Winter Feeder Birds

A Review and Comparison of Common Winter Feeder Birds

Below is a review and comparison of some of the winter birds you may see at your feeders or around town on the Christmas Bird Count. Naturally, other birds are possible so be sure to consult a field guide for further help. Click the photo for a larger version.

House Finch - male

The House Finch is a common feeder bird in winter. The male shows some reddish color on the head and upper breast; some show more red, some less.

Purple Finch - male

The Purple Finch is less commonly seen here in the winter, but is still possible. Note that the male shows a much more raspberry color than the male House Finch's reddish color.

House Finch - female

The female House Finch is much plainer than the male with no red. They are a grayish-brown with thick, blurry streaks and an indistinctly marked face.

Purple Finch - female

The female Purple Finch is coarsely streaked below and has strong facial markings, including a whitish eyestripe and a dark line down the side of the throat.

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch is another common feeder bird; however, in the winter they are much duller than the bright yellow males we see in summer. They can easily be missed in a large flock of Pine Siskins.

Pine Siskin

The Pine Siskin is mostly streaky brown. They have a sharp, pointed bill, more slender than most of the finches. Most show some subtle yellow edgings on the wings and tail; some may show more yellow than others.

Common Redpoll - male

The Common Redpoll is another small finch with a red crown (poll). It has a black chin and lores. The wings and tail are blackish-brown with broad white wing bars. The male shows red-pink on his breast.

Common Redpoll - female

The female Common Redpoll is similar to the male but does not show red-pink on the breast.

Hoary Redpoll

The Hoary Redpoll (male pictured here) is much like the Common Redpoll but with much less streaking on the flanks, a white rump and undertail, and a lighter "frostier" gray look to the back. They are difficult to distinguish from the Common so, unless you get a really good look and can be pretty certain, consider it a Common Redpoll. Males show some pink on the breast, females do not.

Dark-eyed Junco -
male

The Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) is a medium-sized sparrow with a pinkish bill and a fairly long tail with white outer tail feathers that often flash when they fly or are feeding. The males usually have a dark gray head and chest with a white belly.

Dark-eyed Junco - female

The female Dark-eyed Junco is similar to the male but is much browner. Juncos are typically ground feeders.

Dark-eyed Junco - Oregon race

The Oregon race of the Dark-eyed Junco is not very common here, but we often get one on most counts. They have a very dark hood in comparison to the pale pinkish-peach flanks and rusty back. Compare to female Slate-colored to the left.

House Sparrow - male

The House Sparrow is another frequent feeder bird. The male has a gray cap with a rufous nape, with a little bit of a black mask, much less than usually seen in the summer. The back and wings are brownish-reddish with black streaks.

House Sparrow female

The female House Sparrow is a plain buffy brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown.

Downy Woodpecker - male

The Downy Woodpecker (6.75") is often seen coming to suet feeders. Males have a red patch on the back of the head. It is very similar to the larger Hairy Woodpecker, but it can be difficult to compare sizes with only one bird present. The Downy has a much smaller bill, and sometimes black spots can be seen on the outer tail featheres.

Hairy Woodpecker - male

The Hairy Woodpecker (9.25") is like a larger version of the Downy Woodpecker. Note the much longer, sturdier bill on the Hairy, being nearly as long as the head is deep. The males also show a patch of red on the back of the head.

Downy Woodpecker - female

The female Downy Woodpecker is like the male but shows no red on the back of the head.

Hairy Woodpecker - female

The female Hairy Woodpecker is like the male but shows no red on the back of the head. Again, note the much longer bill than the Downy.

Pileated Woodpecker - male

The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large woodpecker, nearly as large as a crow. The male has a red crest and red forehead, along with a red line from the bill to the throat.

Pileated Woodpecker - female

The female Pileated Woodpecker has a red crest and black forehead, along with a black line from the bill to the throat.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The Red-bellied Woodpecker (female shown here) is not that common, but they are occasionally seen on our counts.

Northern Flicker

The Northern Flicker (female shown here) is not as readily seen here in the winter either, but another one to watch out for as we often get one on the count. The male shows a black malar (mustache).

White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch often comes to feeders for suet or seeds. It has a blue-gray back and wings, with a white face and underparts. You may see a little chestnut pattern on the flanks. It is most often seen climbing up and down tree trunks and branches, and very frequently seen upside down with its head tilted up, as above. The male has a black cap and nape, while the female has a gray cap and nape.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The Red-breasted Nuthatch behaves similarly to the White-breasted, although it is smaller.It also has a blue-gray back and wings, but a strongly patterned head with a black stripe broken up by a white stripe over the eye. The male has a black cap, the female a gray one. The underparts are a reddish orange.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwings can often be seen feeding in fruit trees. They generally are a bit more slender than the Bohemian Waxwing, with a bit of a yellowish look to their belly and white under the tail.

Bohemian Waxwing

Less common than the Cedar Waxwing most of the time, and a bit bulkier. They tend to have a bit grayer look to them, but the cinnamon under the tail is the clencher. Look for one intermixed in a flock of Cedar Waxwings.

Blue Jay

Northern Shrike

Northern Cardinal - male

Northern Cardinal - female

Merlin

The Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper's Hawk can be difficult to distinguish between for the less experienced birder. The Merlin is a falcon. Its wings are more pointy and it shows a bit of a mustache line.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The SS Hawk is the more likely Accipiter to be present in winter. It usually shows less of a neck and a more squared off tail but still can be hard to distinguish from a Cooper's Hawk. There is often a drop from the forehead down to where the bill projects out.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawks have just recently been found on our last few CBCs. They show a bit more of a neck and a more rounded appearance to the tail. The forehead often flows down in an even line into the bill. If there is a silver or color band on the leg, it's a pretty good bet it is a Cooper's Hawk.

Brown Creeper

Brown Creeper is a possibility on the CBC. It's a small brownish bird that is seen creeping up the tree trunks.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet is another possibility on the CBC as they are fairly late migrants.