Birds According to Peterson

Joe Meche is a past president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and is still active in chapter affairs.He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years. He has written more than 100 articles for Whatcom Watch.

by Joe Meche

As we conclude our journey through the “Birds According to Peterson,” this final installment focuses on the largest order of birds on the planet, which includes 59 families and over 6,000 species, or roughly three-fifths of the world’s bird species. They are the most numerous land birds on all continents and they range in size from the common raven to the kinglets. These are the passerines, members of the worldwide order of Passeriformes, or perching birds.

Perhaps better known as songbirds, these are birds that are familiar to most people since many of them are with us throughout the year and can often be found in our backyards, utilizing the feeders maintained by their adoring fans. Many of the passerine species that we see locally are resident birds that we observe coming and going every day. Other species are migratory and arrive in the spring to grace us with their beautiful breeding colors and wide array of songs.

Considered by many to be the most advanced birds of all, the passerines are very adaptive and intelligent. The corvid family of jays and crows, for instance, is quite possibly the most intelligent of all bird families. Passerines are well known for their singing abilities, especially in the spring when courtship rituals are in full swing. Studying the intricacies of the individual songs of sparrows, warblers, thrushes, and wrens can be quite a daunting task, but learning to identify species by ear can add considerably to your overall appreciation of birds.

In addition to the joy that comes from their variety of songs, passerines are also quite entertaining when they’re busily courting and nest building in the spring. The flurry of activity from these birds often seems frantic and is quite a spectacle to observe as they are driven to provide space for everything from egg laying and incubation to the feeding and eventual fledging of the young of the year. The gathering of nesting materials alone is a constant process and sometimes incomprehensible to the observer. Every piece of material used in construction is collected in their beaks and placed ever so perfectly to create specifically designed nests for each species.

All passerines are equipped with a marvelous adaptation that enables them to remain perched on twigs and branches. Their feet have three toes facing forward and one facing backward, allowing them to firmly grip a perch. Muscles and tendons in their legs are arranged so their feet tighten on the perch as the bird comes to rest. As they bend their knees the grip tightens even more and practically locks the bird in place until they rise to leave the perch. When you see small birds hanging on to their perches during high winds, think of this unique adaptation.

Locally, the passerines are very well represented throughout the year. The resident birds are complemented in spring with the return of the Neotropical species that seem to follow the arrival and hatching of the insects they depend on as their primary food source. Many birdwatchers might be casual about resident and wintering birds, but they come to life when the colorful songbirds return for another season. Of course, these birds are often seen as the traditional symbols of better weather to come. We know that winter is behind us when the migrants return to our backyards and woodlots.

If you open your field guide and begin scanning the section devoted to passerines, you will quickly see how many species of our favorite everyday birds are found in this order. Families of birds included here are the thrushes, starlings, finches, towhees, grosbeaks, tanagers, wrens, and swallows. As you probe deeper into the individual families you will find numerous species that are quite familiar to everyone, even non-birders.

Perhaps the most well-known member of this order of birds is the American robin, a member of the family of thrushes. Robins are so familiar that we often use them as a comparative size model to help identify other birds. Robins have long been considered to be the harbingers of spring but we have them here year round. Perhaps the nickname came more from the fact that robins were able to pursue earthworms when the ground finally thawed out after long winters.

Other notable members of the thrush family that we see locally are the varied and Swainson’s thrushes. Varied thrushes nest in higher elevations and come down into the lowlands when snow and ice force them to move, while the Swainson’s are migratory and arrive from southern climes in the spring. They add one of the more beautiful songs to local woodland habitats. Offering a similar song to that of the Swainson’s is the hermit thrush, another bird found more often in higher elevations in spring and summer.

Blackbirds are passerines whose numbers can be mind-boggling, to say the least. One of the more familiar songs comes from the ever popular red-winged blackbird, the most numerous of all bird species in North America. Brewer’s blackbirds are noted for their tendency to spend time in many of the local parking lots, along with starlings and house sparrows. The blackbird family also includes the magnificent orioles, of which the Bullock’s is a local favorite in spring and summer.

As is often the case, some of the first migrating passerines to return are the swallows. Depending on the presence of flying insects, their arrival generally begins in mid to late February with the first tree swallows, followed by the violet-green and barn swallows. Swallows spend most of their day on the wing, except when incubating eggs. Some species of swallows are cavity nesters so consider installing a nesting box or two to provide opportunities for them to nest where natural cavities are at a minimum.

The larger families of sparrows, finches, flycatchers, and warblers include some of our favorite resident and migratory species. We have an ample supply of sparrows and finches in the area year round while flycatchers and warblers are the much anticipated migrants that arrive in spring. Flycatchers are mostly nondescript in both their coloration and songs, but the warblers arrive on the scene with brilliant colors and an amazing variety of songs. The music provided by the wood warblers in spring is one of the true joys of birding.

Passerines often provide some of the most challenging opportunities at field identification. The similarities in appearance are obviously part of the challenge and their songs can be confusing to all but the practiced ear. Nothing improves field identification more than actually spending time in the field. Since, as the Peterson System suggests, birds are visual entities, learning about their habitats and behavior and knowing their distinctive field marks are essentials to improving your skills. The keys to birding by ear are to practice by listening to recordings at home and then spending time in the field with the actual birds. A clear visual of a singing western tanager in May could be one of the best parts of the learning process.