Woodpecker NPS Photo by Sheena Harper
From migratory birds in the spring and fall, to year-long residents, Florissant Fossil Beds supports a great diversity of birds.
Herons (Ardeidae) -Wading birds; Characteristics: long legs, neck and bill for stalking food in shallow waters.
Geese, Ducks (Anatidae) - Aquatic, web-footed, gregarious birds.
Vultures (Cathartidae) -Scavengers characterized by small unfeathered head.
Eagles, Hawks (Accipitridae) -Diurnal birds of prey equipped with hooked bills and talons.
Falcons (Falconidae)- Powerful, fast flying birds of prey.
Grouse, Quail (Phasianidae) -Ground-dwellers, with short strong bills and short rounded wings.
Plovers (Charadriidae) -Small, compact, short-billed shorebirds.
Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)- Shorebirds characterized by long bill and neck.
Gulls (Laridae) - Long-winged swimming birds with strong flight.
Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae)- Strong fliers with plump bodies and a small bobbing head.
Goatsuckers (Caprimulgidae)- Small nocturnal birds characterized by wide mouths for snaring insects.
Hummingbirds (Trochilidae)- Very small, colorful birds that hover at flowers sipping nectar with long slender bills.
Kingfishers (Alcedinidae)- Stocky birds characterized by their large head and bill.
Woodpeckers (Picidae) -Sharp claws and a sharp bill enable thses birds to climb tree trunks and chisel out insect food and nest holes.
Flycatchers (Tyrannidae) -Small perching birds that dart about eating insects.
Swallows (Hirundinidae) -Small insect eating birds characterized by slender bodies and long pointed wings.
Jays, Crows, Magpies (Corvidae) -Large, aggressive birds with thick bills for varied diet.
Chickadees (Paridae) -Small birds with short wings, short bill and drab plumage.
Nuthatches (Sittidae)- Short-tailed tree-climbers that forage for insects in tree bark.
Creepers (Certhiidae) -Small tree-climbings birds with curved bill for extracting insects from bark.
Wrens (Troglodytidae) -Small chunky birds with slender bills and up-tilted tails.
Kinglets (Sylviidae)- Small, drab birds with thin bills for eating insects.
Thrushes (Muscicapidae)- Eloquent songbirds of open marshes and woodlands.
Mockingbirds (Mimidae) -Songbirds characterized by short wings and long tail.
Shrikes (Laniidae) -Heavy hooked beaks and black masks characterize these opportunistic hunters.
Larks (Alaudidae)- Ground dwellers of open fields, slender bills for eating seeds and insects.
Vireos (Vireonidae)- Small perching songbirds characterized by eye markings (eye rings, "eyebrows", and lores).
Warblers (Parulidae) -Family of small, brightly colored songbirds.
Tanagers (Thraupidae)- Brilliant thrush like birds of the forest.
Towhees, Sparrows (Fringillidae)- Family of small birds characterized by small stout bills used for cracking seeds.
Blackbirds, Orioles (Icteridae)- Medium to large heavy-billed birds.
Finches, Grosbeaks (Fringillidae) Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage
