1. Wildlife and Natural Resources
Michigan Birds
Wildlife and Natural Resources

2. American Crow
Black bird with black legs and feet, but may look a little purple in sunlight. These birds build bulky stick nests, nearly always in trees. They will nest in a wide variety of trees, including large conifers, although oaks are most often used. They are one of the smartest birds and can be found in Michigan all year round.

3. American Crow

4. American Robin
While Robins occasionally over-winter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, most winter in the southern parts of the breeding range and beyond, from the southern U.S.A. to Guatemala. This is the state bird of Michigan.

5. American Robin

6. Bald Eagle
A bird of prey found in North America, most recognizable as the national bird of the United States. The Bald Eagle's natural range includes most of North America, including most of Canada, all of the continental United States, and northern Mexico. An immature bird has speckled brown feathers all over, the distinctive head and body plumage arriving 2-3 years later, before sexual maturity.

7. Bald Eagle

8. Bald Eagle

9. Bald Eagle Juvenile

10. Baltimore Oriole
Adults have a pointed bill and white bars on the wings. The adult male is orange on the under-parts; the adult female is on the upper parts with darker wings, dull orange on the breast and belly. These birds forage in trees and shrubs, also making short flights to catch insects. They are often seen sipping at hummingbird feeders. This is another bird you will find only in the summer months in Michigan.

11. Baltimore Oriole

12. Black-Capped Chickadee
Adults have a black cap and bib with white sides to the face. Their underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks; their back is grey. These birds hop along tree branches searching for food, sometimes hanging upside down or hovering; they may make short flights to catch insects in the air. This is a common backyard bird that can be attracted with a nest box. They can easily be tamed and hand fed. You can find this bird all year in our state of Michigan. Able to feed upside down at feeders.

13. Black-Capped Chickadee

14. Blue Jay
North American jay, has predominantly lavender-blue to mid-blue feathering from the top of the head to half-way down the back. There is a pronounced crest on the head. The color changes to black, sky-blue and white barring on the wing primaries and the tail. Its aggressive behavior at feeding stations as well as its reputation for occasionally destroying the nests and eggs of other birds has made the Blue Jay unwelcome at some bird feeders.

15. Blue Jay

16. House Sparrow
The male House Sparrow has a grey crown, cheeks and under-parts, black on the throat, upper breast and between the bill and eyes. The bill in summer is blue-black, and the legs are brown. In winter the feathers are dulled by pale edgings, and the bill is yellowish brown. These birds are not really sparrows, but finches. This is an aggressive bird that will kill the young of other birds in order to take over. You can find this bird all year round in all areas of Michigan.

17. House Sparrow

18. Mourning Dove
The Mourning Dove is approximately 12 in in length. It has a long tapered tail, and is greyish-brown above and pinkish below. The male has bright purple-pink patches on the neck sides; these are less obvious in the female. Mourning doves are one of the few types of birds that mate for life. Often, when one is seen perching alone it is because its mate has died or been shot by hunters. This fact, as well as its mournful coo, are the reasons for the dove's name.

19. Mourning Dove

20. Northern Cardinal
Cardinals were once popular cage birds for their bright color and rich, varied songs. Males are bright, deep red with black faces and coral/red beaks. Females are a fawn/light brown color, with mostly grayish-brown tones & slight reddish tint in their wings and tail feathers, also with a bright coral/red beak. Both possess prominent raised crests and strong beaks. These birds live year round in the Lower Peninsula.

21. Northern Cardinal

22. Purple Finch
Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings. Adult males are raspberry red on the head, breast, back and rump; their back is streaked. These birds forage in trees and bushes, sometimes in ground vegetation. They mainly eat seeds, berries and insects. They are fond of sunflower seeds, millet, and thistle. They are a summer resident of Northern Michigan but mostly seen during spring and fall migration.

23. Purple Finch

24. Red-winged Blackbird
Mainly black adult male's distinctive red shoulder patches, which are visible when the bird is flying or displaying. At rest, the male also shows a pale yellow wing-bar. When migrating north, these birds travel in single-sex flocks, and the males usually arrive a few days before the females. They defend their territory aggressively, both against other male Red-winged Blackbirds and against birds. You only see this bird in Michigan in the summertime.

25. Red-winged Blackbird

26. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Adults are metallic green above and greyish white below. Their bill is long, straight and very slender. These birds feed on nectar from flowers and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue or catch insects on the wing. Due to their small size, they are vulnerable to insect-eating birds and animals. These birds require frequent feeding while active during the day and sometimes become torpid at night to conserve energy.

27. Ruby-throated Hummingbird

28. Tufted Titmouse
These birds have grey upperparts and white underparts with a white face, a grey crest, a dark forehead and a short stout bill; they have rust-colored flanks. They nest in a hole in a tree, either a natural cavity or sometimes an old woodpecker nest. They line the nest with soft materials, sometimes plucking hair from a live animal such as a dog. The pair may remain together and defend their territory year-round. These birds are permanent residents and often join small mixed flocks in winter.

29. Tufted Titmouse

30. Female Tufted Titmouse

31. American Goldfinch
The male goldfinch is typically brighter yellow than the female in the Spring and Summer months. Usually in flocks in weedy fields and at feeders making musical calls. Late nester in mid-summer, perhaps to get access to late-summer seeds (such as thistle or sunflower seeds) for feeding young. Averages 4-6 eggs that are pale bluish white. Nest is built by females and so well made that it may hold water. Flight is typically for finches with an up and down pattern. Eating method is one of few that can feed upside down.

32. American Goldfinch

33. Red-headed Woodpecker
Adults have a black back and tail with a red head and neck. Their underparts are mainly white. The wings are black with white secondaries. Their breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the eastern - central United States. They nest in a cavity in a dead tree or a dead part of a tree.

34. Red-headed Woodpecker
This woodpecker is one of the few where the male and female appear to be similar.

35. Red-bellied Woodpecker
This woodpecker has a rosy red belly patch. Mostly a bird of shady woodlands, it excavates holes in rotten wood looking for spiders, centipedes and beetles. Winter food is acorns, other nuts and berries. Usually returns to same trees to excavate a new nest below that of the previous years. Typically 4-5 white eggs without markings. Often European Starlings kick them out of their nests. Can give a low “chug-chug-chug” sounds.

36. Red-Bellied Woodpecker

37. Downy Woodpecker
Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above and below the eye. They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head. They nest in a tree cavity, excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb. These birds are mostly permanent residents.

38. Downy Woodpecker

39. Mallard Duck
The breeding male is unmistakable, with a green head, black rear end and a blue speculum (colored portion of feather) edged with white, obvious in flight or at rest. Males also possess a yellow bill with a black tip, whereas females have a dark brown bill. It is a bird of most wetlands , including parks , small ponds and rivers, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing. It nests usually on a river bank, but not always particularly near water.

40. Mallard Duck

41. Canada Goose
The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish this goose . This well-known species is native to North America . It breeds in Canada and the northern USA in a variety of habitats. However, the nest is usually located in an elevated area near water, sometimes on a beaver lodge. The Great Lakes region maintains a very large population of Canada Geese.

42. Canada Goose

43. Eastern Screech Owl
A common owl, 9” height, 20” wing span, active at dusk and at night. Great hearing and sight. Only owl in Michigan with ear tufts. Seldom gives a screeching call, more likely to give whiny trills like a sound effect of scary movie. Male and female are thought to mate for life. Different coloration are know as morphs (gray or rust in color is common) white eggs without markings once a year. Tends to live in former woodpecker cavity. Does not add materials.

44. Eastern Screech Owl

45. Great Horned Owl
A very large owl—12”+. Adults have large ear tufts, a reddish face, a white patch on the throat and yellow eyes. These birds hunt at night by waiting on a high perch and swooping down on prey. They mainly eat mammals such as rats, mice, rabbits and skunks, as well as small birds, including smaller owls. In fact, this is a fearless owl, one of the few that will kill skunks and porcupines.

46. Great Horned Owl

47. Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue stands four feet tall, has a seven-foot wingspan and weighs 2.5 kg. It has a long yellow bill. Adults have blue-grey wings and back and a white head with a black cap and a long black plume. In flight, the long neck is held in an S-shape with the long legs trailing behind. This bird flies with strong deliberate wing beats. It often barks like a dog. You will see this bird only in the summer months in Michigan.

48. Great Blue Heron

49. Wood Duck
The adult male has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. When swimming, wood ducks bob their head back and forth in a jerking motion, which makes them easy to spot. Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds.

50. Wood Duck

51. Common Loon
known as the Great Northern Diver. “Loon laughter", is an eerie wailing, a symbol of the Canadian wilderness, and often used as atmosphere in horror films. This species is a specialist fish eater, catching its prey underwater, diving as deep as 200 feet. Freshwater diets consist of pike, perch, sunfish, trout and bass. You will find this bird in the upper part of Michigan along with the Upper Peninsula in the summertime, in the lower half, you will see it during migration.

52. Common Loon