Birds are unusually common in the Yuba-Sutter area. In fact, Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area has the highest concentration of waterfowl per acre in the world, with typical wintering populations of more than 300,000 ducks and 100,000 geese.1 About 60% of the waterfowl population in the Pacific Flyway and 20% of the waterfowl population in North America spend the winter in California's Central Valley.2 This makes our area extremely popular for bird watching.

Some of the birds now common in our area were introduced by European immigrants, such as the common pheasant, Eurasian collared dove, Eurasian wigeon, European starling, greylag goose, house sparrow, Indian peafowl, rock pigeon, and wild turkey. However, the bird species listed below are native to the Yuba-Sutter area, having lived here long before the arrival of Europeans. This page provides information about how to identify our native birds by appearance and by sound, how to attract them to your yard with plants or bird feeders, and how to choose or build a birdhouse that will encourage them to nest in your yard.

Charadriiformes Order

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of birds, most of which live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals.

Woodcock Family

Other Families

Ciconiiformes Order

Ciconiiformes is an order of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: egrets, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, and several others.

Heron Family

Great egrets (Ardea alba) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 250 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Browns Valley. During the winter, they temporarily extend their range in Yuba County up to approximately 2,000 feet—as high as Dobbins. This great egret is shown wading in the American River. Photo by queerbychoice.

Ibis Family

White-faced ibises (Plegadis chihi) are found year-round in northwestern Sutter County and in District Ten in Yuba County. These are shown in a flooded rice field in District Ten. Photo by queerbychoice.

Falconiformes Order

Falconiformes is an order of diurnal birds of prey.

Hawk Family

Other Families

Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, from approximately Dobbins downward. During the summer, they temporarily extend their range to encompass all of both counties. This turkey vulture is shown flying above Sicard Flat. Photo by queerbychoice.

Gruiformes Order

Gruiformes is a diverse order of wading and terrestrial birds, including cranes, crakes, rails, and other birds believed to be related to these.

Crane Family

Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) are found in winter only in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 100 feet in Yuba County—in other words, from approximately the Trainer Hills downward. These sandhill cranes are shown on the shores of Snake Lake in Plumas County. Photo by queerbychoice.

Rail Family

American coots (Fulica americana) in District 10, January 2017. Photo by queerbychoice.

Passeriformes Order

Passeriformes is an order that includes more than half of all bird species and is one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders. It is sometimes known as the order of perching birds.

Bunting Family

Dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) are found in winter only in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County (in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir) and year-round from there to approximately 4,000 feet in Yuba County (in other words, up to North Star); they are found in summer only in the remainder of Yuba County. This dark-eyed junco, seen in a garden in Marysville, is a male of the Oregon race. Photo by queerbychoice.

White-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are found in winter only in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,800 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Camptonville. This white-crowned sparrow is shown in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Cardinal Family

Crow Family

Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir. This Western scrub-jay is shown perching on a backyard fence in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir; they are found in the remainder of Yuba County in the summer only. This American crow is shown perching in a tree in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Finch Family

Lesser goldfinches (Spinus psaltria) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 1,300 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Collins Lake. During the summer, they temporarily extend their range in Yuba County up to approximately 3,500 feet—a little below Strawberry Valley. Males have black "caps" on their heads and are a brighter yellow than females; the two birds at the bottom of this picture are identifiably male. These lesser goldfinches are shown eating basil seeds in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 1,300 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Collins Lake. This picture shows a male (with characteristic reddish coloring) and female house finch eating safflower seeds at a bird feeder in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Flycatcher Family

Black phoebes (Sayornis nigricans) are found year-round in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 4,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below North Star. This black phoebe is shown in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Oriole Family

Mockingbird Family

Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 500 feet in Yuba County—in other words, as high as Loma Rica. This Northern mockingbird is perched in a tree in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Tit Family

Oak titmice (Baeolophus inornatus) are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,800 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Camptonville. This oak titmouse is shown eating safflower seeds at a bird feeder in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Swallow Family

Thrush Family

American robins (Turdus migratorius) are found year-round in all areas of Yuba and Sutter Counties. This American robin, shown in a garden in Marysville, is a male; his sex is indicated by the fact that his head is a darker gray than his body. Photo by queerbychoice.

Vireo Family

Warbler Family

Yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) are found in winter only in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir—and in summer only in the remainder of Yuba County. This yellow-rumped warbler is a female of the Audubon's race, seen in a garden in Marysville. The Audubon's race is distinguished from the Myrtle race by the absence of a white stripe through the eye and the presence (in adults) of a yellow spot on the throat. Photo by queerbychoice.

Wren Family

Other Families

Other Orders

Cuckoo Family

Duck Family

Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) are found in winter only in all areas of Sutter County except the Sutter Buttes and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir. They are celebrated each November in the Marysville Swan Festival. These tundra swans are shown in District Ten. Photo by queerbychoice.

Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) are common year-round in all areas of Yuba and Sutter Counties. This male and female mallard duck are shown on the bank of the American River. Photo by queerbychoice.

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are found in all areas of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, from approximately Dobbins downward. These two Canada geese are shown taking their goslings for a swim in the American River. Photo by queerbychoice.

Hummingbird Family

A female Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) sips nectar from a cardinal flower in a Marysville garden. Anna's hummingbirds are found year-round in all areas of Sutter County and all but the extreme eastern edge of Yuba County—at North Star—where they are found only in the summer. Photo by queerbychoice.

Kingfisher Family

Nightjar Family

New World Quail Family

Owl Family

Pigeon Family

Pelican Family

American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) are found year-round in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 100 feet in Yuba County—in other words, from approximately the Trainer Hills downward. This American white pelican is shown in Snake Lake in Plumas County; the presence of the horn on top of its bill and the brightness of its bill color indicate that it is in breeding plumage. Photo by queerbychoice.

Swift Family

white-throated swift: pictures | video | sound (year-round in northern Sutter County and northwestern Yuba County; summer only in the eastern half of Yuba County per California Department of Fish and Game: California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System: Life History Accounts and Range Maps)

Woodpecker Family

Northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) are found year-round in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir—and in summer only in the remainder of Yuba County. This Northern flicker, seen in a garden in Marysville, is a male of the red-shafted race, as indicated by his red "mustache" (malar stripe). Males of the yellow-shafted race have black mustaches, while females of the red-shafted race have pale tan mustaches, and females of the yellow-shafted race have no mustaches. Photo by queerbychoice.

Nuttall's woodpeckers (Picoides nuttallii) are found year-round in all of Sutter County and all areas below approximately 2,000 feet in Yuba County—in other words, below Bullards Bar Reservoir. This Nuttall's woodpecker, seen in a garden in Marysville, is female; a male would have a red spot on the top of his head. Photo by queerbychoice.

Cormorant Family

Links

Bird entry on Wikipedia

California Department of Fish and Game: California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System: Life History Accounts and Range Maps

Las Pilitas Nursery: California Native Birds

Project FeederWatch: Common Feeder Birds

Natural Resources Conservation Service: Wildlife Habitat Management Institute: Artificial Nesting Structures

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Program

Footnotes

1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area
2. Ducks Unlimited: Butte Basin NAWCA II: Butte Sink NWR Enhancement

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