Birds of Sarasota Bay

Birds (Photo - click to enlarge)	Scientific name	Common name	Comments
Large Wading Birds
	Ardea Herodias	Great Blue Heron	L 4'. Lean gray bird. Its long legs, long neck, dagger-like bill, and, in flight, folded neck indicate a heron. Great size and blue-gray color, white about head (in adults) mark it as this species.
	Casmerodius albus	Great Egret	L 3' Large stately, slender white bird, with a yellow bill (orange when breeding). Legs and feet black. Straight plumes on back extend beyond tail when breeding. When feeding, the bird assumes an eager, forward-leaning pose, neck extended.
	Egretta Thula	Snowy Egret	L 24". All white, neck long, bill slender and black, area between eye and bill is yellow. Legs long, black with yellow feet ... "snow shoes". During courtship, long, lacy, white plumes on back, chest and crown. Imm. legs dark green.
	Nycticorax nycticorax	Immature Night Heron	Probably black-crowned with heavy white streaks and spots.
	Nyclanassa violacea	Yellow-crowned Night Heron	L. 36". Adult body and wings slate-gray; head black; cheek and crown white with yellow patch. During breeding, forecrown yellow with long white plumes on nape, legs orange.
	Egretta rufescens	Reddish Egret	L 30". Neck long, with long shaggy feathers; bill long, fairly thick, pink, black-tipped; legs long, slaty. Dark morph: body and wing slaty gray; head and neck reddish brown. Rushes awkwardly about shallow water, chasing fish; creates canopy with wings to lure fish into shade.
	Egretta tricolor	Tricolored Heron (aka Louisiana Heron)	L 26". Adult back, wings, neck, and head slaty blue; belly and underwings white. White line down entire foreneck; base of neck purplish. Neck and legs long; bill very long, thin, gray, black-tipped. During courtship, long, buffy plumes on back. Fishes by slow stalking and wild running pursuit in shallow water.
	Ajaia ajaja	Roseate Spoonbills ( & Ibis)	L 32". Lower back, wings, belly pink; upper back and neck white; head bare, gray-green; bill slaty; legs red; tail short, orange. Neck and legs long; bill long, narrow in middle, with flat, spoon-shaped tip. Sweeps bill from side to side, feeling mud for aquatic invertebrates. Flies with neck out.
	Eudocimus albus	White Ibis	L 22". Locally abundant, but more confined to costal locations than other ibises. Adult has red face and bill. The small black wing tips are usually hidden when at rest. Often seen in large flocks that fly in long lines or in V-formationation. Calls are low and harsh.
	Butiorides virescens	Green Heron	L. 19". Adult back and wings slaty green; cap black; neck chestnut; legs dull yellow shortish; bill dark. Often feeds by leaning over water from logs, rocks; also wades.
	Mycheria americana	Wood Stork	L. 3'4"; WS 5'6". Appears all white at rest; bill blackish in adult, yellowish in imm. Slaty scales cover bare head and neck; bill long, sturdy.
Pelicans, gulls, terns
	Pelecanus occidentalis	Brown Pelicans (Immature and adult in winter)	L '2"; WS 7'6". Adult body and wings grayish brown; head white, with yellowish wash on crown. Neck long, mainly chestnut brown in summer, all white in winter; bill long, flat, gray (tipped red in summer); pouch black. Kegs short; feet wide, webbed, slaty. Tail short. Imm. (to 4 years) brown with white belly; bill and pouch gray. Feeds on fish alone or in groups; makes spectacular dives, bill-first into water. Often rests in trees.
	Pelecanus erythro-rhynchos	White Pelicans	L. 5'2"; Wingspan 8'. Adult all white at rest; bill long, flat, with orange-yellow pouch. Neck long; tail short. Lets short; feet wide, webbed; both orange yellow. Flight reveals black primaries. Immature (to 4 years) grayish white; bill and pouch gray.) Rests on sandbars not trees.
	Larus argentatus	Herring Gull	L 23-26". Adult: A big gray-mantled gull with flesh-colored legs. Wing tips black with white spots; heavy yellow bill with a red spot. Flying gull photo
	Larus atricilla	Laughing Gull (summer, juvenile?)	L 17". Small coastal gull. The dark mantle blends into black wing tips. White edge on rear of wing. In summer, head black, bill red; in winter, head white with dark smudge. Voice is a strident laugh, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haah-haah-haah. Bill droops downward. Legs black.
	Larus delawrensis	Ring-billed gull (winter adult)	L 19". Adult: Similar to herring gull but smaller. Black ring encircling bill, Yellowish or pale greenish legs.
	Sterna maxima	Royal Terns	L 18-21". Large tern with a large orange bill. Tail is deeply forked. Solid cap in spring. Usually much white on forehead. Black feathers form a crest.
	Rynchops niger	Immature Black Skimmer	L 16-20". Adult has unequal scissor-like bill. Black above and white below; more slender than a gull, with extremely long wings. The bright mandible juts a third beyond the upper. Immature brownish, speckled, smaller-billed. Skims low in the water, dipping its knifelike lower mandible.
Various Shore Birds
	Arenaria interpres	Ruddy Turnstones (winter)	L 8-10". Squat, orange-legged shorebird. In breeding plumage with russet back ad curious face and breast pattern. Young birds and winter adults are duller.
	Haematopus palliatus	Oyster-catcher	L 17-21". Noisy, thick-set, black-headed with a dark back, white belly, large white wing and tail patches. Large straight bill, flattened laterally. Legs pale flesh.
	Calidris alba	Sanderling (winter)	L 7-8". Bold white wing stripe. Plump active sandpiper of outer beaches; chases retreating waves. Summer: rusty about head, back and breast. Winter: snowy white below, pale gray above with black shoulders.
	Catoptro-phorus semipal-matus	Willet (Winter Plumage)	L 14-17". Striking black-and-white wing pattern in flight. Banded wings cannot be seen at rest. Large wader is non-descript; gray above; legs bluish gray.
		Plover
	Anhinga anhinga	Anhinga	L34". Adult male black with greenish gloss; upper surface of inner wings a\has long white patch. Adult female head, neck and chest buffy; back and belly black. Wings and bill long, pointed; neck slender. Legs short; feet webbed, black. Rests in trees or sticks over water; holds wings out to dry; lacks oil glands for water proofing. Called "snakebird" for habit of swimming with just neck and head showing.
	Phalacrocorax auritus	Double-crested Cormorant	L. 33". Adult black with greenish cast; Bill narrow, hooked; orange skin on throat. Swims with bill angled upward. Spreads wings to dry while nesting.
	Pandion	Osprey	L 24". Dark brown above, white below; dark eyestripe. Habitat: Coastal beaches; salt marshes, dry prairies, wet prairies and marshes, agricultural environments. Note the brown tail. Bald eagles have white tails.