List of birds of Grand Teton National Park
This is a comprehensive listing of the bird species recorded in Grand Teton National Park, which is in the U.S. state of Wyoming. This list is based on one published by the National Park Service (NPS).[1]
This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 63rd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS).[2] Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them.
This list contains 263 species. Unless otherwise noted, all are considered to occur regularly in Grand Teton National Park as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants. The tags below are used to designate the abundance of some species.
- (R) Rare – “usually seen only a few times each year” per the NPS (11 species)
- (U) Uncommon – “likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season and may be locally common” per the NPS (58 species)
- (O) Occasional – “occur in a park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year” per the NPS (two species)
- (NC) Unconfirmed – “Attributed to the park based on weak (“unconfirmed record”) or no evidence” per the NPS (82 species)
- (I) Introduced – a species introduced to North America by humans (four species)
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl[edit]
Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae
The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.
- Snow goose, Anser caerulescens (R)
- Brant, Branta bernicla (NC)
- Canada goose, Branta canadensis
- Trumpeter swan, Cygnus buccinator
- Wood duck, Aix sponsa (NC)
- Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors (U)
- Cinnamon teal, Spatula cyanoptera
- Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata
- Gadwall, Mareca strepera
- American wigeon, Mareca americana
- Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
- Northern pintail, Anas acuta (U)
- Green-winged teal, Anas crecca
- Canvasback, Aythya valisineria (U)
- Redhead, Aythya americana (U)
- Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris
- Greater scaup, Aythya marila (NC)
- Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis (U)
- Harlequin duck, Histrionicus histrionicus (U)
- Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola
- Common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
- Barrow’s goldeneye, Bucephala islandica
- Hooded merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus (U)
- Common merganser, Mergus merganser
- Red-breasted merganser, Mergus serrator (U)
- Ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis (U)
Pheasants, grouse, and allies[edit]
Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae
Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.
Order: Podicipediformes Family: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
Pigeons and doves[edit]
Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Cuckoos[edit]
Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.
Nightjars and allies[edit]
Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically colored to resemble bark or leaves.
Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae
The swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have very long, swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.
Hummingbirds[edit]
Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae
Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.
Rails, gallinules, and coots[edit]
Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. The most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and tend to be weak fliers.
Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae
Cranes are large, long-legged, and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or “dances”.
Stilts and avocets[edit]
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.
Plovers and lapwings[edit]
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.
Sandpipers and allies[edit]
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
- Long-billed curlew, Numenius americanus (U)
- Marbled godwit, Limosa fedoa (NC)
- Stilt sandpiper, Calidris himantopus (NC)
- Sanderling, Calidris alba (NC)
- Dunlin, Calidris alpina (NC)
- Baird’s sandpiper, Calidris bairdii (NC)
- Least sandpiper, Calidris minutilla (NC)
- Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos (NC)
- Semipalmated sandpiper, Calidris pusilla (NC)
- Long-billed dowitcher, Limnodromus scolopaceus (U)
- Wilson’s snipe, Gallinago delicata
- Spotted sandpiper, Actitis macularius (U)
- Solitary sandpiper, Tringa solitaria (U)
- Lesser yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes (NC)
- Willet, Tringa semipalmata (U)
- Greater yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca (NC)
- Wilson’s phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor
- Red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus (NC)
Skuas and jaegers[edit]
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Stercorariidae
Skuas and jaegers are in general medium to large birds, typically with gray or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They have longish bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large dark gulls, but have a fleshy cere above the upper mandible. They are strong, acrobatic fliers.
Gulls, terns, and skimmers[edit]
Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes, and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.
Order: Gaviiformes Family: Gaviidae
Loons are aquatic birds the size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. Their plumage is largely gray or black, and they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well and fly adequately, but are almost hopeless on land, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body.
Cormorants and shags[edit]
Order: Suliformes Family: Phalacrocoracidae
Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored skin on the face. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed.
Pelicans[edit]
Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae
Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes.
Herons, egrets, and bitterns[edit]
Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills.
Ibises and spoonbills[edit]
Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Threskiornithidae
The family Threskiornithidae includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings. Their bodies tend to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills.
New World vultures[edit]
Order: Cathartiformes Family: Cathartidae
The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers, however, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they locate carcasses.
Order: Accipitriformes Family: Pandionidae
Pandionidae is a family of fish-eating birds of prey possessing a very large, powerful hooked beak for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. The family is monotypic.
Hawks, eagles, and kites[edit]
Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight.
- Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
- Northern harrier, Circus hudsonius
- Sharp-shinned hawk, Accipiter striatus (U)
- Cooper’s hawk, Accipiter cooperii (U)
- Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis (U)
- Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Broad-winged hawk, Buteo platypterus (NC)
- Swainson’s hawk, Buteo swainsoni
- Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
- Rough-legged hawk, Buteo lagopus (U)
- Ferruginous hawk, Buteo regalis (R)
Barn-owls[edit]
Order: Strigiformes Family: Tytonidae
Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons.
Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae
Typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
- Western screech-owl, Megascops kennicottii (NC)
- Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus
- Snowy owl, Bubo scandiacus (NC)
- Northern pygmy-owl, Glaucidium gnoma (U)
- Burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia (R)
- Barred owl, Strix varia (NC)
- Great gray owl, Strix nebulosa (U)
- Long-eared owl, Asio otus (U)
- Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus (U)
- Boreal owl, Aegolius funereus (U)
- Northern saw-whet owl, Aegolius acadicus (U)
Kingfishers[edit]
Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
Woodpeckers[edit]
Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
- Lewis’s woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis (NC)
- Red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus (NC)
- Williamson’s sapsucker, Sphyrapicus thyroideus (U)
- Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius (NC)
- Red-naped sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis
- American three-toed woodpecker, Picoides dorsalis (U)
- Black-backed woodpecker, Picoides arcticus (R)
- Downy woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens
- Hairy woodpecker, Dryobates villosus
- White-headed woodpecker, Dryobates albolarvatus (NC)
- Northern flicker, Colaptes auratus
- Pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus (NC)
Falcons and caracaras[edit]
Order: Falconiformes Family: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
Tyrant flycatchers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae
Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust and have stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.
- Western kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis (NC)
- Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus (U)
- Olive-sided flycatcher, Contopus cooperi
- Western wood-pewee, Contopus sordidulus
- Willow flycatcher, Empidonax traillii
- Least flycatcher, Empidonax minimus (NC)
- Hammond’s flycatcher, Empidonax hammondii (U)
- Dusky flycatcher, Empidonax oberholseri
- Cordilleran flycatcher, Empidonax occidentalis (U)
- Say’s phoebe, Sayornis saya (NC)
Vireos, shrike-babblers, and erpornis[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Vireonidae
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically greenish in color and resemble wood warblers apart from their heavier bills.
Shrikes[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Laniidae
Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A shrike’s beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey.
Crows, jays, and magpies[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae
The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers, and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.
Tits, chickadees, and titmice[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Paridae
The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Alaudidae
Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds
Swallows[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Hirundinidae
The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.
Kinglets[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Regulidae
The kinglets are a small family of birds which resemble the titmice. They are very small insectivorous birds, mostly in the genus Regulus. The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their names.
Waxwings[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae
The waxwings are a group of passerine birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.
Nuthatches[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Sittidae
Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet.
Treecreepers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Certhiidae
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.
Gnatcatchers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Polioptilidae
These dainty birds resemble Old World warblers in their structure and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers are mainly soft bluish gray in color and have the typical insectivore’s long sharp bill. Many species have distinctive black head patterns (especially males) and long, regularly cocked, black-and-white tails.
Order: Passeriformes Family: Troglodytidae
Wrens are small and inconspicuous birds, except for their loud songs. They have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.
Mockingbirds and thrashers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Mimidae
The mimids are a family of passerine birds which includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance.
Starlings[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are medium-sized passerines with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.
Dippers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Cinclidae
Dippers are small, stout, birds that feed in cold, fast moving streams.
Thrushes and allies[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
Wagtails and pipits[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Motacillidae
Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender ground-feeding insectivores of open country.
Finches, euphonias, and allies[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae
Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
- Evening grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus
- Pine grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator (U)
- Gray-crowned rosy-finch, Leucosticte tephrocotis (U)
- Black rosy-finch, Leucosticte atrata
- House finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
- Cassin’s finch, Haemorhous cassinii
- Common redpoll, Acanthis flammea (NC)
- Hoary redpoll, Acanthis hornemanni (NC)
- Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
- White-winged crossbill, Loxia leucoptera (R)
- Pine siskin, Spinus pinus
- American goldfinch, Spinus tristis
Longspurs and snow buntings[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Calcariidae
The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that were traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
New World sparrows[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Passerellidae
Until 2017, these species were considered part of the family Emberizidae. Most of the species are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many of these have distinctive head patterns.
- Black-throated sparrow, Amphispiza bilineata (NC)
- Lark sparrow, Chondestes grammacus (NC)
- Lark bunting, Calamospiza melanocorys (NC)
- Chipping sparrow, Spizella passerina
- Brewer’s sparrow, Spizella breweri
- Fox sparrow, Passerella iliaca
- American tree sparrow, Spizelloides arborea (NC)
- Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis
- White-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
- Golden-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla (NC)
- Harris’s sparrow, Zonotrichia querula (NC)
- White-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis (NC)
- Sagebrush sparrow, Artemisiospiza nevadensis (NC)
- Vesper sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus
- Savannah sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
- Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia
- Lincoln’s sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii
- Swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana (NC)
- Green-tailed towhee, Pipilo chlorurus
- Eastern towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus (NC)
Yellow-breasted chat[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteriidae
This species was historically placed in the wood-warblers (Parulidae) but nonetheless most authorities were unsure if it belonged there. It was placed in its own family in 2017.
Troupials and allies[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae
The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red.
New World warblers[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae
The wood-warblers are a group of small often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some like the ovenbird and the two waterthrushes, are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.
- Northern waterthrush, Parkesia noveboracensis (R)
- Black-and-white warbler, Mniotilta varia (NC)
- Tennessee warbler, Leiothlypis peregrina (NC)
- Orange-crowned warbler, Leiothlypis celata (U)
- Nashville warbler, Leiothlypis ruficapilla (NC)
- MacGillivray’s warbler, Geothlypis tolmiei
- Common yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas
- American redstart, Setophaga ruticilla (NC)
- Blackburnian warbler, Setophaga fusca (NC)
- Yellow warbler, Setophaga petechia
- Chestnut-sided warbler, Setophaga pensylvanica (NC)
- Black-throated blue warbler, Setophaga caerulescens (NC)
- Yellow-rumped warbler, Setophaga coronata
- Black-throated gray warbler, Setophaga nigrescens (NC)
- Townsend’s warbler, Setophaga townsendi (R)
- Wilson’s warbler, Cardellina pusilla
Cardinals and allies[edit]
Order: Passeriformes Family: Cardinalidae
The cardinals are a family of robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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