Brown-headed Cowbird

Female Brown-headed Cowbird in Nobleboro (2015)

This Cowbird, 6 to eight inches beak to tail,  is a spring and summer visitor to Maine.  Once a follower of bison on the great plains, these birds now inhabit the edges of woods, roadsides, and towns across the United States. Females lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, then abandon them to…

Gray Catbird

Gray Catbird near a Bird Feeder (2013)

Yes, the Gray Catbird sounds like a cat in “normal” mode.  But, being a relative of mockingbirds, it often imitates others or combines sounds of several species to create its own music. The one pictured here is typical in its preference for thick growth among the lilacs and its frequent visits to a bird feeder.…

Goldfinch

A male in summer is a yellow bird with a black patch on its forehead, with black wings and tail and white on the wings and rump. In winter he looks much like the female: a dull olive yellow with brownish wings.  The male has a bright orange bill, while the female’s is, again, a…

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This is the smallest bird in Maine.  Amazngly, this tiny, energy-burning bird migrates thousands of miles each year between Maine and the southern United States, Mexico and Central America. In southern Maine it appears in early summer for a brief period, then apparently moves north only to reappear in late summer, presumably on its long…