The Birds of 
North America 


Condor to Shorebirds


Part 2 of a List of 
North American Birds
compiled by Armas Hill









Noting those found during Focus On Nature Tours in Alaska, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Nebraska, Newfoundland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, & Wyoming, including offshore pelagic trips  

Birds found during FONT tours & pelagic trips in North America, north of the Rio Grande, have an (*).   

PHOTO AT UPPER RIGHT: A CALIFORNIA CONDOR during the FONT tour in northern Arizona in August 2010  
(photo by Marie Gardner)



CODES:

In the list that follows, pertaining to FONT tours, the US state or Canadian province & the months are noted. 

(The codes below relate to the United States unless indicated otherwise.) 

AK:    Alaska
AZ:    Arizona
BC:    British Columbia, Canada (until 2001, during our West Coast Tours in September) 
CA:    California  (during our September West Coast Tours)
CO:    Colorado
DE:    Delaware (including offshore pelagic trips from DE & some land-birding tours) 
FL:     Florida
IA:     Iowa  (with our Nebraska Tours in March)
KS:    Kansas  (with our Colorado Tours in April)
NC:    North Carolina  (including offshore pelagic trips and spring & summer land-birding tours)
NE:    Nebraska  (tours in March & with our Colorado tours in April) 
NF:    Newfoundland, Canada
NM:   New Mexico  (with our West Texas Tours in the spring & our Arizona Tours in the late-summer)   
OK:   Oklahoma  (with our Colorado Tours in April)    
TX:    Texas
VA:    Virginia  (in conjunction with a NC Tour in the spring)
WA:   Washington State  (during our September West Coast Tours) 
WY:   Wyoming  (with our Colorado Tours in April)

During FONT pelagic trips:

DEP:    offshore from Delaware
CAP:    offshore from California  
NCP:    offshore from North Carolina 
NJP:    offshore from New Jersey
WAP:   offshore from Washington State 

The months when the birds have been found are with the above codes. 

(ac):        north of the Arctic Circle 
(DT):       in the area of the Dry Tortugas islands in Florida
(PI):        at the Pribilof Islands in Alaska


(USe):          endemic to the USA 
(USqe):        quasi (or nearly) endemic to the USA
(USeb):        endemic-breeder in USA 
(USneb):      near-endemic breeder in the USA
(NAi):           species introduced into North America
(NAri):          re-introduced species
(r/NA):          rare in North America
(r/US):          rare in the USA

(t): a globally threatened or rare species, designated by Birdlife International
(t1): critical   (t2): endangered   (t3): vulnerable
(nt): a near-threatened species globally


(ph):  species with a photo in the FONT web-site  

       
Links to Bird Groupings in this part of this List:

Raptors (including Vultures)    Rails & Allies    Cranes    Limpkin    Shorebirds


Links to Other Parts of this North American Bird List:

Part #1:  Grouse to Anhinga    Part #3:  Jaegers to Cuckoos   Part #4:  Owls to Flycatchers

Part #5:  Shrikes to Pipits    Part #6:  Olive Warbler to Buntings

Birds during FONT Tours in:

Alaska    Arizona    California    Colorado    North Carolina    Texas    Washington State

Links to Lists & Photo Galleries of Other Nature, including North American:

Mammals    Butterflies, Dragonflies    Amphibians, Reptiles    Marine Life, inc Fish, Crustaceans

Links to Information about Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours:

in North America    by month in:    2012   2013    or:   by geographic location


Other Links:

Directory of Photos in this Website 

A Photo Gallery of Birds that would be Rare In North America

List of Birds:


       RAPTORS (including VULTURES)

204. California Condor  (t1) (*)  (ph)  ______  AZ:aug
     Gymnogyps californianus
     
     
     
     The above photograph, taken in California in 1981, 
     is of one of the last California Condors in the wild. 
     (photo by Armas Hill)
     
     
     
     A California Condor & Northern Raven photographed in September 2009 in Arizona
     (photo by Doris Potter) 
     
     
     By 1982, only 22 free-ranging California Condors remained in California. The above upper photograph was taken of one of those birds in late 1981.
     By 1986, only 1 female and 4 male condors roamed free. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service sanctioned capturing those birds and adding them to the captive breeding population. The last one was captured in April 1987,
     
     In 1992, 63 condors existed in captivity. A few were released that year into the wild. 8 young birds were returned to California, but within a couple years, half had perished from collisions with power lines, shooting, or poisoning.
     In the fall of 1996, 6 young condors were taken to a holding pen atop Vermilion Cliffs near Page, Arizona. After several weeks of feeding them stillborn calf carcasses, they were released. 
     From their release site, they wandered through the Monument Valley and Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, Bryce Canyon in Utah, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and as far north as Flaming Gorge in southwestern Wyoming.
     Condor releases have continued about annually in northern Arizona.
     
     In 2003, the Arizona condor population produced its first wild offspring in the Grand Canyon. A number of the birds, in that area, during the summer of 2006 traveled north to Utah to reside in hills near Zion National Park, but in the winter they returned to Arizona, where food was always available for them..
     By March 2009, the number of wild-living condors in Arizona and southern Utah reached 75. In May of that year, the Peregrine Fund reported on its website that there were 358 California Condors. 189 of them were wild birds in California, Arizona, and elsewhere in the US, and in Baja California in Mexico. 169 of them were in captivity, including those in zoos, maintained for breeding purposes, or pending release.
     
     
205. Black Vulture (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,jun,aug  TX:apr,may 
     Coragyps atratus
     
     South of the US, the Black Vulture has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Black Vulture
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
206. Turkey Vulture (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  IA:mar  KS:apr  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  NE:mar,apr  NM:apr,jul,aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr 
     Cathartes aura
     
     South of the US, the Turkey Vulture has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama (with huge numbers in migration in October), Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela. 
     
     
     
     A Turkey Vulture chick, 10-days old  (or 10-days young)
     (photo by Alan Brady)
     
     
207. Northern Crested Caracara (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul  TX:may
     Caracara cheriwayi
     
     South of the US, the Northern Crested Caracara has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Brazil (north of the Amazon), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
208. Collared Forest Falcon ______  (r/US)
     Micrastur semitorquatus
     
     A species normally occurring from northeastern and northwestern Mexico south through much of South America.
     A light-morph adult was present in South Texas, at the Bentson-Rio Grande Valley State Park, from January 22 to February 24, 1994.
     
     South of the US, the Collared Forest Falcon has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
209. American Kestrel (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun  AZ:jan,jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  IA:mar  FL:apr  KS:apr  NC:may,jun,aug,sep  NE:mar,apr  OK:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Falco s. sparverius
     
     South of the US, the American Kestrel has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     A male American Kestrel
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
210. Merlin (*) (ph) ______ AK:jun  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr (DT)  NC:may,sep  TX:apr  WA:sep  WY:apr 
     Falco columbarius
     
     The darkest race of the Merlin, F. c. suckleyi, the "Black Merlin", occurs in coastal Washington State & British Columbia.  
     
     Outside North America, the Merlin has been seen during FONT tours in Iceland, Japan, Sweden, and south of the US in Belize, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela.
     
     
211. Aplomado Falcon (ri) (r/US) (*) (ph) ______ TX:may 
     Falco femoralis
     
     This species ranges in parts of Mexico and Central America, and more so in South America. It formerly occurred in open grasslands and deserts from south Texas west to southeast Arizona, disappearing from that northern part of its range by the early 20th Century. 
     Some birds reported reported in New Mexico and west Texas in the 1990s may have been wanderers from a small extant population in the northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. A reintroduction program has been underway in south coastal Texas.    
     
     South of the US, the Aplomado Falcon has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica (where rare), Ecuador, Venezuela.
     
     
212. Peregrine Falcon (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  FLapr (DT)  NC:may,sep  TX:apr  WA:sep
     Falco peregrinus
     
     Outside North America, the Peregrine Falcon has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Japan, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and south of the US in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela. 
     
     
213. Prairie Falcon (*) (ph)  ______ AZ:jan,aug  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  KS:apr  WA:sep
     Falco mexicanus 
     
     South of the US, the Prairie Falcon has been seen during a FONT tour in Mexico (Sonora).
     
     
214. Gyrfalcon (*) (ph)  ______  AK:may,jun
     Falco rusticolus
     
     Outside North America, the Gyrfalcon has been seen during FONT tours in Iceland, Japan.
     
     
     
     A black-and-white photo of a dark Gyrfalcon in flight
     (photo by Alan Brady)
     
     
215. Eurasian Kestrel ______  (r/NA)
     Falco tinnunculus
     
     A widespread Old World species. In North America, it is rare in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and elsewhere in the Bering Sea region. There are records of it as a vagrant in eastern North America in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada, and in New Jersey & Florida in the US. On the North American West Coast, it has occurred as a vagrant as far south as Washington State. 
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Kestrel has been seen during FONT tours in Andorra, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, France, Hungary, Iceland (where rare), Japan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey..
      
     
216. Northern Hobby ______  (r/NA)
     Falco subbuteo
     
     An Old World species. It occurs rarely in the late spring and summer in the Bering Sea region and in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. There is a record of an October occurrence at Seattle, Washington. 
     Off eastern North America, a notable record is of a bird on a ship off Newfoundland.   
     
     Outside North America, the Northern Hobby has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey. . 
     
      
217. Red-footed Falcon ______  (r/US)
     Falco verspertinus
     
     A species that breeds in eastern Europe & western Asia, wintering in southern Africa. A first-summer male was on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, August 8-24, 2004. How that bird got there is an interesting question.   
     
     Outside North America, the Red-footed Falcon has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey.
     
     
218. Osprey (*) (ph)  ______ AK:jun  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  NF:jul  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Pandion haliaetus 
     
     Outside North America, the Osprey has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and south of the US in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Osprey
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
219. Hook-billed Kite  ______ (r/US)
     Chondrohierax uncinatus  
     
     A Neotropical species, ranging from Mexico to South America. It is uncommon in much of its range. In North America, it occurs, as a rare resident, in south Texas in the lower Rio Grande Valley, from the Santa Ana Refuge to the Falcon Dam. It is found in dense woodlands, above which it can be seen riding the thermals upward in the late morning.     
     
     South of the US, the Hook-billed Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama.
     
     
220. Swallow-tailed Kite (*) (ph)  ______ FL:apr
     Elanoides forficatus
     
     South of the US, the Swallow-tailed Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
221. White-tailed Kite (*) (ph)  ______ AZ:aug,sep  CA:sep  NM:aug  TX:may
     Elanus leucurus
     
     South of the US, the White-tailed Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     A White-tailed Kite in flight
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
222. Mississippi Kite (*) ______ AZ:jul,aug  NC:may,jun  TX:may
     Ictinia mississippiensis
     
     South of the US, the Mississippi Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Guatemala (in migration).
     
     
223. Snail Kite (*) (ph) ______ FL:apr
     Rostrhamus sociabilis
     
     South of the US, the Snail Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     A Snail Kite photographed during a FONT tour 
     (photo by Marie Gardner)
     
     
224. Double-toothed Kite  ______  (r/US)
     Harpagus bidentatus
     
     A Neotropical species ranging from Mexico to South America. One was photographed at High Island, Texas in May 2011, but it was identified until several weeks later. 
     
     South of the US. the Double-toothed Kite has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela. 
     
     
225. Bald Eagle (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  FL:apr  IA:mar  NC:may  NE:mar,apr  NF:jul  TX:may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Haliaeetus leucocephalus
     
     
     
     Bald Eagles
     Above:  Adults at a nest  (photo by Paul West)
     Below:   Two immature birds in flight  (photo by Kim Steininger)
     
     
     
     
     
226. White-tailed Eagle  (nt) (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Haliaeetus albicilla
     
     An Old World species, ranging across the Palearctic region from Iceland to eastern Siberia. West of that, it occurs in Greenland. Near the eastern edge of its range, it occurs rarely on western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. On the westernmost of them, Attu, it has nested.
     
     Outside North America, the White-tailed Eagle has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan (mostly in Hokkaido), Poland.
          
     
227. Steller's Sea Eagle  (t3) (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Haliaeetus pelagicus
     
     An east Asian species, with an estimated total population of less than 5,000 birds. It has occurred rarely in Alaska: in the Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands, Kodiak Island, and near Juneau in southeastern Alaska.    
     
     Outside North America, the Steller's Sea Eagle has been seen during FONT tours in Japan, mostly in Hokkaido, where during the winter it is often plentiful.  
     
     For more regarding the STELLER'S SEA EAGLE, go to:  Rare Birds of Japan 
      
     
228. Northern Harrier (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:jan,jul,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  FL:apr  IA:mar  KS:apr  NC:may,aug  NE:mar  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr  (has been considered conspecific with the Hen Harrier of Eurasia)
     Circus hudsonius
     
     South of the US, the Northern Harrier has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     Northern Harriers
     Two photographs - a female above, and a male below.
     (photos by Kim Steininger)
      
     
229. Sharp-shinned Hawk  (ph) ______ AK:jun  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  KS:apr  WA:sep
     Accipiter striatus
     
     South of the US, the Sharp-shinned Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, the Dominican Republic (an endemic subspecies), Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico (an endemic resident subspecies).
     
     
230. Cooper's Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jan,jul,aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  KS:apr  NE:mar,apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Accipiter cooperi
     
     South of the US, the Cooper's Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico.
     
     
     
     Cooper's Hawk
     (photo by Frank Stermitz)
     
     
231. Northern Goshawk (*) ______  AK:may,jun  AZ:jul,aug  CO:apr,jul  WA:sep
     Accipiter gentilis 
     
     Outside North America, the Northern Goshawk has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and south of the US in Mexico.
     
     
232. Crane Hawk  (ph) ______  (r/US)
     Geranospiza caerulescens  (the single member of its genus)
     
     A species normally occurring from northeastern & northwestern Mexico south through much of South America. 
     One wintered in southern Texas, at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, from December 20, 1987 to April 9, 1988. 
     
     South of the US, the Crane Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
233. Gray Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug  TX:may  (merged with the Gray-lined Hawk of southern Central America and South America)
     Buteo (has been said to be Asturina) nitida plagiatus
     
     South of the US, the Gray-lined, or Gray, Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
      
     
234. Common Black Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug  TX:apr    
     Buteogallus anthracinus
     
     South of the US, the Common Black Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Saint Lucia (where rare), Saint Vincent, Venezuela.  
     In the Caribbean, also called "Black Crab Hawk". 
     
     The Cuban Black Hawk, Buteogallus gundlachii, also known as the "Cuban Crab Hawk" occurred in Georgia on April 8, 2009, but there was a question as to the bird's origin. 
     The Cuban Black Hawk has been split from the Common Black Hawk.
      
     
235. Harris's Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jan,jul,aug  TX:apr,may  (also called Bay-winged Hawk)
     Parabuteo unicinctus harrisi
     
     South of the US, the Harris's, or Bay-winged, Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
236. Red-shouldered Hawk (*) (ph) ______ CA:sep  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:aug  TX:may
     Buteo lineatus
     
     
     
     Red-shouldered Hawk in flight
     (photo by Doris Potter)
     
     
237. Broad-winged Hawk (*) ______ CO:apr (r/CO)  FL:apr  NM:apr
     Buteo p. platypterus
     
     South of the US, the Broad-winged Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico (an endemic resident subspecies), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent. 
     In addition to the endemic resident subspecies on Puerto Rico, there are 4 other endemic resident subspecies on Caribbean islands.
      
     
238. Swainson's Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  KS:apr  NE:apr  NM:apr,jul  OK:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Buteo swainsoni  (monotypic, but with light & dark morphs)
     
     South of the US, the Swainson's Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico (including Sonora), Panama.
     
     
     
     (Above & below) Two photos of an intermediate morph
     juvenile Swainson's Hawk
     (photos by Howard Eskin)
     
     
     
     
     
239. Short-tailed Hawk (*) (ph) ______  AZ:jul,sep  FL:apr
     Buteo brachyurus
     
     South of the US, the Short-tailed Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
240. White-tailed Hawk (*) ______ TX:apr,may
     Buteo albicaudatus
     
     South of the US, the White-tailed Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
241. Zone-tailed Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug
     Buteo albonotatus
     
     South of the US, the Zone-tailed Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (in Sonora), Venezuela.
     
     
242. Red-tailed Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun  AZ:jan,jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  IA:mar  KS:apr  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  NE:mar,apr  NM:apr  OK:apr  TX:apr,may   WA:sep  WY:apr
     Buteo jamaicensis 
     
     South of the US, the Red-tailed Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico. 
     The endemic resident subspecies of the Caribbean islands is the nominate, B. j. jamaicensis.
     
     
     "Harlan's" Red-tailed Hawk (*) ______  CO:apr  (a subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk) 
     Buteo jamaicensis harlani
     
     
243. Ferruginous Hawk (nt) (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jan  CO:apr,jul  KS:apr  NE:mar  OK:apr  WA:sep
     Buteo regalis  (monotypic)
     
     South of the US, the Ferruginous Hawk has been seen during a FONT tour in Mexico (Sonora).
      
     
244. Rough-legged Hawk (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun  AZ:jan  CO:apr  NE:mar  WY:apr  (called Rough-legged Buzzard in Eurasia) 
     Buteo lagopus sanctijohannis
     
     Outside North America, the Rough-legged Buzzard has been seen during FONT tours in Japan, Sweden.
     
     
     
     Above & below: Rough-legged Hawks
     Above: the light morph; below: the dark morph 
     (photos by Howard Eskin)
     
     
     
     
245. Roadside Hawk  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Buteo magnirostris
     
     A Neotropical species, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. In North America, it has occurred rarely in the winter in the lower Rio Grande Valley in south Texas.   
     
     South of the US, the Roadside Hawk has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela.
     
     
246. Golden Eagle (*) ______ AK:may,jun  AZ:jul,aug  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  NM:apr  OK:apr  TX:apr  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Aquila chrysaetos canadensis
     
     Outside North America, the Golden Eagle has been seen during FONT tours in Andorra, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  
     
     
     RAILS and ALLIES
     
     
247. Yellow Rail (*) ______ DE:may
     Coturnicops noveboracensis
     
     
248. Black Rail (nt) (*) ______ DE:may  NC:may,jun  TX:may
     Laterallus jamaicensis
     
     South of the US, the Black Rail has been found during a FONT tour in Costa Rica.
     
     
249. Clapper Rail (*) (ph) ______ CA:sep  DE:may  NC:may,jun,aug  TX:apr  VA:may
     Rallus longirostris
     
     South of the US, the Clapper Rail has been seen during FONT tours in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico.
     
     
250. King Rail (*) ______ DE:may  TX:may
     Rallus elegans
     
     
251. Virginia Rail (*) (ph) ______ AZ:aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:jul  DE:may  NC:may,jun
     Rallus limicola
     
     
     
     Virginia Rail
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
252. Spotted Rail ______  (r/US)
     Pardirallus maculatus
     
     A species normally occurring in the West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola, & other islands), and from Mexico to South America. There are North American specimens (of the race insolitus) from Beaver County, Pennsylvania on November 12, 1976 and from Brown County, Texas on August 9, 1977.  
     
     South of the US, the Spotted Rail has been found during FONT tours in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic. 
     
     
253. Sora  (*) ______ AZ:jan,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:jul  TX:apr,may
     Porzana carolina
     
     South of the US, the Sora has been found during FONT tours in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico.
      
     
254. Paint-billed Crake ______  (r/US)
     Neocrex erythrops
     
     A species normally occurring from Panama south into South America. In North America, there are specimens from Brazos County, Texas on February 17, 1972 of the race erythrops, and from near Richmond, Virginia on December 15, 1978, of the race olivascens.   
     
     
255. Corncrake  (nt) (ph)  ______  (r/NA)
     Crex crex
     
     A European species that has greatly declined during recent decades. When it was more common in Europe than it is today, it occurred as a rarity along the East Coast of North America in the fall. Most recently, there have been occurrences on Briar Island, off Nova Scotia, Canada on May 4 & 5, 1993 (the most recent) and on the island of Saint-Pierre (in North America, off Canada, but part of France), on October 22, 1989. Earlier Canadian occurrences were in Newfoundland in September 1928, and prior to that, further north on Baffin Island. 
     In the US, one was on Long Island, New York, November 2, 1963. Historical records in the United States (mostly prior to the 20th Century) were in Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey (in Salem in 1854 and in Dennisville in 1905), and Maryland. 4 of the 5 Corn Crake specimens from Long Island, New York were collected prior to the 20th Century.   
     
     Outside North America, the Corncrake has been found during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania.
     
     
256. Purple Gallinule (*) (ph) ______ AZ:aug (r/AZ)  TX:may
     Porphyrio martinica
     
     South of the US, the Purple Gallinule has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
     
     
257. Purple Swamphen  (NAi) ______
     Porphyrio porphyrio
     
     Outside North America, the Purple Swamphen has been found during FONT tours in Spain, where it is native.
      
     
258. Common Gallinule (*) (ph)  ______  AZ:jul,aug  CA:sep  DE:may  iA:mar  FL:apr  NC:jun,aug  NM:aug  TX:apr,may  (has been conspecific with the Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, of the Old World)
     Gallinula chloropus 
     
     Outside North America, the Common Moorhen has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and south of the US in Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela. 
     
     
     
     A juvenile Common Gallinule 
     (photo by Doris Potter)
     
     
259. American Coot (*) (ph)  ______  AZ:jan,jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  KS:apr  NC:jun,sep  NE:mar,apr  NM:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Fulica a. americana
     
     South of the US, the American Coot has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico.
     Closely related to the American Coot (some have said conspecific), the Caribbean Coot has been seen during FONT tours in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia (where rare), Venezuela. 
     The Caribbean Coot has not been found to occur in the US.
     
     
     
     An American Coot
     (photo by Howard Eskin during an Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Delaware, with Armas Hill in December 2011)
     
     
260. Eurasian Coot ______  (r/NA)
     Fulica atra 
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Coot has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, the Canary islands, Hungary, Iceland (where rare), Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey. .
     
     
261. Sungrebe  (ph) ______  (r/US)
     Heliornis fulica
     
     A species of Central & South America, ranging north locally in Mexico. In the US, in New Mexico, one, a female in unworn plumage, occurred at the Bosque del Apache Refuge from November 13 to 18, 2008. 
     The bird was so unexpected that it was first thought to be a Red-necked Grebe. But of course in its photograph the ID was unmistakable. The New Mexico bird was 850 miles out of range, without much suitable habitat in between. The Sungrebe is not a species that's thought to be kept in captivity.  
       
     South of the US, the Sungrebe has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela.
     
     
     CRANES
     
     
262. Sandhill Crane (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:jan  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  NE:mar
     Grus canadensis 
     
     Outside North America, the Sandhill Crane has been seen during FONT tours in Japan, when, during the winter, it joins in with other crane species more common in Asia.
     
     
     
     Sandhill Cranes coming in to land at dusk - feet down.
     (photo by Monika Dorman)
      
     
263. Whooping Crane (t2) (*) ______ NE:mar
     Grus americana 
     
     During the summer of 2007, a record number of Whooping Crane chicks hatched at the Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta, Canada. An aerial survey of the breeding grounds found 65 nests and 84 new chicks. Among the chicks, there were 28 sets of twins. The previous summer, there had been 76 new chicks, including among them 24 sets of twins.
     
     About seven decades earlier, during the winter of 1941-42, after a century of shooting, egg-collecting, and habitat destruction (including the drainage of Gulf Coast marshes to create rice fields), only 15 Whooping Cranes returned to spend the winter at Aransas, in Texas. At that time, that was the entire population of the species in the wild.  
     
      
     
     A drawing of Whooping Cranes at Aransas in Texas,
     given as a gift to Armas Hill from Charles Gambill
     
     
264. Common Crane  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Grus grus
     
     A Eurasian species. In North America, it occurs as a rarity usually on the Great Plains, but sometimes more rarely further east. When so found, It is almost always with migrating flocks of Sandhill Cranes. 
     
     Outside North America, the Common Crane has been seen during FONT tours in Hungary, Japan (where it is not common), Poland, Spain, Sweden. 
     
     
     LIMPKIN
      
     
265. Limpkin  (ph)  _____
     Aramys guarauna
     
     South of the US, the Limpkin has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela.
     The subspecies in the Dominican Republic is an endemic resident on Hispaniola, a bird found in dry forest in hills that rarely, if ever, flies. 
     The subspecies in Jamaica is the same that occurs in Cuba and Florida.   
     
     
     SHOREBIRDS
     
     
266. Double-striped Thick-knee  (ph)  ______  (r/US)
     Burhinus bistriatus
     
     A resident species in parts of Central & South America, from Mexico south to Brazil, and very locally in the West Indies. An interesting recent nesting record, not far from the US, has been on Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas.
     In the US, there's a specimen from the King Ranch, Kleberg County, Texas on December 5, 1961. A more-recent bird in Yuma, Arizona was determined to be transported (from Mexico).       
     
     South of the US, the Double-striped Thick-knee has been seen during FONT tours in Costa Rica, Venezuela.
     
     
267. Northern Lapwing  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Vanellus vanellus
     
     A Eurasian species. In North America, it occurs, most often in the late fall, in northeastern states in the US and eastern provinces in Canada. It has also occurred further south in the eastern US, as far south as Florida.  
     
     Outside North America, the Northern Lapwing has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan (in the winter), Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.
      
     
268. Black-bellied Plover (*) (ph) ______ AK:jun  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  DE:may  FL:apr (DT)  NC:may,jun,aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  (an alternate, and probably preferable name is Grey Plover, as it is called in the Old World; others in the genus also have black bellies) 
     Pluvialis squatarola cynosurae
     
     Outside North America, the Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and south of the US in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia.
     
     
     
     Black-bellied Plover
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
     
269. American Golden Plover (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun  NC:aug
     Pluvialis dominica  
     
     Unusual was an American Golden Plover, along with numerous other shorebirds, at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge along the North Carolina Outer Banks, during the FONT tour there in August 1993.
     
     South of the US, the American Golden Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Saint Lucia.
       
     
270. Pacific Golden Plover (*) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  WA:sep
     Pluvialis fulva
     
     Outside North America, the Pacific Golden Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
      
     
271. European Golden Plover  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Pluvialis apricaria
     
     Breeds in Europe from northern Russia west to Iceland. Also breeds in Greenland. Winters in Europe and North Africa. In North America, in addition to Greenland, it occurs uncommonly, and usually in the spring, in Newfoundland and Labrador, and rarely in eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia. More rarely, there have been occurrences further south in eastern North America.     
     
     Outside North America, the European Golden Plover has been seen during Iceland, Spain, Sweden. Hearing it in Iceland, where it breeds, is one of the nicest of sounds heard during FONT tours.  
     
     
272. Snowy Plover (*) (ph) ______ CA:sep  CO:apr  TX:apr  WA:sep  (was conspecific with the Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrius, of Eurasia)
     Charadrius nivosus
     
     South of the US, the Snowy Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico (the Yucatan), Puerto Rico (where rare).
     
     Outside North America, the now closely-related Kentish Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Japan, Spain, Turkey. I do not know of any occurrences of the Kentish Plover in North America.
     
     
273. Wilson's Plover (*) (ph) ______ FL:apr  NC:may,jun  TX:apr,may  
     Charadrius wilsonia
     
     South of the US, the Wilson's Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Barbados, the Cayman Islands (where rare), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico (the Yucatan), Panama, Puerto Rico.
     
     
     
     Wilson's Plover
     (photo by Marie Gardner during a FONT tour)
     
     
274. Semipalmated Plover (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,jun,aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Charadrius semipalmatus
     
     South of the US, the Semipalmated Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Barbados, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
275. Piping Plover (t3) (*) (ph) ______ CO:apr (r/CO)  NC:jun,jul,aug  TX:may
     Charadrius melodus
     
     South of the US, the Piping Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Mexico (the Yucatan).
     
     
276. Killdeer (*) (ph)  ______  AZ:jan,jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  IA:mar  FL:apr  KS:apr  NC:may,jun,aug  NE:mar,apr  NM:apr  OK:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Charadrius v. vociferus
     
     South of the US, the Killdeer has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Chile (far-north), the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti,  Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico.
     There is a resident subspecies of Killdeer in the Caribbean, but in the winter birds from mainland North America also occur there. 
     
     
      
     An adult Killdeer with 2 babies (on the ground to the right of the adult)  
     
     
277. Mountain Plover (t3) (USneb) (*) (ph) ______ CO:apr,jul  KS:apr (r/KS)  (an alternate name could be "Mountain Dotterel")
     Charadrius montanus
     
     
278. Eurasian Dotterel  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Charadrius morinellus
     
     A Eurasian species. it is an uncommon, sporadic breeder in northwestern Alaska. It occurs rarely along the West Coast of North America in the fall.   
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Dotterel has been seen during FONT tours in Spain, Sweden. 
     
     
279. Lesser Sand Plover (*) (ph) ______  (r/US)  CA:sep   (has been called Mongolian Plover)
     Charadrius mongolus stegmanni
     
     An Asian species. In North America, it occurs rarely in the Aleutians and on other islands off western Alaska. It is also rare in the summer in western and northwestern Alaska where it has bred. 
     Further south in North America, it occurs rarely along the West Coast, and more rarely in the East.    
     
     A single Lesser Sandplover, a bird normally in Asia, was seen in California during the FONT West Coast Tour in September 1992. 
     
     Outside North America, the Lesser Sand Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
     
     
     
     A photograph of the Lesser Sandplover in California in September 1992.
     At that time, it was called a Mongolian Plover. 
     (photo during the September 1992 FONT West Coast Tour by BJ Rose) 
     
     
280. Greater Sand Plover ______  (r/US)
     Charadrius leschenaultii
     
     An Old World species, mostly Asian. One was in North America at the Bolinas Lagoon, in Marin County, California, from January 29 to April 8, 2001. 
     
     Outside North America, the Greater Sand Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Japan, where it is rare.
     
     
281. Common Ringed Plover (*) ______  (r/NA)   AK:jun
     Charadrius hiaticula
     
     Primarily an Old World species, but it does breed in North America, not only in Greenland, but also in eastern Canada on Ellesmere, Bylor, and eastern Baffin Islands, and occasionally on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. It occurs rarely, but regularly, in the spring in western Alaska. It has rarely occurred along the East Coast of North America as far south as Massachusetts. 
     
     Outside North America, the Common Ringed Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.
     
     
282. Little Ringed Plover ______  (r/US)
     Charadrius dubius
     
     An Old World species. it occurs rarely in the spring in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
     
     Outside North America, the Little Ringed Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Turkey.. 
     
     
283. Collared Plover ______  (r/US)
     Charadrius collaris 
     
     A resident species from Mexico south through much of South America. In North America, 1 was at Uvalde, Texas, May 9-11, 1992.  
     
     South of the US, the Collared Plover has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela.
     
     
284. American Oystercatcher (*) (ph) ______ DE:may  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  TX:may
     Haematopus palliatus
     
     South of the US, the American Oystercatcher has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico.
      
     
285. Black Oystercatcher (*) (ph) ______  AK:may,jun  BC:sep  CA:sep  WA:sep
     Haematopus bachmani
     
     South of the US, the Black Oystercatcher has been seen during a FONT tour in Mexico (Sonora).
      
     
286. Eurasian Oystercatcher ______  (r/NA)
     Haematopus ostralegus
     
     An Old World (Palearctic) species, occurring normally as far west as Iceland. It has traveled, rarely, west to Greenland, and more rarely, west to North America, particularly Newfoundland, Canada.
     In Newfoundland, in the spring, records have been May 22 to 25, 1994 and April 3 to May 2, 1999.  
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Oystercatcher has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Romania, Spain, Sweden. The Eurasian Oystercatcher is often seen away from the sea.
     
     
287. Black-necked Stilt (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  TX:apr,may   (has been considered by some as conspecific with the nearly-cosmopolitan Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus)
     Himantopus mexicanus 
     
     South of the US, the Black-necked Stilt has been found during FONT tours in Argentina, the Cayman Islands, Chile (far-north), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
      
     
288. Black-winged Stilt  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Himantopus himantopus
     
     A widespread Old World species. There are two Alaskan records from the western Aleutians: Nizki Island from May 24 to June 3, 1983 and on Shemya Island, June 1 to 9, 2003. And there is a specimen from St. George Island, in the Pribilofs, Alaska, on May 15, 2003. 
     
     Outside North America, the Black-winged Stilt has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Spain, Turkey. 
     
     
289. American Avocet (*) (ph) ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  KS:apr  NC:may,aug,sep  NE:apr  TX:apr,may  WY:apr
     Recurvirostra americana
     
     South of the US, the American Avocet has been found during FONT tours in Mexico.
     
     
290. Northern Jacana  (ph) ______  (r/US)
     Jacana spinosa
     
     A species mostly of Mexico and Central America, but it does occur rarely in south Texas, where it most likely has bred. It occurs as a vagrant in west Texas and in southern Arizona.
     
     South of the US, the Northern Jacana has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama. 
       
      
291. Greater Yellowlegs (*) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep,jul  CO:apr  DE:may  IA:mar  KS:apr  NC:may,jun,aug  NE:mar,apr  NF:jul  OK:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep  WY:apr 
     Tringa melanoleuca
     
     South of the US, the Greater Yellowlegs has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
292. Lesser Yellowlegs (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  KS:apr  NC:may,aug  NCP:aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Tringa flavipes
     
     South of the US, the Lesser Yellowlegs has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
293. Solitary Sandpiper (*) (ph)  ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  CO:apr  DE:may  KS:apr  NC:may  TX:may  WA:sep
     Tringa solitaria 
     
     South of the US, the Solitary Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela.
       
     
294. Willet (*) (ph)  ______  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Tringa (formerly Catoptrophorus) semipalmatus 
     
     South of the US, the Willet has been seen during FONT tours in the Cayman Islands, Chile (far-north), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
295. Common Greenshank (*) ______  (r/NA)   AK:may (PI)  
     Tringa nebularia 
     
     A common Eurasian species. It visits western Alaska annually, as a rarity, in the spring. It occurs on the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. It also occurs rarely in western Alaska in the fall. Further south, it has occurred rarely as far as coastal northwest California. and in eastern North America, as a rarity, in northeast Canada.
     
     Outside North America, the Common Greenshank has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey..  
            
     
296. Marsh Sandpiper  ______  (r/NA)
     Tringa stagnatilis
     
     An Old World species, more common in Asia. It has occurred rarely, in the fall, on the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.  
     
     Outside North America, the Marsh Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Turkey.
     
     
297. Wood Sandpiper (*) (ph)  ______  (r/NA)   AK:may,jun (PI)  
     Tringa glareola
     
     A Eurasian species. Normally, it occurs probably the most commonly of any Eurasian shorebird, or "wader", in western Alaska in the spring. It has occasionally bred on western Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It also occurs in that state on the Pribilof Islands and on St. Lawrence Island. It has occurred more rarely in western North America south to British Columbia, as well as in eastern North America.  
     
     Outside North America, the Wood Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Turkey.
     
     South of the US, the Wood Sandpiper has been seen during a FONT tour in Barbados (a Caribbean island where European strays are found rather regularly). 
     
     
298. Green Sandpiper (*) ______  (r/US)   AK:may (PI)  
     Tringa ochropus 
     
     A Eurasian species. it occurs rarely in the spring in Alaska in the western Aleutian Islands, the Priblof Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. 
     
     Outside North America, the Green Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Japan, Poland, Spain, Turkey..  
     
     
299. Common Redshank  (ph) ______  (r/NA)
     Tringa totanus
      
     A Eurasian species that breeds as far west as Iceland. It occurs on occasion in Greenland. Elsewhere in North America, it is rare in Newfoundland, Canada in the spring, and more so there in the winter.  
     
     Outside North America, the Common Redshank has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  In Iceland, there is an endemic subspecies.
     
     
300. Spotted Redshank ______  (r/NA)
     Tringa erythropus
     
     A Eurasian species. It occurs rarely, in the spring and the fall, on the Aleutian Islands and the Pribilof Islands in Alaska. More rarely, it occurs in North America along both the West Coast & the East Coast and at times, as a vagrant, in between.
     
     Outside North America, the Spotted Redshank has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  
       
     
301. Wandering Tattler (*)  ______  AK:may,jun (PI)  CA:sep  WA:sep
     Heteroscelus (or said to be Tringa) incanus
     
     South of the US, the Wandering Tattler has been seen during FONT tours in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.
      
     
302. Grey-tailed Tattler ______  (r/NA)
     Heteroscelus (or said to be Tringa) brevipes
     
     An Asian species. It occurs rarely, but regularly, in the spring and fall in Alaska on the western Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. More rarely, it is found in northern Alaska. It has occurred as a vagrant in the fall in Washington State and California.  
     
     Outside North America, the Grey-tailed Tattler has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
     
     
303. Terek Sandpiper (*) ______  (r/NA)   AK:jun  
     Xenus cinereus  (the single member of its genus)
     
     A Eurasian species. It occurs rarely in Alaska on the western Aleutian Islands, and more rarely in that state on the Pribilof Islands, St. Lawrence Island, and in the Anchorage area. It has also occurred as a vagrant in the fall in British Columbia, Canada, and in California and Massachusetts in the US.
     
     Outside North America, the Terek Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
      
     
304. Spotted Sandpiper (*) (ph)  ______  AK:may,jun  AZ:jul,aug  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  FL:apr (DT)  KS:apr  NC:may,aug  NF:jul  NM:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Actitis macularia
     
     South of the US, the Spotted Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile (far-north), Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Venezuela. 
     
     
     
     Above: A Spotted Sandpiper with spots
     Below: An unspotted Spotted Sandpiper 
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
     
     
     
305. Common Sandpiper (*) ______  (r/NA)  AK:jun (PI) 
     Actitis hypoleucos 
     
     A Eurasian species. It is rare, but regular, usually in the spring, in Alaska on the western Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. It occurs more rarely in Alaska to the Seward Peninsula.
     
     Outside North America, the Common Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  
     
     
306. Upland Sandpiper (*) ______ FL:apr  (DT)  NC:aug
     Bartramia longicauda
     
     South of the US, the Upland Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil.
     
     
307. Whimbrel (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  FL:apr (DT)  NC:may,aug  WA:sep
     Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus
     
     Outside North America, the Whimbrel has been during FONT tours in Hungary, Iceland, Japan (the race N. p. variegatus), Poland, Spain, Sweden. 
     
     South of the US, the Whimbrel has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
      
     
308. Long-billed Curlew (nt) (*) (ph) ______ AZ:aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  KS:apr  NC:aug (r/NC)  NE:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Numenius americanus 
     
     Unusual was a Long-billed Curlew, along with numerous other shorebirds, at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge along the North Carolina Outer Banks, during the FONT tour three in August 1993.
     
     South of the US, the Long-billed Curlew has been seen during FONT tours in Mexico, Panama.
      
     
309. Bristle-thighed Curlew (t3) (*) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)
     Numenius tahitiensis
     
     In 1769, the Bristle-thighed Curlew was discovered wintering on South Pacific islands, first collected by Captain Cook's voyagers in Tahiti. The species was described to science 20 year later. Its nesting grounds in Alaska were not discovered until almost 180 years later, in 1948. Just prior to that, it was the only bird species in North America whose nesting area was still a mystery.    
     
     
310. Eastern Curlew (nt) (*) ______  (r/NA)   AK:may (PI)   (has been called Far Eastern Curlew)
     Numenius madagascariensis
     
     A species that breeds in the Russian Far East, and winters mostly in Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea, with some in southeast Asia. Despite its scientific name, it is not found in or near Madagascar.
     Rare in the spring & early-summer in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands of Alaska. It also occurred in September 1984 along the coast of British Columbia, Canada.   
     
     Outside North America, the Eastern Curlew has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
      
     
311. Eurasian Curlew ______  (r/NA)
     Numenius arquata
     
     A widespread Eurasian species. Has been rare along the east coast of North America in the fall & winter, with at least 6 records from Newfoundland, Canada south to Long Island, New York.
     There has been another record in western Canada of 1 bird at Middle Cheyne Lake, in Nunavit.
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Curlew has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  The Eurasian Curlew does not breed on Iceland, where it occurs in the winter, coming from Norway.   
     
     
312. Little Curlew (*) ______  (r/US)  CA:sep  (r/NA)
     Numenius minutus
     
     A single Little Curlew was seen in California during the FONT West Coast Tour in September 1994. 
     
     A species that breeds in the Russian Far East and winters mainly in northern Australia. In North America, it has been a fall vagrant along coastal California (where there have been 4 fall records including both adult & juvenile birds). 
     Also there is one well-documented record for the late-spring for Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.  
     
     
313. Eskimo Curlew  (t1) ______  (assumed now to be extinct)
     Numenius borealis
     
     
314. Slender-billed Curlew ______ (possibly now extinct)
     Numernius tenurostris
     
     In North America, there is a specimen of the now either very rare, or extinct, Slender-billed Curlew from Crescent Beach, Ontario in "about 1925". 
     
     
315. Hudsonian Godwit  (nt) (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun
     Limosa haemastica
     
     South of the US, the Hudsonian Godwit has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile (including Chiloe Island where a large proportion of the species' total population is present during its non-breeding season), and the Dominican Republic.
     
     
     
     Hudsonian Godwit
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
316. Marbled Godwit (*) (ph) ______ BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  TX:apr  NC:aug  WA:sep  WY:apr
     Limosa fedoa
     
     South of the US, the Marbled Godwit has been seen during FONT tours in Chile (where rare), Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama.
       
     
317. Bar-tailed Godwit (*) (ph) ______  AK:may,jun (PI)  CA:sep  WA:sep
     Limosa lapponica baueri
     
     Two subspecies of this mostly-Eurasian species occur in North America. The subspecies baueri breeds in western Alaska. It is a famous long-distance migrant, traveling as far south over the Pacific Ocean as New Zealand. The Alaska-breeding subspecies occurs rarely along the West Coast of North America, and there is also a record of it, as a vagrant, along the East Coast in Massachusetts.
     The European subspecies, lapponica, occurs very rarely along the Atlantic Coast of North America.  
     
     Bar-tailed Godwits have been seen in California & Washington State during 5 FONT West Coast Tours in September. 
     
     In 2007, a satellite-tagged Bar-tailed Godwit was tracked making the longest known non-stop migratory flight of any bird. Its journey was from its non-breeding grounds in New Zealand to is nesting site in western Alaska's Yukon Delta, and back again. The bird was a female.
     On the way north, she flew 6,340 miles non-stop to Yalu Jiang in China. She then flew another 3,000 miles to Alaska. On her way back to New Zealand from Alaska, with her tag still operative, she set the record with 7,145 miles non-stop, landing in New Zealand in early September.
     Such birds, it may be safe to say, have been making such journeys for a long time.   
     
     Outside North America, the Bar-tailed Godwit has been seen during FONT tours in Iceland, Japan, Spain, Sweden.  
     
      
     
     Bar-tailed Godwits photographed during a FONT tour
     (photo by Paul West)
     
     
318. Black-tailed Godwit  ______  (r/NA)
     Limosa limosa
     
     A western Old World species. It has occurred as a rarity in eastern North America, with records from eastern Ontario to Louisiana.    
     
     Outside North America, the Black-tailed Godwit has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Spain, Turkey. In Iceland, there is an endemic breeding subspecies, L. l. islandica.
     
     
319. Eastern Black-tailed Godwit  (nt) (*) ______  (r/US)   AK:may (PI)  
     Limosa melanuroides 
     
     A east Asian species. In Alaska, it is a rare, but regular, spring visitor in the western Aleutian Islands, and it has occurred more rarely also in the spring in the Pribilof Islands.
     
     Outside North America, the Eastern Black-tailed Godwit has been seen during FONT tours in Japan. 
     
     
320. Ruddy Turnstone (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug (r/AZ)  BC:sep  CA:sep  DE:may  FL:apr (DT)  NC:may,jun,jul,aug  NCP:aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep 
     Arenaria interpres morinella
     
     Outside North America, the Ruddy Turnstone has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, and south of the US in Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela. 
      
     
321. Black Turnstone (*) ______ AK:may,jun  BC:sep  CA:sep  WA:sep
     Arenaria melanocephala
     
     
322. Surfbird (*)  ______  AK:may,jun  BC:sep  CA:sep  WA:sep
     Aphriza virgata  (the single member of its genus)
     
     In 1926, a nest of Surfbirds was found for the first time in mountains of Alaska. The species was described to science back in 1789.  
     
     South of the US, the Surfbird has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Chile, Panama. 
     
     
323. Red Knot (*) (ph) ______ AK:jun  CA:sep  DE:may  NC:may,aug  TX:may  WA:sep 
     Calidris canutus rufa
     
     In 1909, during his journey home from his discovery of the North Pole, Admiral Peary found the first nest of the Red Knot ever seen by man, in Grinnell Land, on northern Ellesmere Island.
     Previous arctic explorers, having observed Knots feeding by tundra pools, mistakenly assumed the nests to be in the nearby grass. Rather, Knots usually nest on high rock shale far from water, affording an ideal camouflage. 
     
     Outside North America, the Red Knot has been seen during FONT tours in Iceland, Japan (the race C. c. rogersi), Spain, Sweden.
     The subspecies in Iceland is C. c. islandica although it does not breed there. That subspecies does nest on islands of northern Canada and in northern Greenland, and occurs, during the non-breeding season, in Spain. Otherwise in Europe, the subspecies is C. c. canutus.  
     
     South of the US, the Red Knot has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), the Galapagos Islands, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico (where uncommon at best).
     
     
324. Sanderling (*) (ph)  ______ AK:may  CA:sep  DE:may  FL:apr (DT)  NC:may,aug,sep  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Calidris alba rubida
     
     Outside North America, the Sanderling has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and south of the US in Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
      
     
325. Semipalmated Sandpiper (*) (ph)  _____  AK:may,jun  AZ:aug (r/AZ)  CA:sep (r/CA)  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,aug,sep  NCP:aug  TX:may
     Calidris pusilla
     
     Outside North America, the Semipalmated Sandpiper has been seen, as a rarity, during a FONT tour in Hungary, and south of the US in Barbados, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Above & below: A flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers
     (photos by Howard Eskin)
     
     
      
     
326. Western Sandpiper (*) (ph)  ______  AK:may,jun (ac) (PI)  AZ:jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  FL:apr  NC:may,aug  TX:apr  WA:sep
     Calidris mauri
     
     South of the US, the Western Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Western Sandpiper
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
327. Least Sandpiper (*) (ph)  ______  AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:jan,jul,aug,sep  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,aug  TX:apr  WA:sep
     Calidris minutilla
     
     South of the US, the Least Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize, Brazil (Amazonian), the Cayman Islands, Chile (far-north), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Least Sandpiper
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
      
     
328. White-rumped Sandpiper (*) (ph) ______ NC:may,aug  WA:sep
     Calidris fuscicollis
     
     Regarding the species in WA in September, the White-rumped Sandpiper is uncommon in the Northwest US.  
     
     Outside North America, the White-rumped Sandpiper has been seen, as a rarity, during a FONT tour in Iceland.   
     
     South of the US, the White-rumped Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile (where it is common in its non-breeding season in Patagonia), the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Puerto Rico (where rare).
     
     
329. Baird's Sandpiper (*) ______ AK:may,jun  AZ:jul,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  NE:mar  KS:apr  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Calidris bairdii
     
     South of the US, the Baird's Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile (where it is common in its non-breeding season in the Andes Mountains), Ecuador.
     
     
     
     Baird's Sandpipers 
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
       
     
330. Pectoral Sandpiper (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  NC:aug  TX:may  WA:sep
     Calidris melanotos
     
     Outside North America, the Pectoral Sandpiper has been seen, as a rarity, in Sweden, Turkey, and south of the US in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela.
       
     
331. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper  (ph) _____  (r/NA)
     Calidris acuminata
     
     An Old World species that breeds in the Russian Far East. It is rare in the spring and fairly common in the fall in western Alaska. It occurs rarely in the fall along the West Coast of North America, and more rarely across the rest of the continent.
     
     Outside North America, the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
     
     
332. Dunlin (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  CA:sep  CO:apr  DE:may  NC:may  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Calidris alpina
     
     Outside North America, the Dunlin has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Spain, and south of the US in the Dominican Republic (where rare), Mexico. 
     
     
     
     A Dunlin surrounded by Semipalmated Sandpipers
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
333. Curlew Sandpiper (*) (ph) ______  (r/NA)  NC:aug  (r/NC)
     Calidris ferruginea
     
     A Eurasian species. In North America, it occurs rarely, but annually, along the East Coast, and more rarely elsewhere. In northern Alaska, it has bred.
     
     Curlew Sandpipers were seen during FONT North Carolina Tours, along the Outer Banks, in Augusts of 1993, 1994, & 1995. 
     
     Outside North America, the Curlew Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.
     
     
     
     A Curlew Sandpiper with only part of its breeding plumage
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
334. Stilt Sandpiper (*) (ph)  _______  AK:jun  AZ:aug  BC:sep  FL:apr  NC:aug  TX:apr,may
     Calidris (has been Micropama) himantopus
     
     A Stilt Sandpiper during a FONT tour in British Columbia in September 2000 was unusual there.
     
     South of the US, the Stilt Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
     
     
     
     Stilt Sandpiper
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
335. Long-toed Stint (*) (ph) ______  (r/US)   AK:may (PI)  CA:sep  
     Calidris subminuta 
     
     An Asian species. In Alaska, in the spring, it can be fairly common in the western Aleutian Islands and rare in the Pribilof Islands and on St. Lawrence Island. More rarely, it occurs in the fall in coastal Oregon and California.
     
     A single Long-toed Stint was seen in California during the FONT West Coast Tour in September 1992.
     
     Outside North America, the Long-toed Stint has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
     
     
     
     Long-toed Stint
     (photo taken during a FONT Tour in Japan)
     
     
336. Red-necked Stint (*) (ph) ______  (r/NA)   AK:jun (PI)   (has also been called Rufous-necked Stint)
     Calidris ruficollis 
     
     An east Asian species. It occurs, regularly, along the west Alaska coast, and on offshore Alaskan islands. Breeding has been documented along the coast of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska. Elsewhere in North America, the species occurs rarely along both the West & East Coasts, and, as a vagrant, in between. 
     
     Outside North America, the Red-necked Stint has been seen during FONT tours in Japan. 
      
     
337. Temminck's Stint (*) ______  (r/NA)   AK:jun  
     Calidris temminckii 
     
     A Eurasian species. It occurs rarely in the spring and the fall in Alaska in the Pribilof Islands, the Aleutian Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. More rarely, it occurs in northern Alaska and in the coastal Pacific Northwest of the US.   
     
     Outside North America, the Temminck's Stint has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Spain. 
     
     
338. Little Stint ______  (r/NA)
     Calidris minuta
     
     A Eurasian species. It occurs very rarely on western Alaskan islands in the spring and fall, and as a rarity elsewhere in North America along both the West & East Coasts, and , as a vagrant, in between. 
     
     Outside North America, the Little Stint has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan (rare there), Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey. 
     
     
339. Rock Sandpiper (*) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)
     Calidris ptilocnemis
     
     
340. Purple Sandpiper  (ph) ______
     Calidris maritima
     
     Outside North America, the Purple Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Iceland, where it is an endemic subspecies. During May & June FONT tours in Iceland, it has been seen where it nests. 
     
     
     
     Purple Sandpiper
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
341. Great Knot ______  (r/US)
     Calidris tenuirostris
     
     An Asian species. It occurs rarely in western Alaska in the spring.
     
     Outside North America, the Great Knot has been see during FONT tours in Japan. 
     
     
342. Spoon-billed Sandpiper (t3) ______  (r/NA)
     Eurynorhynchus pygmeus  (the single ember of its genus)
     
     An overall rare species, breeding in far eastern Siberia. It winters coastally in Southeast Asia. The total population of the species has recently been estimated as under 4,000 birds. The population at the known breeding grounds has recently been said to be about 1,000 individuals, thus indicating a greater than 50 per recent reduction in the last decade or so. 
     In North America, it has occurred very rarely in western and northern Alaska. Further south, in British Columbia, Canada, there was a record of a breeding-plumaged adult near Vancouver from July 30 to August 3, 1978.
       
     
343. Broad-billed Sandpiper ______  (r/NA)
     Limicola falcinellus  (the single member of its genus)
     
     A Eurasian species. It has occurred rarely in the fall in the western & central Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Elsewhere in North America, there has been a record of a fall vagrant in coastal New York. Birds in North America (so far) have been juveniles.   
     
     Outside North America, the Broad-billed Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Japan (rarely).  
     
     
344. Ruff / Reeve (*) (ph) ______  (r/NA)   AK:may (PI)  BC:sep  NC:aug (r/NC) 
     Philomachus pugnax  (the single member of its genus)  
     
     An Old World species. In North America, it occurs rarely in western Alaska, and along the West Coast, the East Coast, and in the Great Lakes area. It has occurred more rarely elsewhere in North America, including, in the winter, in California. The species has bred in Alaska. 
     
     Unusual was a Ruff, along with other shorebirds, at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the North Carolina Outer Banks, during the FONT tour there in August 1994.
     Another Ruff was seen during the FONT Pacific Coast Tour in British Columbia in 2000.  
     
     Outside North America, the Ruff has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden. During an April FONT tour in Poland, as many as 5,000 Ruffs were seen, with most in breeding plumage with various colorations, and with many performing, or lekking, on mounds.  
     
     South of the US, the Ruff has been seen during a FONT tour in Barbados (a Caribbean island where European strays are found rather regularly).
     
     
     
     This photo is of a Ruff in eastern North America in April
     (photo by Marie Gardner)  
     
     
345. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (nt) (ph)  ______  NC:sep
     Tryngites subruficollis  (the single member of its genus)
     
     South of the US, the Buff-breasted Sandpiper has been seen during FONT tours in Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul).
     
     
     
     Buff-breasted Sandpiper
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
346. Short-billed Dowitcher (*) (ph) ______  AK:may,jun (PI)  BC:sep  CA:sep  DE:may  FL:apr  NC:may,aug  TX:may  WA:sep
     Limnodromus griseus
     
     South of the US, the Short-billed Dowitcher has been seen during FONT tours in Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela.
     
     
347. Long-billed Dowitcher (*) ______  AK:jun  AZ:jul,aug  BC:sep  CA:sep  CO:apr  NC:aug  TX:apr,may  WA:sep
     Limnodromus scolopaceus  (monotypic)
     
     First described in 1823 from an expedition in western North America, the Long-billed Dowitcher remained a "good" species until 1921. 
     This was despite the contempt in which it was held by such naturalists as the sharp-tongued Dr. Elliot Coues, who declared that it was "supposed to be rare or casual on the Atlantic Coast and declared to be only representative of the genus in the west - which would be important if it were a fact".
     Later authorities were also suspicious of the bird as a species, and in 1911 the AOU (American Ornithologists Union)  demoted it to a subspecies, having been persuaded that a population of dowitchers breeding in Alberta, Canada was intermediate between griseus (the Short-billed Dowitcher) and scolopaceus, and that all three were therefore races of a single species.
     But in 1957 the Long-billed Dowitcher was restored to the rank of a species. Research established to the satisfaction of the AOU that the bill and legs of scolopaceus are longer than those of griseus due to the habit of preferred feeding in fresh-water pools rather than shallow tidal flats, and that scolopaceus is a tundra bird breeding north & west of griseus.     
           
     
     Outside North America, the Long-billed Dowitcher has been seen, as a rarity, during a FONT tour in Iceland, and south of the US during FONT tours in Haiti, Mexico.
     
     
348. Wilson's Snipe (*) (ph) ______ AK:may,jun (PI)  AZ:aug  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  KS:apr  NE:mar  WA:sep  WY:apr  (was conspecific with the Common Snipe in Eurasia)
     Gallinago delicata
     
     South of the US, the Wilson's Snipe has been seen during FONT tours in the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Saint Lucia.
     
     
     
     Wilson's Snipe
     (photo by Armas Hill)
      
     
349. Common Snipe ______  (r/US)
     Gallinago gallinago
     
     A Eurasian species. It occurs regularly in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, where it has bred and is found rarely in the winter. it occurs more rarely in the central Aleutians, the Pribilof Islands, and on St. Lawrence Island. 
     
     Outside North America, the Common Snipe has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.  The subspecies in Iceland is G. g. faeroeensis.
     
     
350. Pin-tailed Snipe ______  (r/NA)
     Gallinago stenura
     
     An Old World species that breeds in Siberia and winters mostly in Southeast Asia. There are at least 2 certain records in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
     
     Outside North America, the Pin-tailed Snipe has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.
     
     
351. Solitary Snipe ______  (r/US)
     Gallinago solitaria
     
     An east Asian bird. One is said to have been on the Pribilof Islands, in Alaska, on September 10, 2008.
     
     Outside North America, the Solitary Snipe has been seen during FONT tours in Japan, in the winter.
      
     
352. Jack Snipe ______  (r/NA)
     Lymnocryptes minimus  (the single member of its genus)
     
     An Old World species. It is small, with thus a nickname, the "half-snipe". There have been just a few North American occurrences: in the spring on the Pribilof Islands in Alaska, and in the fall in Labrador, Canada, and in California.
     
     Outside North America, the Jack Snipe has been seen during FONT tours in Japan (on Hegura Island), Sweden.
     
     
353. American Woodcock  (ph) ______ DE:may  IA:mar  NJP:dec
     Scolopax minor
     
     
     
     American Woodcock
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
354. Eurasian Woodcock ______  (r/NA)
     Scolopax rusticola
     
     A widespread Old World species. Most North American records are old and from the northeast US & eastern Canada.
     Old records include: Newfoundland in 1862, Quebec twice in 1862, Pennsylvania in 1886 & 1890, New Jersey in 1859, and one as far south as Alabama in 1889.
     The only accepted North American record in the 20th Century was one near Cape May, New Jersey, from January 2 to 5, 1956, although a lost specimen from Ohio, from 1935, may have been this species.   
     
     Outside North America, the Eurasian Woodcock has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Japan, Poland, Romania. 
     
     
355. Wilson's Phalarope (*) ______ AZ:jul,aug,sep  CA:sep  CO:apr,jul  DE:may  KS:apr  NC:aug  TX:apr,may
     Phalaropus tricolor
     
     South of the US, the Wilson's Phalarope has been seen during FONT tours in Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico.
     
     
356. Red-necked Phalarope (*) (ph) ______  AK:may,jun (ac) (PI)  BC:sep  CA:sep  CAP:sep  DE:may  DEP:may,sep  NC:aug  NCP:may,jun,jul,aug  NJP:may,jul,aug,sep  WAP:sep
     Phalaropus lobatus
     
     Outside North America, the Red-necked Phalarope has been seen during FONT tours in Bulgaria, Ecuador, Iceland (as a nester), Japan (at sea), Turkey, and south of the US in Chile (at sea), Mexico.
     
     
     
     Red-necked Phalarope
     (photo by Howard Eskin)
     
     
357. Red Phalarope (*) (ph)  ______  AK:may,jun (PI)  BC:sep  CAP:sep  DEP:may  NJP:may,aug,nov,dec  WAP:sep   
     (has been called Grey Phalarope in the Old World, except Iceland where because a few breed it is called Red Phalarope)  
     Phalaropus fulicaria
     
     Outside North America, the Red Phalarope has been seen during FONT tours in Chile (at sea), Ecuador (at sea), Iceland (as a nester), Japan (at sea).
     
     
358. Oriental Pratincole ______  (r/US)
     Glareola maldivarum
     
     An Asian species that winters south to Australia. It has occurred in Alaska: a specimen from Attu Island, in the Aleutians, May 19-20, 1985 and 1 at Gambell, on St. Lawrence Island on June 5, 1986.
     The Collared Pratincole, Glareola pratincola, of Europe & Africa, has occurred (once) on the island of Barbados in the West Indies, and so could occur in eastern North America.
     
     Outside North America, the Oriental Pratincole has been seen during FONT tours in Japan.  
     
     

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