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Birds at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Arizona. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Birds of
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge
Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is located
along the lower Colorado River 20 miles
south of Blythe, California. Approximately
two-thirds of the refuge is in Arizona and onethird is in California and encompasses 18,555
acres. The refuge was established in 1964 to
mitigate the loss of fish and wildlife habitat
involved in the channelization projects along
the Colorado River.
The main portion of the refuge is alluvial
river bottom with dense growths of salt cedar,
mesquite, and arrowweed along with several
hundred acres of revegetated cottonwood
and willow habitat. Through this flows the
Colorado River, in both a dredged channel and
a portion of its original channel. The refuge
also contains ~1,000 acres of farmland and
785 acres of desert foothills and ridges.
The endangered Ridgway’s rail, the only
freshwater form of clapper rail, is found in
suitable marshes throughout the refuge. Cibola
NWR is important as a wintering ground for
the western (or Great Basin) subspecies of
Canada goose and for Sandhill Cranes.
This list of 287 species is in accordance
with the seventh addition of the American
Ornithologists’ Union Checklist of North
American Birds, 7th edition (1998) and its
supplements through July 2016. Those species
marked with an asterisk (*) have nested on
the refuge. Species that occur as accidental
(marked with an “X”) may occur more
regularly in areas surrounding the refuge,
but most are true geographic rarities. Note
that seasons vary from species to species;
fall migration for some, such as shorebirds
and flycatchers, is much earlier (mid-July to
mid-September) compared to fall migration
for other species, such as most waterfowl and
sparrows (September to November).
W
Winter
December—February
Sp
Spring
March—May
S
Summer
June—August
F
Fall
September—November
* Confirmed or probable breeder (39 sps).
Federally Endangered or Threatened Species
are listed in italics.
A Abundant–A very numerous species.
C Common–Likely to be seen or heard in
suitable habitats.
U Uncommon–Present, not certain to be seen.
O Occasional–Seen only a few times during
the season
R Rare–Unexpected, seen at intervals of
2 to 5 years.
X Accidental–Fewer than 3 records; vagrants
outside their usual range.
Breeding records from Arizona Breeding
Bird Atlas and refuge records.
Common Name
Sp S F W
Ducks, Geese, and Swans
___Fulvous Whistling-Duck X X
___Gr. White-fronted Goose U U
___Snow Goose C C
___Ross’s Goose U U
___Brant X
___Canada Goose
O A A
___Tundra Swan O O
___Wood Duck U U
___Gadwall
U C C
___Eurasian Wigeon O
___American Wigeon
U C A
___*Mallard
C U C A
___Blue-winged Teal
O O
___*Cinnamon Teal
C O C O
___Northern Shoveler
C O C C
___Northern Pintail
C O C A
___Green-winged Teal
U U A A
___Canvasback
U U U
___Redhead
U O C O
___Ring-necked Duck
U C C
___Greater Scaup R
___Lesser Scaup
U C U
___Bufflehead
O C C
___Common Goldeneye
R U
___Barrow’s Goldeneye X
___Hooded Merganser
O O O
___Common Merganser
U U U
___Red-br. Merganser
O R O O
___*Ruddy Duck
C O C U
New World Quail
___*Gambel’s Quail
A A A A
Grebes
___*Pied-billed Grebe
C C C C
___Eared Grebe
C C O
___*Western Grebe
C C C C
___*Clark’s Grebe
C C C C
Pigeons and Doves
___Rock Pigeon
O O O O
___Band-tailed Pigeon
X
___Eurasian Collared-Dove C C C C
___Common Ground-Dove
O O O O
___*White-winged Dove
C A
___*Mourning Dove
C A C U
Cuckoos, Roadrunners, and Anis
___*Yellow-billed Cuckoo U
___*Greater Roadrunner
C C C C
Goatsuckers
___*Lesser Nighthawk
C C C
___Common Poorwill
O O O
Swifts
___Vaux’s Swift
U U
___White-throated Swift
U O O O
Hummingbirds
___*Black-ch. Hummingbird U C C C
___*Anna’s Hummingbird
O O O C
___*Costa’s Hummingbird
C C
___Broad-tail. Hummingbird X
___Rufous Hummingbird U
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
___*Ridgway’s Rail
C C C U
___Virginia Rail
O O O
Common Name
Sp S F W
___*Sora
C C C C
___*Common Moorhen
C C C C
___*American Coot
A A A A
Cranes
___Sandhill Crane O C
Stilts and Avocets
___*Black-necked Stilt
C U C U
___American Avocet
U R U R
Plovers
___Black-bellied Plover
R
___Snowy Plover
O O R
___Semipalmated Plover
O O
___*Killdeer
A A C C
Sandpipers, Phalaropes, and Allies
___Long-billed Curlew
U U U U
___Marbled Godwit
O O O
___Ruddy Turnstone
X
___Stilt Sandpiper
U U U
___Sanderling
O O
___Dunlin
O O O
___Least Sandpiper
C U C C
___Pectoral Sandpiper O R
___Western Sandpiper
C C C
___Long-billed Dowitcher
U U C C
___Wilson’s Snipe
U U C
___Spotted Sandpiper
U U C C
___Solitary Sandpiper
O O O
___Greater Yellowlegs
U O U U
___Willet
U O U
___Lesser Yellowlegs
O U U
___Wilson’s Phalarope
R O O O
___Red-necked Phalarope
R O O
___Red Phalarope X
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
___Sabine’s Gull X
___Bonaparte’s Gull
O O
___Laughing Gull X
___Franklin’s Gull
X X
___Heerman’s Gull
X X
___Ring-billed Gull
C O C C
___California Gull
R O
___Herring Gull X
___Glaucous-winged Gull X
___Least Tern X
___Caspian Tern
U U U
___Black Tern
O O O
___Common Tern O
___Forster’s Tern
C O C R
___Black Skimmer X
Loons
___Common Loon
X
Storks
___Wood Stork X X
Boobies
___Brown Booby X
Cormorants
___Neotropic Cormorant X
___*Double-cr. Cormorant
C C C C
Pelicans
___American White Pelican U O U U
___Brown Pelican X
Herons, Bitterns, and Egrets
___American Bittern
R O
___*Least Bittern
C C U O
Common Name
Sp S F W
___*Great Blue Heron
C C C C
___*Great Egret
C C C C
___*Snowy Egret
C C C C
___Little Blue Heron
X
___Cattle Egret
C C C C
___*Green Heron
C C C C
___*Black-cr. Night-Heron
C C C C
Ibises and Spoonbills
___*White-faced Ibis
C C C C
___Roseate Spoonbill X
Vultures
___Turkey Vulture
C C C U
Hawks, Kites, and Eagles
___Osprey
C O U O
___White-tailed Kite
O O O
___Mississippi Kite X
___Bald Eagle
O O O
___Northern Harrier
C U C
___Sharp-shinned Hawk
U U U
___Cooper’s Hawk
U U C
___Harris’s Hawk
R R R R
___Red-shouldered Hawk U U
___Broad-winged Hawk
X
___Swainson’s Hawk
U
___*Red-tailed Hawk
C C C C
___Rough-legged Hawk R
___Ferruginous Hawk X
___Golden Eagle
U O O
Barn Owls
___*Barn Owl
C C C C
Typical Owls
___*Western Screech-Owl
O O O O
___*Great Horned Owl
C C C C
___Elf Owl
U U U
___*Burrowing Owl
C C C C
___Short-eared Owl X
Kingfishers
___Belted Kingfisher
U U C C
Woodpeckers
___Lewis’s Woodpecker X X
___*Gila Woodpecker
U U U U
___Red-naped Sapsucker
O O O
___Red-breasted Sapsucker R R
___*Ladder-bac. Woodpecker C C C C
___Northern Flicker
C C C
___Gilded Flicker
O O O O
Caracaras and Falcons
___Crested Caracara X
___*American Kestrel
C C C C
___Merlin
O O
___Peregrine Falcon
R R R O
___Prairie Falcon
O R O
Tyrant Flycatchers
___Olive-sided Flycatcher
O O
___Greater Pewee X
___Western Wood-Pewee
C U C
___SW Willow Flycatcher
R U R
___Hammond’s Flycatcher
R R
___Gray Flycatcher
R R R
___Dusky Flycatcher X
___Pacific-slope Flycatcher C C
___*Black Phoebe
C U C C
___*Say’s Phoebe
C C C C
___*Vermilion Flycatcher
C U C C
___Dusky-capped Flycatcher X
___*Ash-throated Flycatcher C C C R
___Brown-crested Flycatcher O U
___Tropical Kingbird X
___Cassin’s Kingbird R
___Thick-billed Kingbird X
___*Western Kingbird
C C U
Shrikes
___*Loggerhead Shrike
U C C C
Common Name
Sp S F W
Vireos
___*Bell’s Vireo
O O O
___Gray Vireo
X
___Hutton’s Vireo X X
___Cassin’s Vireo
U U R
___Plumbeous Vireo
U U R
___Warbling Vireo
C U C
___Red-eyed Vireo X X
Crows and Jays
___Steller’s Jay X X
___Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
X X X
___American Crow U U
___Common Raven
O O O O
Larks
___Horned Lark
O C C
Swallows
___Purple Martin
X X
___Tree Swallow
C U A A
___Violet-green Swallow
O O
___*No. Rough-winged
C C C O
___Bank Swallow
O O O
___*Cliff Swallow
A A C
___Barn Swallow
C C C
Chickadees
___Mountain Chickadee X X
Verdins
___*Verdin
C C C C
Nuthatches
___Red-breasted Nuthatch X
___White-breasted Nuthatch X
Wrens
___*Rock Wren
U U U U
___Canyon Wren X
___*Bewick’s Wren
C O O O
___House Wren
O O O
___*Marsh Wren
A A C C
___*Cactus Wren
C C U U
Gnatcatchers
___Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
O O O
___*Black-tailed Gnatcatcher C C C C
Kinglets
___Ruby-crowned Kinglet
C C C
Thrushes
___Western Bluebird O O
___Mountain Bluebird
O O O
___Townsend’s Solitaire
R O O
___Swainson’s Thrush
R
___Hermit Thrush
O U U
___American Robin
U U O
Mockingbirds and Thrashers
___Curve-billed Thrasher
O R O
___Brown Thrasher
X
___Bendire’s Thrasher
X X
___LeConte’s Thrasher R
___*Crissal Thrasher
C C C C
___Sage Thrasher
O O O
___*Northern Mockingbird C C C C
Starlings
___*European Starling
C C C C
Waxwings
___Cedar Waxwing
O O O
Silky-Flycatchers
___*Phainopepla
C C C C
Old World Sparrows
___*House Sparrow
C C C C
Pipits
___American Pipit
C C C
___Sprague’s Pipit X
Finches and Goldfinches
___*House Finch
C C C C
___Purple Finch
X
___Cassin’s Finch X
___Pine Siskin
R O O
Common Name
Sp S F W
___Lesser Goldfinch
C U U U
___Lawrence’s Goldfinch
X X
___American Goldfinch
O O O
Longspurs
___Lapland Longspur X
___Chestnut-collared Longspur R
___McCown’s Longspur X
Wood-Warblers
___Ovenbird X
___Northern Waterthrush X
___Orange-crowned Warbler C C C C
___*Lucy’s Warbler
C C
___Nashville Warbler
U O U
___Virginia’s Warbler
R R R
___MacGillivray’s Warbler
U U U
___*Common Yellowthroat
C C C C
___American Redstart
R R R
___Yellow Warbler
O O O
___Blackpoll Warbler
X
___Yellow-rumped Warbler
C C C
___Black-thr. Gray Warbler U U
___Townsend’s Warbler
U U
___Hermit Warbler
O O
___Black-thr. Green Warbler X
___Wilson’s Warbler
C O C C
___*Yellow-breasted Chat
C C C
Towhees, Sparrows, and Allies
___Green-tailed Towhee
O U U
___Spotted Towhee
O O O
___*Abert’s Towhee
A A C C
___Chipping Sparrow
C O C R
___Clay-colored Sparrow X X
___Brewer’s Sparrow
O C O
___Black-chinned Sparrow X
___Vesper Sparrow
U C C
___Lark Sparrow
O O O
___Black-throated Sparrow U U O
___Sage Sparrow U U
___Lark Bunting
X X
___Savannah Sparrow
C C C
___Grasshopper Sparrow
X
___Fox Sparrow O O
___*Song Sparrow
C C C C
___Lincoln’s Sparrow
U U O
___White-throated Sparrow X
___White-crowned Sparrow C C A
___Golden-crowned Sparrow R R R
___Dark-eyed Junco
U O O
___Slate-colored R
___Oregon
U O O
___Pink-sided Junco
O O O
___Gray-headed Junco
R R R
Tanagers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Buntings
___*Summer Tanager
U U O
___Western Tanager
U U C
___Northern Cardinal X
___Black-headed Grosbeak U U C U
___*Blue Grosbeak
C C C
___Lazuli Bunting
U U
___Indigo Bunting
O O O
___Painted Bunting X X
___Dickcissel X
Blackbirds and Orioles
___*Red-winged Blackbird
A A A C
___Western Meadowlark
C C C C
___*Yellow-headed Blackbird C C C C
___Rusty Blackbird X
___Brewer’s Blackbird
U C U
___*Great-tailed Grackle
C C C C
___Bronzed Cowbird X
___*Brown-headed Cowbird A A C U
___Hooded Oriole
O O O
___*Bullock’s Oriole
C C U
June 2017