BIRDS OF UTAH

MAJESTIC BIRDS OF PREY

Birds of prey are all flesh eaters. All take live prey except for the vulture,

which lives on carrion (dead decaying flesh). They all have a curved, sharp, strong bill for tearing flesh, and feet with strong curved talons. Each bird is representative of a different family

except the two eagles.

Bald Eagle

The bald eagle is our national bird. IT is listed as endangered. This means that

something must be done to protect it or all bald eagles may die off or be killed. The bald eagle winters in western Utah

valley where it mostly eats jackrabbits. In summer the bald eagle nests in the northern United States, Canada, and Alaska. Its main summer dish is fish,

which it either catches itself or steals from ospreys, or fish hawks. It is darker in color

than the golden eagle and has a white head and neck. It makes an imposing

symbol for our nation.

Golden Eagle

Many golden eagles nest in the mountains of Utah. Golden eagles are large, dark

brown birds. Their heads and the back of their necks are golden-colored. They have

a white patch at the base of their tails. The females are larger than the males. Golden eagles eat mostly jackrabbits,

gophers, and small rodents. The golden eagle is considered the king of the birds with a wing spread exceeding seven feet and a weight of over eighteen pounds. Golden eagles have been hunted and

many of them killed during the last few years.

Great Horned Owl

This bird of prey has a wing spread of about four and one half feet. It feeds entirely on meat. It is about the most savage of the

birds of prey. They can be found in orchards at night throughout Utah. This owl does not make its own nest, but father takes over the nest of a hawk, a hollow tree or log. When

hungry they will kill and eat practically anything that moves which is small enough

to handle. The bird is a quick flier, which makes the approach of death a complete

surprise to many of its victims. Their hooting sound carries long distances and when up

close resembles the cooing of a dove. Females are larger than males.

Red Tailed Hawk

This is one of the fine birds men kill because it has the name “hawk”. They may

be seen sailing overhead in many of our valleys, with a wingspread of four feet.

These hawks mate for life unless one of the pair dies. They are found nesting on a high cliff or tall tree where they can see around the whole area. They will rotate between

nests, two or three of them, year after year. Both male and female incubate the young. The young sound like a litter of pigs. They eat rodents and snakes. They are very shy

birds. The characteristic marking is the reddish-orange on the tail.

Peregrine Falcon

Falcons are streamlined hawks with long pointed wings, large heads, and tails that narrow at the tip. They are rapid on the wing with direct, choppy powerful flight. The peregrine is a rare local bird found in our mountains and rarely in our valleys. Its markings are a dark cap and white facial pattern. Flight is fast and the falcon rarely soars. It preys almost entirely on other birds. They are endangered because man uses them as hunters in a sport called “falconry”. They can be trained to kill other birds for the hunter.

GAME BIRDSThese game birds are called such

because they are fair play game to the holder of a license. They are all very

good to eat and are found in fine restaurants and on expensive menus.

Each of these game birds are in a different family.

Ring Necked Pheasant

This pheasant is originally from Russia, Japan, and China. The pheasant runs fast and can fly up to 48 miles an hour. They usually only fly a few hundred yards, unless they really get scared, then they will fly up to two miles. The enemies of the pheasant include men, skunks and cats. Sometimes snakes are their enemies, too. They nest on the ground and lay up to 20 eggs in the nest. They eat seeds and grain, along with grasshoppers.

Pheasants were first introduced into Utah in 1895, near SLC. They are a very hardy bird, withstanding the harsh winters and hot summers very well.

Thousands of them can be found dotting the grain fields during the fall of the year in some areas. Many are killed in the fall hunt, but they replenish themselves each year. When the skunk or magpie population gets high, the pheasants diminish. This is because both the skunk and magpie eat pheasant eggs.

Quail

The California quail live in flocks of 40 to 50 birds called coveys. Each covey has a guard or scout. If all is clear, the scout gives a low call and the other birds of the covey will go into the open to feed on seeds and plants. Another guard goes ahead and will warn the others if danger appears. Quail most often live in oakbrush. They lay between 10 to 17 eggs in a nest. The young birds follow the parents around often in single file. After quail have been killed and prepared for food they are called squab.

Mourning Dove

Dove’s nests are very simple—usuallly just af ew sticks in a tree. Each brood is made up of several birds, and a pair of doves may have two or three broods in a year. Males help incubate the eggs during the day, and the female will incubate them at night. Young doves leave their nests after just two weeks. The main food of the dove is seeds. They also eat snails and beetles to make hard material to grind seeds. Since they eat such dry food, they dring water frequently. Doves migrate south for the winter. The reason they are called mourning doves is because of their mournful cooing

Mallard Duck

The mallard duck is a migrating bird. Sometimes it will return north as early as February. The male is called a drake. These ducks pair off at the end of their migration and begin to nest in May. They build their nests in thick weeds near water. They line the nest with down (soft tiny feathers). They lay 8 to 10 eggs each year. These hatch in 26 days. After they hatch, the drake leaves the nest, where the females raise the young. The main diet of the mallard is plant life, but they also eat some insects.

Canadian Goose

This large goose with a 5 foot wing span is found in Utah during the fall. They can fly over 30 miles a day as they migrate from Canada to the warmer southlands. They pair up for life. Their nests are usually built on the ground but have been found in trees and cliffs. When feeding as a flock these geese always have sentinels watching. They eat grasses and seeds but sometimes eat small water animals. They are considered very intelligent by hunters. They fly in a loose “V” formation. The characteristic marking it the white chinstrap.

SCAVENGER BIRDSThe magpie, crow, and jay are cousins in the same family. You will notice they all have the same sort of bill and feet. They are suited for scavenging and cleaning carrion, providing a service to us all. The only real problem is that

they eat anything, including smaller bird’s eggs,, farmer’s crops and grain. The seagulls

provide a real service by eating harmful insects. They are all protected by law because of the service they provide. If a farmer signs a

complaint, they can be hunted and killed.

Magpie

The magpie doesn’t fly well and depends on ground-dwelling insects. To escape its enemies it must stay around thick bushy areas. It usually builds its nest along streams. The nest is very interesting, being made of sticks and thorny twigs. It is about one foot in diameter and two feet high. The food of magpies is eggs from other nests (pheasants, meadowlarks, robins, etc.) They are actually scavengers and will eat decaying matter of all kinds, including farmers’ crops, which makes the farmers mad. Some people consider their black and white markings very beautiful. They can be taught to talk since they have the ability to imitate.

Common Crow

Crows are a close relative to the magpie. They can usually be seen in Utah during the winter months. In Utah County crows spread across the valley floor looking for food during the day. At night they roost on the shore of Utah Lake. Crows eat just about anything including robbing the nests of other birds. They are considered to be one of the most intelligent of the birds. This is the reason that in some areas where they do great damage they are very hard to get rid of. They are also used in may legends and fables.

Stellar’s Jay

The Stellar’s jay is found in our local canyons. It has a definite crest of feathers on its dark brown head. It has many names, including “camp robber”. It gets its name because it frequents camps “robbing” scraps of food. The jay has a jay, jay, jay sound. It is a member of the same family as the magpie and the crow.

Seagull

The California Gull is probably the most commonly recognized scavenger bird in Utah. It is seen as farmers plow their fields. It will be found at any garbage dump. They really aren’t California gulls at all since they nest here in Utah. The young birds do go to California for their first winter. This is the same bird that the early pioneers credited with saving their crops from the cricket plague. Hence the bird of Utah is the California seagull. There is a monument built on Mormon Temple Square in SLC to this bird.

Turkey Vulture

The turkey vulture also goes by the names carrion crow or turkey buzzard. They grow to about 2 ½ feet long with a wing span of 6 feet. The turkey vulture is ugly to last degree except in flight. They are famous for their majestic flight and their marvelously keen eyesight. By making perfect use of air currents they will mount for thousands of feet and soar for hours at a time. They live chiefly upon dead decaying flesh and only very rarely will attack anything alive if it is dying of disability. They are mainly in southern Utah.

SONGBIRDSThis group is especially notable for

their beautiful songs. They also have beautiful plumage and colors,

which makes them desirable to have around.

Meadowlark

Goldfinch

Oriole

Western Tanager

Mountain Bluebird

Redwing Blackbird

HOUSE BIRDSThis category of house birds

simply means these are birds that like to nest close to a home when possible. Robins, for example, love to look for worms in a lawn. These birds are all from different families

except the bluebird and robin.

Robin

Sparrow

Black-Capped Chickadee

Hummingbird

Hairy Woodpecker