Are you looking for some adventure right in your own backyard? Why not give bird identification a try? All you need to get started with bird identification are some simple tools-a good field guide such as the one provided below, and some binoculars.

• Download the Bird Guide ( 238 KB)
• Download Bird Guide Images ( 1.7 MB)
  This PDF document contains a high-resolution view of the images in the bird guide. Be sure to download it and take it with you to help identify birds in the field.

American Coot (Fulica Americana)

American Coot
Photo by Bob Martinka

A familiar wetland bird with a distinctive white bill. Aggressive. When swimming, it pumps its head back and forth, and can dive from the surface. The downy chicks have a hairy orange-red head.

Voice:

A grating kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk; various crackles, croaks

Habitat:

ponds, lakes, marshes
[ View Distribution Map]

American Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos)

American Crow
Photo by Bob Martinka

A very common bird in most of the U.S. and Canada. Often gregarious. A large, chunky black bird.

Voice:

Loud caw, caw, caw

Habitat:

woodlands, farms, fields, shores, towns, dumps
[ View Distribution Map]

Black-billed Magpie (Pica Hudsonia)

Black-billed Magpie
Photo by Bob Martinka

A gregarious jay-like bird of the West. In flight its long greenish black tail streams behind and white patches flash in the wings.

Voice:

A harsh rapid queng queng queng queng; also a nasal maag?
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

rangeland, brushy country, conifers, streamsides, farms
[ View Distribution Map]

Black-capped Chickadee (Parus Atricapillus)

Black-capped Chickadee
Photo by Bob Martinka

A small, plump, small-billed bird. In addition to a black cap, it has a white wing patch and rusty sides.

Voice:

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee

Habitat:

woods, willow thickets, shade trees
[ View Distribution Map]

Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis)

Canada Goose
Photo by Bob Martinka

The most widespread goose. Often seen migrating in V-formations in fall or spring; often year-round residents in many areas. Fluffy yellow goslings grow up into huge brown gees with long black necks, black heads and a white chinstrap.

Voice:

Deep musical honking, ka-ronk or ka-lunk
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

lakes, ponds, bays, marshes, fields
[ View Distribution Map]

Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)

Great Blue Heron

A lean gray bird that can stand 4'… tall. It has long legs, long neck, dagger-like bill, and flies with its neck pulled in.

Voice:

Deep harsh croaks: frahnk, frahnk, frahnk
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

marshes, swamps, shores, tideflats
[ View Distribution Map]

Great Horned Owl (Bubo Virginianus)

Great Horned Owl
Photo by Bob Martinka

North America's largest owl. It has ear tufts and is roughly eagle-sized. This owl eats rabbits, skunks, squirrels, and sometimes smaller owls.

Voice:

Hoo!, hu-hu-hu, Hoo! Hoo!
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

forests, streamsides, open country
[ View Distribution Map]

Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos)

Mallard
Photo by Bob Martinka

The world's most widespread duck. While the male is more colorful than the brown mottled female, both have a shiny bluish patch on the wing, called the speculum.

Voice:

Male: yeeb; Female: loud quacking
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

ponds, lakes, marshes, bays, city parks
[ View Distribution Map]

Mountain Bluebird (Sialia Currucoides)

Mountain Bluebird
Photo by Bob Martinka

Males colored peacock blue with a paler belly-no orange coloring like the Western Bluebird. Female is dull brownish.

Voice:

A loud chur or phew, short subdued warble

Habitat:

open country with some trees
[ View Distribution Map]

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus)

Red-winged Blackbird
Photo by Bob Martinka

One of the first birds to migrate north in early spring. Male is bright; female is drab.

Voice:

A loud check, high tee-err; song is a gurgling konk-la-ree

Habitat:

marshes, brushy swamps, hayfields, along edges of water
[ View Distribution Map]

Ring-billed Gull (Larus Delawarensis)

Ring-billed Gull
Photo by Bob Martinka

This gull was almost eliminated by human encroachment between 1850 and 1920, but has made a dramatic comeback. The gull takes three years to become an adult. The black ring around its bill is its distinctive feature.

Voice:

A high-pitched hiyak…hiyah…hyia-hyak
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

lakes, bays, coasts, piers, dumps (opportunistic feeder)
[ View Distribution Map]

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella Neglecta)

Western Meadowlark

The Montana state bird. A member of the blackbird family-not larks. Has a distinctive V-shaped bib.

Voice:

7-10 flute-like notes, double-noted
[ Listen To Call]

Habitat:

meadows, grasslands, prairies
[ View Distribution Map]