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| Common Nighthawk. Malheur NWR, Oregon. May 30, 2010 by Greg Gillson. |
Swimming Waterbirds
Flying Waterbirds
Wading Waterbirds
Chicken-like Birds
Raptors
Miscellaneous Landbirds
Aerial Landbirds
Flycatcher-like Birds
Thrush-like Songbirds
Chickadee and Wren-like Songbirds
Warbler-like Songbirds
Sparrow and Finch-like Songbirds
Blackbird-like Songbirds
A beginner should be able to quickly place a bird they see into one of these categories.
Aerial landbirds include nightjars, hummingbirds, swifts, swallows. These birds generally feed on the wing. In other words, while flying. All eat insects, though hummingbirds also feed on nectar.
Nightjars include mostly crepuscular birds such as nighthawks and whip-poor-wills. Hummingbirds and swallows are well-known. Swifts are so adapted to flight and their feet so weak that they are unable to perch on wires, branches, or the ground. Thus they only rest by clinging to crevices in cliffs, the inside of hollow trees, or chimneys.
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