Sciences / Birds / Summary of Birds Seen

Summary of Birds Seen

By Virginia C. Holmgren

This is an extract from We Proceeded On[1]Virginia C. Holmgren, Summary of Birds Seen by Lewis and Clark, We Proceeded On, May 1984, Volume 10, Nos. 2 and 3, the quarterly journal of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. The … Continue reading

The birds seen on the expedition and listed alphabetically in the Glossary of L&C Bird Names are listed below by scientific order and numbered for a total of 134 species or well described subspecies. Each is identified by Latin binomial (trinomial for subspecies), surname of original classifier, and year of publication.

*Denotes eleven species not classified by 1806, but nevertheless well known by some common name.

**Denotes nine unclassified species that might have been counted as Lewis and Clark Trail discoveries if better classified.

***Denotes the twenty-five species that are sufficiently described to rate discovery status, even though their first publication would be by others.

When a description fits more than one species, but only one was seen at the time, the alternate name is indented and not numbered. Former full species, now subspecies, but clearly identified, are indented and numbered. Many birds seen were mentioned only by group name—plover, sparrow, etc.—and have not been counted in the 134 total. All nomenclature and dates are from The American Ornithologists’ Checklist, 6th edition, 1983, except subspecies from 5th edition.

Order Gaviiformes

1. Red-throated loon, Gavia stellata, Pontoppidan 1763 and/or

1. Red-throated loon, Gavia stellata, Pontoppidan 1763 and/or

2. Arctic loon, Gavia arctica, Linnaeus[2]Hereafter Linnaeus is entered as L. 1758.

3. Common loon, Gavia immer, Briinnich 1764

Order Podicipediformes

4. Pied-Billed grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, L. 1758

5. Horned grebe, Podiceps auritus, L. 1758, or red-necked grebe, Podiceps grisegena, Boddaert 1783

***6. Western grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis, Lawrence 1858

Order Procellariformes

7. Northern fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, L. 1761

Order Pelecaniformes

8. American white pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhyn-chos, Gmelin 1789

*9. Double-crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, Lesson 1831

Order Ciconiiformes

*10. American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, Rackett 1813 or black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax L. 1758

11. Great blue heron, Ardea herodias, L. 1758

12. Great egret, Casmerodius albus, L. 1758

13. Wood stork, Mycteria americana, L. 1758

Order Anseriformes

***14. Tundra (whistling) swan, Cygnus columbianus, Ord 1815

***15. Trumpeter swan, Cygnus buccinator, Richardson 1832

16. Greater white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons, Scopoli 1 769

17. Snow goose, Chen caerulescens hyperborea, Pallas 1769

18. Blue goose, Chen caerulescens caerulescens, L. 1 758

19. Brant, Branta bernicla bernicla, L. 1758

**20. Black brant, Branta bernicla nigricans, Lawrence 1846

21. Canada goose, Branta canadensis canadensis, L. 1758

**22. Cackling goose, Branta canadensis minima, 1885 or other smaller subspecies

23. Wood duck, Aix sponsa, L. 1758

24. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, L. 1758

25. Blue-winged teal, Anas discors, L. 1758

26. Northern shoveler, Anas clypeata, L. 1758

***27. Cinnamon teal, Anas cyanoptera, Vieillot 1816

*28. Canvasback, Aythya valisineria, Wilson 1814

***29. Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris, Donovan 1809

30. Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola, L. 1758

31. Common merganser, Mergus merganser, L. 1758

Order Falconiformes

32. Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, L. 1758

33. California condor, Gymnogyps californianus, Shaw 1798

34. Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, L. 1758

***35. Black-shouldered kite, Elanus caerulus leucurus, Vieillot 1818

36. Bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, L. 1766

37. Northern harrier, Circus cyaneus, L. 1766

*38. Cooper’s hawk, Accipiter cooperii, Bonaparte’ 1828

39. Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, Gmelin 1788

40. Rough-legged hawk, Buteo lagopus, Pontoppidan 1763, or *Ferruginous hawk, Buteo regalis, Gray 1844 (dark phase)

41. Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, L. 1758

42. American kestrel, Falco sparverius, L. 1758 and/ or

43. Merlin, Falco columbarius, L. 1758

Order Galliformes

44. Spruce grouse, Dendragapus canadensis, L. 1758

***45. Blue grouse, Dendragapus obscurus, Say 1823

46. Ruffed grouse, Bonasa umbellus, L. 1 766

***47. Sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, Bonaparte 1827

48. Greater prairie-chicken, Tympanuchus cupido, L. 1758

49. Sharp-tailed grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, L. 1758

50. Wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, L. 1758

***51. Mountain quail, Oreortyx pictus, Douglas 1829

52. Yellow rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis, Gmelin 1789

53. American coot, Fulica americana, Gmelin 1789

54. Sandhill crane, Grus canadensis, L. 1758

55. Whooping crane, Grus americana, L. 1 758

Order Charadriiformes

***56. Semipalmated plover, Charadrius semipalmatus, Bonaparte 1825

57. Killdeer, Chradrius vociferus, L. 1758

***58. Mountain plover, Charadrius montanus, Townsend 1837

59. American avocet, Recurvirostra americana, Gmelin 1789

60. Willet, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, Gmelin 1789

61. Spotted sandpiper, Actitis macularia, L. 1766

***62. Upland sandpiper, Bartramia longicauda, Bechstein 1812

63. Eskimo curlew, Numenius borealis, Forster 1772

***64. Long-billed curlew, Numenius americanus, Bechstein 1812

*65. Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, Vieillot 1819 or stilt sandpiper, Calidris himantopus, Bonaparte 1826

66. Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago, L. 1758

***67. Bonaparte’s gull, Larus philadelphia, Ord 1815

**68-70. (any three of following): *ring-billed gull, Larus delawarensis, Ord 1815; *California gull, Larus californicus, Lawrence 1854; herring gull, Larus argentatus, Pontoppidan 1763; western gull, Larus occidentalis, Audubon 1839; glaucous-winged gull, Larus glaucescens, Naumann 1840

***71. Least tern, Sterna antillarum, Lesson 1847

Order Columbiformes

72. Mourning dove, Zenaida macroura, L. 1758

73. Passenger pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius, L. 1766

Order Psittaciformes

74. Carolina parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis, L. 1758

Order Cuculiformes

75. Yellow-billed cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, L. 1758

Order Strigiformes

76. Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus, Gmelin 1788

77. Great gray owl, Strix nebulosa, Forster 1772

78. Long-eared owl, Asio otus, L. 1 758

Order Caprimulgiformes

79. Common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, Forster 1771

***80. Common poorwill, Phalaenoptilus nuttallii, Audubon 1844

*81. Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, Wilson 1812

Order Apodiformes

**82-83. (any two of the following) **black-chinned hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri, Bourcier & Mulsant 1846;

**Calliope hummingbird, Stellula calliope, Gould 1847;

**broad-tailed hummingbird, Selasphorus platycercus, Swainson, 1827; rufous hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Gmelin 1788.

Order Coraciiformes

84. Belted kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon, L. 1758

Order Piciformes

***85. Lewis’s woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis, Wilson 1811 (Gray 1849)

86. Red-headed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, L. 1758

87. Yellow-bellied sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius, L. 1766

88. Red-breasted sapsucker, Sphyrapicus ruber, Gmelin 1788

89. Downy woodpecker, Picoides pubescens, L. 1766 and/or

90. Hairy woodpecker, Picoides villosus, L. 1766

91. Northern flicker, Colaptes auratus auratus, L. 1758

92. Pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, L. 1758

Order Passeriformes

*93. Hammond’s flycatcher, Empidonax hammondii, Xantus de Vesey 1858

**94. Say’s phoebe, Sayornis saya, Bonaparte 1825

95. Eastern kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, L. 1758

96. Horned lark, Eremophila alpestris, L. 1758

97. Purple martin, Progne subis, L. 1758

98. Bank swallow, Riparia riparia, L. 1758

*99. Cliff swallow, Hirundo pyrrhonota, Vieillot 1817

100. Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, L. 1758

101. Gray jay, Perisoreus canadensis, L. 1766

102. Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri, Gmelin 1788

103. Blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata, L. 1758

104. Scrub jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens, Bose 1795

***105. Pinyon jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, Wied 1841

***106. Clark’s nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana, Wilson 1811

107. Black-billed magpie, Pica pica, L. 1758

*108. American crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Brehm 1822

***109. Northwestern crow, Corvus caurinus, Baird 1858

110. Common raven, Corvus corax, L. 1758

*111. House wren, Troglodytes aedon, Vieillot 1808 or golden-crowned kinglet, Regulus satrapa, Lichtenstein 1823 or ruby-crowned kinglet, Regulus calendula, L. 1766

112. Winter wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, L. 1758

113. Mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, Bechstein 1798

**114. hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus, Pallas 1811

115. American robin, Turdus migratorius, L. 1766

116. Varied thrush, lxoreus naeuius, Gmelin 1789

117. Northern mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, L. 1758

118. Brown thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, L. 1758

***119. Sprague’s pipit, Anthus spragueii, Audubon 1844

*120. Cedar waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, Vieillot 1807

121. Loggerhead shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, L. 1766

***122. Western tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, Wilson 1811

123. Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, L. 1758

124. Fox sparrow, Passerella iliaca unalascensis, Gmelin 1789

*125. Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, Wilson 1810

***126. McCown’s longspur, Calcarius mccownii, Lawrence 1851

127. Eastern meadowlark, Sturnella magna, L. 1758

***128. Western meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta, Audubon 1844

129. Rusty blackbird, Euphagus carolinus, Muller 1776, and/or

**130. Brewer’s blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, Wagler 1829

131. Common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, L. 1758

132. Brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater, Boddaert 1783

133. Purple finch, Carpodacus purpureus, Gmelin 1789, or common redpoll, Carduelis flammea, L. 1758

134. American goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, L. 1 758

Notes

Notes
1 Virginia C. Holmgren, Summary of Birds Seen by Lewis and Clark, We Proceeded On, May 1984, Volume 10, Nos. 2 and 3, the quarterly journal of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. The original, full-length article is provided at lewisandclark.org/wpo/pdf/vol10no2.pdf#page=23.
2 Hereafter Linnaeus is entered as L.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.