to medium-sized and have strong, often cone-shaped beaks. All finches have twelve tail feathers and nine primary flight feathers. These birds have a bouncy flight pattern, and most sing well.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings: Grassland Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Calcariidae

This group of perching birds used to be grouped with New World sparrows. However, they are different in several ways and are usually found in open grassy areas.

New World Sparrows: Distinctive Head Patterns

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae

These birds are often called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of these birds have unique patterns on their heads.

Yellow-breasted Chat: A Unique Bird

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteriidae

This bird used to be grouped with the wood-warblers, but scientists decided it was unique enough to have its own family in 2017.

Troupials and Allies: Colorful New World Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae

This group includes grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. They are small to medium-sized, often colorful perching birds found only in the Americas. Most species have black as their main feather color, often brightened with yellow, orange, or red.

New World Warblers: Small and Bright

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae

Wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful perching birds found only in the Americas. Most live in trees, but some spend more time on the ground. Most birds in this family eat insects.

Cardinals and Allies: Strong-Billed Seed Eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae

Cardinals are a family of strong birds that eat seeds and have powerful bills. They usually live in open woodlands. The male and female birds often have different feather colors.

See also

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List of birds of Guadalupe Mountains National Park Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.