Botanic Gardens

The following list includes 195 species of birds which have been observed over the past 40 years at the University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens, and elsewhere on the campus. The list is undoubtedly incomplete both in species not listed, which should be, and in the seasonal distribution of those species which are included. The first edition of this checklist, 1974, included 130 species and was compiled by Ken Arakawa, Richard F. Green and Eugene Cardiff. The second edition, 1985, included 162 species and was compiled by Andrew C. Sanders. This edition was edited and revised by Jean T. Weiss with help from Chet McGaugh, Andrew C. Sanders, Cin-Ty Lee and Anthony Metcalf, with manuscript assistance from Bernice and Robert Tank. It is likely that the list will increase by the time a fourth edition is prepared. Please report your sightings!

The four columns to the right of the species list have a code which indicates the reported seasonal occurrence of each species. These codes are summarized below.

Key to Symbols

Fall (September - November)
Winter (December - February)
Spring (March - May)
Summer (June - August)

C - Common, likely to be seen on more than 75% of visits.
U - Uncommon, likely to be seen on 10-50% of visits.
R - Rare, likely to be seen less than 10% of visits.
S - A single record, very unlikely to be seen.
- - No records, please let us know if seen.

	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe	-	C	-	-
Eared Grebe	-	U	-	-
Western Grebe	-	R	-	-
Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant	U	C	U	-
Herons
Great Blue Heron	C	C	C	-
Great Egret	C	C	C	-
Snowy Egret	C	C	C	-
Cattle Egret	U	U	-	-
Green Heron	-	U	-	-
Black-crowned Night-Heron	-	U	-	-
American Vultures
Turkey Vulture	R	R	R	R
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Geese & Ducks
Canada Goose	C	C	C	-
Wood Duck	-	R	-	-
Green-winged Teal	U	U	U	-
Mallard	C	C	C	-
Northern Pintail	R	U	R	-
Blue-winged Teal	-	-	R	-
Cinnamon Teal	R	S	R	-
Northern Shoveler	C	C	C	-
Gadwall	U	U	U	-
American Widgeon	C	C	C	-
Canvasback	R	S	R	-
Redhead	R	R	R	-
Ring-necked Duck	U	U	U	-
Lesser Scaup	U	U	U	-
Common Goldeneye	R	R	R	-
Bufflehead	R	R	R	-
Hooded Merganser	U	U	U	-
Common Merganser	R	R	R	-
Ruddy Duck	C	C	C	-
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Kites, Eagles & Hawks
Osprey	R	R	R	R
White-tailed Kite	U	U	U	U
Northern Harrier	U	U	U	-
Sharp-shinned Hawk	U	U	U	-
Cooper's Hawk	C	C	C	U
Red-shouldered Hawk	C	C	C	C
Swainson's Hawk	-	-	R	-
Red-tailed Hawk	C	C	C	C
Golden Eagle	R	R	R	R
Falcons
American Kestrel	C	C	C	C
Merlin	R	R	-	-
Prairie Falcon	-	R	-	-
New World Quail
California Quail	C	C	C	C
Rails & Coots
Sora	-	-	S	-
American Coot	-	-	S	-
Plovers
Killdeer	C	C	C	-
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Sandpipers
Greater Yellowlegs	U	U	U	-
Spotted Sandpiper	U	U	U	-
Western Sandpiper	R	-	R	-
Least Sandpiper	U	U	U	-
Long-billed Dowitcher	U	U	U	-
Common Snipe	R	R	R	-
Gulls & Terns
Bonaparte's Gull	R	R	R	-
Mew Gull	-	-	S	-
Ring-billed Gull	C	C	C	-
California Gull	C	C	C	-
Herring Gull	R	R	R	-
Caspian Tern	R	-	R	S
Pigeons & Doves
Rock Dove	C	C	C	C
Band-tailed Pigeon	C	C	C	C
Spotted Dove	C	C	C	C
Mourning Dove	C	C	C	C
Common Ground-Dove	R	R	R	R
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Cuckoos
Greater Roadrunner	U	U	U	U
Barn Owls
Barn Owl	U	U	U	U
Typical Owls
Western Screech-Owl	R	R	R	R
Greate Horned Owl	U	U	U	U
Burrowing Owl	R	R	R	R
Goatsuckers
Lesser Nighthawk	-	S	-	R
Common Poorwill	S	R	-	-
Whip-poor-will	-	S	-	-
Swifts
Vaux's Swift	U	-	U	-
White-throated Swift	C	C	C	C
Humingbirds
Black-chinned Hummingbird	-	-	C	C
Anna's Hummingbird	C	C	C	C
Costa's Hummingbird	C	U	C	C
Rufous Hummingbird	U	-	U	-
Allen's Hummingbird	U	-	U	-
Kingfishers
Belted Kingfisher	U	U	U	U
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Woodpeckers
Lewis's Woodpecker	R	R	-	-
Acorn Woodpecker	C	C	C	C
Red-naped Sapsucker	-	S	-	-
Red-breasted Sapsucker	-	U	-	-
Nuttall's Woodpecker	C	C	C	C
Downy Woodpecker	U	U	U	-
Hairy Woodpecker	R	R	-	-
Northern Flicker	C	C	C	R
Tyrant Flycatchers
Olive-sided Flycatcher	R	-	U	-
Western Wood-Pewee	U	-	U	-
Willow Flycatcher	U	-	U	-
Hammond's Flycatcher	-	-	U	-
Gray Flycatcher	-	R	R	-
Pacific-slope Flycatcher	C	S	C	-
Black Phoebe	C	C	C	C
Eastern Phoebe	-	S	-	-
Say's Phoebe	U	U	U	R
Ash-throated Flycatcher	-	S	U	U
Cassin's Kingbird	C	C	C	U
Western Kingbird	U	-	C	C
Shrikes
Loggerhead Shrike	U	U	U	U
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Vireos
Bell's Vireo	-	-	S	-
Cassin's Vireo	U	R	U	-
Plumbeous Vireo	R	U	U	-
Warbling Vireo	-	-	U	-
Red-eye Vireo	S	-	-	-
Jays & Crows
Steller's Jay	S	-	-	-
Western Scrub-Jay	C	C	C	C
American Crow	C	C	C	C
Common Raven	C	C	C	C
Larks
Horned Lark	U	U	U	U
Swallows
Tree Swallow	C	-	C	-
Violet-green Swallow	C	-	C	-
Northern Rough-winged " "	C	-	C	C
Barn Swallow	C	-	C	U
Cliff Swallow	C	-	C	C
Titmice
Mountain Chickadee	U	U	-	-
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Bushtits
Bushtit	C	C	C	C
Nuthatches
Red-breasted Nuthatch	S	-	-	-
White-breasted Nuthatch	U	U	-	-
Creepers
Brown Creeper	R	R	-	-
Wrens
Rock Wren	C	C	C	C
Canyon Wren	C	C	C	C
Bewick's Wren	C	C	C	C
House Wren	C	C	C	C
Winter Wren	-	S	-	-
Gnatcatchers
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	U	C	U	R
California Gnatcatcher	R	R	R	R
Kinglets
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	C	C	C	-
Thrushes
Western Bluebird	C	C	C	-
Swainson's Thrush	-	-	C	S
Hermit Thrush	R	R	R	R
American Robin	C	C	C	-
Varied Thrush	-	R	R	-
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Babblers
Wrentit	U	U	U	U
Mockingbirds & Thrashers
Northern Mockingbird	C	C	C	C
Sage Thrasher	-	S	S	-
California Thrasher	U	U	U	U
Starlings
European Starling	C	C	C	C
Pipits
American Pipit	C	C	C	-
Waxwings
Cedar Waxwing	C	C	C	-
Silky-Flycatchers
Phainopepla	R	-	R	U
Wood-Warblers
Orange-crowned Warbler	U	U	C	-
Nashville Warbler	U	R	U	-
Virginia's Warbler	-	R	-	-
Northern Parula	-	-	S	-
Yellow Warbler	C	R	C	-
Magnolia Warbler	S	-	R	-
Yellow-rumped Warbler	C	C	C	-
Black-throated Gray " "	U	R	U	-
Townsend's Warbler	U	R	U	-
Hermit Warbler	R	-	R	-
Blackburnian Warbler	S	-	-	-
Black-and-White Warbler	R	S	-	-
Worm-eating Warbler	S	-	-	-
Ovenbird	-	S	-	-
MacGillivray's Warbler	R	-	R	-
Common Yellowthroat	R	-	R	-
Hooded Warbler	-	-	S	-
Wilson's Warbler	C	R	C	-
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Tanagers
Summer Tanager	S	-		-
Western Tanager	C	R	C	-
Emberizines
Spotted Towhee	C	C	C	C
California Towhee	C	C	C	C
Rufous-crowned Sparrow	U	U	U	U
Chipping Sparrow	C	U	C	R
Brewer's Sparrow	-	R	-	-
Black-chinned Sparrow	-	-	U	R
Vesper Sparrow	-	U	-	-
Lark Sparrow	U	U	U	U
Sage Sparrow	U	R	U	U
Savannah Sparrow	C	C	C	-
Fox Sparrow	U	U	U	-
Song Sparrow	C	C	C	C
Lincoln's Sparrow	C	C	C	-
White-crowned Sparrow	C	C	C	-
Golden-crowned sparrow	C	C	C	-
Dark-eyed Junco	U	U	U	-
Grosbeaks
Black-headed Grosbeak	C	-	C	U
Blue Grosbeak	-	S	U	U
Lazuli Bunting	R	-	U	U
Back to Top	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Blackbirds & Orioles
Red-winged Blackbird	C	C	C	C
Tricolored Blackbird	-	R	-	-
Yellow-headed Blackbird	S	-	-	-
Brewer's Blackbird	C	C	C	C
Brown-headed Cowbird	C	C	C	C
Hooded Oriole	U	-	C	C
Bullock's Oriole	U	S	C	C
Fringilline Finches
Purple Finch	U	U	U	-
House Finch	C	C	C	C
Red Crossbill	-	R	-	-
Pine Siskin	U	U	U	-
Lasser Goldfinch	C	C	C	C
Lawrence's Goldfinch	R	R	U	U
American Goldfinch	C	C	C	-
Old World Sparrows
House Sparrow	C	C	C	C

Please report your new bird sightings by contacting us, or drop a note in the Gatehouse lockbox at the Gardens entrance. Be sure to record your name, daytime phone and e-mail address when reporting a siting. THANK YOU!