Drab, mottled brown back contrasts with yellow breast and black V-band. White outer tail feathers; flute-like song. Nests on ground; eats seeds and insects.
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Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
Found in coniferous woodlands. Breeding male unmistakable; female dull olive with yellow underparts. White/yellow wing bars. Compare Bullock's Oriole. Eats insects, fruit.
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Western Wood-Pewee
Contopus sordidulus
Found in coniferous woodlands. Breeding male unmistakable; female dull olive with yellow underparts. White/yellow wing bars. Compare Bullock's Oriole. Eats insects, fruit.
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
Found in coniferous/mixed forests near water. Distinguished from other flycatchers by obvious wing bars (compare Olive-sided Flycatcher). Doesn't wag tail like phoebes.
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White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
Found in grassy fields, woodland edge, hedgerows. Grayish underparts, pink bill, striped crown (reddish-brown in immatures, black/white in adults). Eats seeds and insects.
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White-tailed Kite
Elanus leucurus
Found in grassy fields, woodland edge, hedgerows. Grayish underparts, pink bill, striped crown (reddish-brown in immatures, black/white in adults). Eats seeds and insects.
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White-throated Swift
Aeronautes saxatalis
Long whitish tail and black shoulders make the adult unmistakable. Long pointed wings
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Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Found near cliffs and canyons. Dark upperparts, contrasting black-and-white underside, white throat, forked tail. Nests in rock crevices; eats insects in flight.
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Wilson's Warbler
Cardellina pusilla
Wild Turkey: largest North American game bird, found in mixed woodlands. Bare head/neck skin, reddish wattles, iridescent body, breast "beard." Introduced to California; eats acorns and seeds.
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Wrentit
Chamaea fasciata
Found in moist riparian undergrowth. Olive-green back, yellow below, black crown (males). Females lack wing bars/tail spots (compare Yellow Warbler). Ground nester.
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Yellow Warbler
Setophaga petechia
Found in chaparral with dense undergrowth. Grayish-brown, dusky-streaked underparts, pale eye. Loud whistle-like song with a trill; grinding rattle call.
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronata
Found in wooded habitats, brushy areas, and weedy fields. Two hybridizing subspecies (Audubon's, Myrtle); white wing bars, yellow rump, yellow breast sides. Mostly eats insects.