Birds of Galena Forest

The pictures and descriptions below are the more common birds you may see here in the Galena
Forest area, both year-round and seasonally.  Get out your binoculars and see if you can spot
them in your yard!  
Year-round Birds
Bird
 Photo
 Size
 Description
 Feeding Habits
Steller's Jay
13"
 Prominent crest;
brownish-black head, breast,
and back grading to a deep
blue on wings, belly, rump,
and tail
 Nuts, seeds, insects,
berries and fruit, suet;
comes to feeders; takes
table scraps from humans
at campsites
Mountain
Chickadee
6"
 Black cap and bib; white
cheek; thin white line over
eye; gray flanks
 Acrobatically forages for
insects and seeds; comes
to bird feeders for
sunflower seeds, suet;
friendly, may accept
sunflower seeds from
your hand
Northern
Flicker
(Red-shafted)
13"
 Brown and black barred back
& wings; whitish or buffy
breast with black spots; wide
black necklace; conspicuous
white rump in flight; reddish
undertail & underwings;
male--red "moustache"
 45% of its diet are ants;
also eats insects, fruit,
berries, seeds, suet.  
Comes to bird feeders.
Brown Creeper
5 1/2"
 Small brown bird that hitches
up tree trunks; brown streaks
above, whitish below;
relatively long downcurved
bill; long pointed tail feathers
 Creeps up tree trunks,
probing for insects and
larvae, then drops down
to the base of the next
tree and starts up again.  
Sometimes visits feeders
for chopped nuts and suet
Lesser Goldfinch
4 1/2"
 Male:  Black cap, greenish
back, yellow belly & white
patch on wings; Female:  
greenish above, yellow
below; yellow undertail
coverts, black wings have a
white patch seen in flight
 Seeds, weeks, grasses,
flower buds & berries;
comes to feeders for
nyjer (thistle) seed and
sometimes for sunflower
seeds; drawn to habitat
that includes a good
water source
Bird
 Photo
 Size
 Description
 Feeding Habits
Oregon Junco
6"
 Pale bill; dark eye; whitish
belly; tail dark with
conspicuous white outer
feathers.  Male:  solid black or
slaty hood, chestnut back,
rusty sides; Female:  paler,
with gray hood
 Forages mostly on the
ground near thickets or
forest edge on weed and
grass seeds.  At feeders,
eats seed on ground or
on trays
Yellow-rumped
Warbler
5 1/2"
 Bright yellow rump and
yellow throat with a yellow
patch on side in front of each
wing; streaked on breast
and/or flanks; white spots in
tail.  Male:  in spring, yellow
crown (females, duller)
 In winter, frequents
brushy thickets especially
near berries.  Eats insects
and berries (especially in
winter).  Comes to
feeders for suet and fruit
Pygmy
Nuthatch
4 1/4"
 Very small; grayish-brown
cap bordered by darker
eyeline; gray back; buffy
belly.  Dull white spot on
nape may be seen at close
range
 Climbs over branches
and down trunks of trees
in search of insects and
pine seeds.  Will come to
feeders for suet, peanuts
and sunflower seeds
White-headed
Woodpecker
8"
 Black body with white head
and throat and elongated
white patches on outer part of
wings.  Male:  red patch on
back of head
 Large portion of diet is
Ponderosa Pine seeds;
also gets insects under
bark of pine trees.  Will
come to feeders for suet
Clarks
Nutcracker
12"
 Gray with black wings, large
white patches in wings and
along outer tail feathers; black
central tail feathers
 Main food is pine seeds
which it buries (caches)
in fall and retrieves them
by memory in winter
and spring; opens pine
nuts (pinyon or
whitebark) with its
spike-bill, or by wedging
in a crevice or holding
with foot and cracking
them open.  Scavenges at
campsites and picnic
areas.  Also eats insects
and fruit.  Eats suet at
feeders
Winter Birds
Thank you to neighbors and bird enthusiasts, Georgia and Ken Rohrs, for providing the following lists and information!
For more information on these birds, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds
Birds of Galena Forest

The pictures and descriptions below are the more common birds you may see here in the Galena
Forest area, both year-round and seasonally.  Get out your binoculars and see if you can spot
them in your yard!  
Year-round Birds
Bird
 Photo
 Size
 Description
 Feeding Habits
Steller's Jay
13"
 Prominent crest;
brownish-black head, breast,
and back grading to a deep
blue on wings, belly, rump,
and tail
 Nuts, seeds, insects,
berries and fruit, suet;
comes to feeders; takes
table scraps from humans
at campsites
Mountain
Chickadee
6"
 Black cap and bib; white
cheek; thin white line over
eye; gray flanks
 Acrobatically forages for
insects and seeds; comes
to bird feeders for
sunflower seeds, suet;
friendly, may accept
sunflower seeds from
your hand
Northern
Flicker
(Red-shafted)
13"
 Brown and black barred back
& wings; whitish or buffy
breast with black spots; wide
black necklace; conspicuous
white rump in flight; reddish
undertail & underwings;
male--red "moustache"
 45% of its diet are ants;
also eats insects, fruit,
berries, seeds, suet.  
Comes to bird feeders.
Brown Creeper
5 1/2"
 Small brown bird that hitches
up tree trunks; brown streaks
above, whitish below;
relatively long downcurved
bill; long pointed tail feathers
 Creeps up tree trunks,
probing for insects and
larvae, then drops down
to the base of the next
tree and starts up again.  
Sometimes visits feeders
for chopped nuts and suet
Lesser Goldfinch
4 1/2"
 Male:  Black cap, greenish
back, yellow belly & white
patch on wings; Female:  
greenish above, yellow
below; yellow undertail
coverts, black wings have a
white patch seen in flight
 Seeds, weeks, grasses,
flower buds & berries;
comes to feeders for
nyjer (thistle) seed and
sometimes for sunflower
seeds; drawn to habitat
that includes a good
water source
Bird
 Photo
 Size
 Description
 Feeding Habits
Oregon Junco
6"
 Pale bill; dark eye; whitish
belly; tail dark with
conspicuous white outer
feathers.  Male:  solid black or
slaty hood, chestnut back,
rusty sides; Female:  paler,
with gray hood
 Forages mostly on the
ground near thickets or
forest edge on weed and
grass seeds.  At feeders,
eats seed on ground or
on trays
Yellow-rumped
Warbler
5 1/2"
 Bright yellow rump and
yellow throat with a yellow
patch on side in front of each
wing; streaked on breast
and/or flanks; white spots in
tail.  Male:  in spring, yellow
crown (females, duller)
 In winter, frequents
brushy thickets especially
near berries.  Eats insects
and berries (especially in
winter).  Comes to
feeders for suet and fruit
Pygmy
Nuthatch
4 1/4"
 Very small; grayish-brown
cap bordered by darker
eyeline; gray back; buffy
belly.  Dull white spot on
nape may be seen at close
range
 Climbs over branches
and down trunks of trees
in search of insects and
pine seeds.  Will come to
feeders for suet, peanuts
and sunflower seeds
White-headed
Woodpecker
8"
 Black body with white head
and throat and elongated
white patches on outer part of
wings.  Male:  red patch on
back of head
 Large portion of diet is
Ponderosa Pine seeds;
also gets insects under
bark of pine trees.  Will
come to feeders for suet
Clarks
Nutcracker
12"
 Gray with black wings, large
white patches in wings and
along outer tail feathers; black
central tail feathers
 Main food is pine seeds
which it buries (caches)
in fall and retrieves them
by memory in winter
and spring; opens pine
nuts (pinyon or
whitebark) with its
spike-bill, or by wedging
in a crevice or holding
with foot and cracking
them open.  Scavenges at
campsites and picnic
areas.  Also eats insects
and fruit.  Eats suet at
feeders
Winter Birds
Thank you to neighbors and bird enthusiasts, Georgia and Ken Rohrs, for providing the following lists and information!
For more information on these birds, visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds
Bird
 Photo
 Size
 Description
 Feeding Habits
Western
Tanager
7 1/4"
 Male:  yellow belly and black
back, wings and tail; red face;
2 wing bars.  Female:  dull
yellow with gray back and
wings; 2 wing-bars
 Forages in foliage; eats
wasps and other insects,
often catches them in
midair.  May come to
feeders for halved
oranges
American
Robin
10"
 Dark gray above; brick-red
below; yellow bill; streaks on
white chin; small white spots
around eyes and on tail
corners.  Juveniles are similar
to adult but heavily spotted
on breast
 Often seen hopping
about on the ground
looking for earthworms;
also eats insects, fruit,
and berries.  
Occasionally comes to
feeders for fruit.
Western
Bluebird
7"
 Male:  deep purplish blue on
upperparts and throat,
reddish brown on breast and
sometimes center of back;
belly gray.  Female: much
duller and grayer with solid
gray throat and white
eye-ring; light blue wings and
tail  
 Drops down from
perches to ground to
catch insects; also
catches insects in the air.
 May come to bird
feeders for berries,
raisins, peanut butter
mixes, and mealworms
Bewick's Wren
5 1/4"
 Brown with a white eyebrow;
longish tail (often flipped
about) marked with black and
white underneath; underparts
are pale gray
 Common in dry woods,
thickets, riversides;
moves actively in
undergrowth and low
trees, feeding on insects
and spiders
Black-headed
Grosbeak
8"
 Male:  Black head; buffy
orange breast and collar; bold
white markings on black
wings; in flight shows white
patches on wings and yellow
"armpits."  Female:  Large bill;
buffy eyebrow; light streaking
on buffy breast; 2 white wing
bars; yellow "armpits" in flight
 Forages in foliage of
trees, eating pine and
other seeds, wild
berries, insects and
spiders.  Comes to
feeders for sunflower
seed, other types of
seed, and fruit
Spring/Summer Birds
Want to learn more about birds?  The Avian Index is a great place to start.  There are links to Festivals,
Organizations, Education Programs & Materials, Especially for Kids section, Publications and more!

Avian Index Resource Directory