North America's Endangered Birds
California Condor
The California condor is the largest bird in North America and it remains on the list of critically endangered animals. Lead-poisoning is a major threat to their continued existence.
North America's Endangered Birds
- This hub celebrates the beauty of the endangered birds of North America. When possible, we use photos taken by amateur (and professional) photographers, and not photographs you have seen in publications by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency which maintains a list of the threatened and endangered species here in the United States.
- Before a bird can be placed on the endangered species list, it is studied thoroughly by scientists who strive to estimate how many are remaining in the population. They also try to determine the problems threatening the species, so the listing process could take years.
- Please watch the videos included in this hub. They are exceptional and allow you to see these magnificent creatures in the wild.
- Believe it or not, the Fish and Wildlife Service currently lists 90 birds as endangered (as of 2017, there were 101 on the list). I have tried to track down interesting photographs of several of them.
The California Condor is the Elvis Presley of endangered species. It is huge, it is iconic, it is worshipped and despised … The condor is the soul of the wilderness.
— John Nielsen, Journalist in Residence at the World Wildlife Fund
Mississippi Sandhill Crane
The Mississippi sandhill crane are listed as critically endangered and they are found in the wild only on, and adjacent to, the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Mississippi.
Photography by Larry Jernigan
This is a photo of a marbled murrelet in flight. Loss of habitat is the biggest threat these birds face, as the trees they use for nested are targeted for logging. They are found in California and Washington in North America.
Masked Bobwhite Quail
The masked bobwhite quail is on the endangered list and is found only in the Sonoran Desert and semi desert regions of southern Arizona, and northern Sonora in Mexico. It is the only species of quail on the endangered list.
The Whooping Crane
The whooping crane is the tallest North American bird and is so named because of the whooping sound it makes. It remains endangered, but conservation efforts have increased the numbers over the past several years.
Photo by John Ford
Some of the Endangered Birds of Hawaii
The Incredible Whooping Crane
The Crested Caracara
The crested caracara can be found in North America in Mexico and only on the southern parts of the United States, including Florida, where it is considered a threatened species.
Steve Mayeux - Bay Area Photo Club
More Endangered Birds
California Condor Video
Spectacled Eider and a Pair of Short-Tailed Albatross Birds
In North America, this spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) is found only in the state of Alaska. Like many other arctic birds, it has been the victim of climate change, as its numbers have gradually decreased.
This is a pair of short-tailed albatross birds, found in Alaska. Commercial hunting in the state has driven this bird almost to extinction. Elsewhere - in Japan, this bird is considered a natural national monument.
The Spectacled Eider Duck in Action
Northern Aplamado Falcon
This handsome, endangered northern aplamado falcon is only found in the states of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
Banding the Aplomado Falcons
Kirtland's Warbler
This is the endangered Kirtland's warbler, a songbird that nests in young jack pine stands. They have been seen in several states, including Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wisconsin
Photography by Ashley Hannah
Great Articles on Other Endangered Animals
- Endangered Tigers
Tigers are an extremely endangered animal, with their numbers down dramatically from just one century ago. Read about their plight and what you can do to help. - North America Animals Top 10 Endangered Species List
Many animals that once thrived in the wild on the North American Continent are now threatened with extinction.
Declining Populations of Common Birds
This is the list of 33 common birds identified by scientists from the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) as being in steep decline. Their report was published in the State of the Birds - 2014.
- Northern Pintail
- American Wigeon
- Cinnamon Teal
- Greater Scaup
- Long-tailed Duck
- Scaled Quail
- Northern Bobwhite
- Purple Gallinule
- Franklin’s Gull
- Herring Gull
- Black Tern
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Snowy Owl
- Short-eared Owl
- Common Nighthawk
- Chimney Swift
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Horned Lark
- Bank Swallow
- Verdin
- Varied Thrush
- Snow Bunting
- Cape May Warbler
- Blackpoll Warbler
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Field Sparrow
- Lark Bunting
- Grasshopper Sparrow
- Eastern Meadowlark
- Rusty Blackbird
- Brewer’s Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Pine Siskin
Keeping common birds common, while we
still can, is as important as preventing extinctions of rare species.
— From the State of the Birds - 2014
References
- Hasegawa, H., and A.R. DeGange (1982). The short-tailed albatross, Diomedia albatrus: Its status, distribution, and natural history. American Birds 6(5):806-814.
- https://seaduckjv.org/meet-the-sea-ducks/spectacled-eider/. Retrieved 02/19/2018
- http://www.ducksg.org/ Retrieved 02/18/2018
- http://www.pwlf.org/ Retrieved 02/18/2018
- https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-ten-most-endangered-and-distinctive-birds-in-the-world/ Retrieved 02/19/2018
- https://www.birds-of-north-america.net/Endangered_Birds.html. Retrieved 02/20/2018
The Call of the Sandhill Cranes
© 2009 Mike and Dorothy McKenney
Comments
Garfield hummingbird feeder on August 08, 2011:
It's sad that birds can become endangered like this. I love the birds, so I put hummingbird feeders in my back yard, and I love to watch them come out every evening.
