Birds

California Quail

Photo by Gary Lindquist

 

Over 200 species of birds use the diverse habitats found in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. These habitats range from gently-sloping foothill grasslands, to conifer forests, and windswept alpine tundra and peaks. While some bird species live in the parks year-round, others only use the parks for breeding or as a stopover during migration. In recognition of our bird diversity and critical habitats for breeding, stopover, and wintering, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are designated as Globally Important Bird Areas.

Bird enthusiasts visiting the parks will see different bird behaviors depending on the time of year and habitat. During the winter, the foothills provide opportunities to see California quail rustling under shrubs or perching on rocks; flocks of band-tailed pigeons searching for an evening roost; or acorn woodpeckers calling to one another among the oaks. During spring and fall, large numbers of birds can be seen and heard as they seek food to fuel their long migratory journeys. In spring, look for flocks of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and tanagers; their brightly-colored feathers and distinctive songs help them establish nesting territories. In the summer, birds are active and easy to spot throughout the parks . It's a great time to hike to high-elevation areas to watch Clark's nutcrackers harvest seeds from pine cones.

Future bird watching opportunities will likely change as our climate changes. Current research indicates a shift in timing of nesting of over 200 species of birds in California's Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada. Different species are nesting from 5 to 12 days earlier than typical, likely to avoid warming spring temperatures that can kill young nesting birds. Some bird species, such as the Clark's nutcracker and the California spotted owl, could be affected as climate changes their habitats. In these parks, hotter drought and white pine blister rust could impact nutcrackers by reducing their habitat. California spotted owl habitat could be affected by a combination of of hotter drought, tree mortality, and wildfire. Other predicted climate impacts are changes in bird communities, with some species being lost in the parks due to changing climate and other new species arriving. Ecological systems are complex and it is difficult to anticipate how the interactions of changing climate and other factors may interact to change bird communities now and into the future. Yet, park managers continue to learn about possible changes and take management actions to improve the resilience and adaptation of our plant and animal communities.

Learn more about endangered California condors, and their status in the parks.

Visit the photo gallery below to enjoy some examples of the wide diversity of birds in these parks.

 

 

Bird Species Checklist

Get a bird checklist for the parks by selecting birds in the search box below. Be aware that National Park Service staff are in-process of updating species lists to be consistent with current information.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Species Category (optional):

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Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

 

More Information

For information on bird monitoring in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and other Sierra Nevada parks (Yosemite National Park and Devils Postpile National Monument), visit the Sierra Nevada Network Inventory & Monitoring Program bird project web page. See the articles below to learn more about bird monitoring in these parks and what we are learning.