Species Account Master Page

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Species accounts have been developed for 118 birds found in Manitoba. By selecting a bird's account you may view its key identification characteristics, distribution, breeding biology, conservation status, and presence in the museum's holdings. Most of the species accounts also have a photograph of the bird and a distribution map.

• Link to a list of Species Accounts.
• For more information about what the species accounts cover.
• For more detailed information about the conservation status rankings.

 

Species Account Information

Each species account covers five topics: Identification, Distribution, Manitoba Museum Collections, Breeding History, and Manitoba Conservation Status. All common, family and species names used are in accordance with the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds (6^th edition, 1983), and its supplements numbered 35 through 40.

Identification:

This section provides the observer with the bird's distinguishing features. As the bird's plumage (colour and pattern of feathers) varies in some species according to gender, age, and time of year, attempts have been made to include all plumages. Emphasis has been placed on the bird's plumage during the breeding season. Most of the accounts include a photo. The photo is generally of the bird in its breeding plumage.

Distribution:

This part of the account shows the range of the bird in Manitoba and in North America. The map may make the distribution easier to understand.

The larger map is a map of Manitoba, Canada (60^oN to 49^oN ,102^oW to 89^oW). Some of the larger lakes and rivers are on the map. Lines of latitiude and longitude are also marked on the map. These lines divide the province into degree blocks, one degree by one degree. In the south of the province, a degree block is about 30 km east/west by 46 km north/south. As one moves north, the blocks become progressively smaller until they measure 23 km east/west by 46 km north/south.

A small map of North America has also been provided which indicates the Canadian provinces and territories, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba.

The colours on the map show the range of the bird in different seasons. The bird's breeding range is indicated on the map in yellow. Areas where the bird is a year round resident of Manitoba are indicated in green. Birds that overwinter in Manitoba have their winter ranges indicated in blue. The same colours are used on the North America map.

The degree blocks coloured in grey are areas in which the bird has nested and the nesting has been documented by the Manitoba Museum Prairie Nesting Record Scheme. In this program, volunteer birders collect nesting record information and submit it to the museum. The records have been taken since 1921 for most species, although some earlier records exist. For more information about the program, contact us.

Manitoba Museum Collections:

This section lists the number and type of specimens held in the Museum's collections. Specimens can be preserved in a number of forms. These include: skins, mounts, skeletons, partial skeletons, nests, and eggs. Nesting record information is also given in this section. The number of documented nest sightings is provided. The earliest and latest recorded nest sighting is also provided. However, the nesting records often provide more information then merely dates. The number of adults, fledglings, and eggs is also provided for many of the sightings. More information about the nesting records or any of the collection may be available. Contact us for more information.

Breeding History

This section describes the breeding biology within Manitoba of the particular species. Specifically, the section lists when nesting begins, where the bird nests, what type of nest is built, how many eggs are laid, length of incubation, a description of the young, when the young leave the nest, and, where relevant, how many broods are laid each year.

Conservation Status

This section provides the species' conservation status in Manitoba according to the Manitoba Conservation Data Centre (MS report 96-05). Factors that may influence the ranking may be given. For example, if a species were secure at the moment but vulnerable to a particular disturbance, that disturbance might be listed. The next section lists the Conservation Data Centre's rankings.

Conservation Status Rankings

The conservation status ranks are provided courtesy of the Manitoba Conservation Data Centre MS Report 96-05, November 1996. The following definitions, stated in general terms, are similar to those used by the Manitoba Conservation Data Centre:

Very Rare	Typically five or fewer occurrences in Manitoba or very few remaining individuals. May be especially vulnerable to extirpation
Rare	Typically 6 to 20 occurrences in Manitoba or very few remaining individuals. May be susceptible to extirpation
Uncommon	Usually between 20 and 100 occurrences in Manitoba. May have fewer occurrences, but with a larger number of individuals in some populations. May be susceptible to large-scale disturbances.
Apparently Secure	Widespread, abundant, and apparently secure in Manitoba, but is of long-term concern. Usually more than 100 occurrences, and usually not susceptible to immediate threats.
Secure	Widespread, abundant, and demonstrably secure in Manitoba. Essentially ineradicable under present conditions.

Other definitions that are used for some species are:

Accidental / Accidental breeding	Accidental or casual in Manitoba (i.e., infrequent and far outside usual range). Includes species recorded once or twice or only at very great intervals, hundreds or even thousands of kilometres outside their usual range. A few of these species may even have bred on the one or two occasions they were recorded.
Potential Breeding	May potentially breed within Manitoba, but no occurrences have been reported.
Reported /Reported Breeding	Reported to have occurred or to have bred within Manitoba, but without persuasive documentation which would provide a basis for either accepting or rejecting the report (e.g., misidentified bird).
Historical Breeding	Species bred historically throughout its range in Manitoba, with the expectation that it may continue to do so in the future.
Non-Breeding Migrant	Species may be observed in Manitoba during its spring or fall migration, but does not breed within Manitoba.
Extinct / Extirpated	The species is believed to be either globally extinct or extirpated from Manitoba.
Extirpated as Breeder	The species may still be occasionally observed in Manitoba, but no longer breeds within the province.
Exotic	An introduced species which has become established in Manitoba (e.g., House Sparrow).

Species Accounts

Loons	Sandpipers and Phalaropes	Wrens
Common Loon	Upland Sandpiper	Marsh Wren
Pacific Loon	Dunlin	House Wren
Grebes	Common Snipe	Thrushes
Pied-billed Grebe	Marbled Godwit	Mountain Bluebird
Horned Grebe	Wilson's Phalarope	American Robin
Western Grebe	American Woodcock	Thrashers
Pelicans	Greater Yellowlegs	Gray Catbird
American White Pelican	Solitary Sandpiper	Brown Thrasher
Cormorants	Gulls, Terns, and Jaegers	Waxwings
Double-crested Cormorant	Herring Gull	Cedar Waxwing
Herons and Bitterns	Ring-billed Gull	Bohemian Waxwing
American Bittern	Bonaparte's Gull	Shrikes
Great Blue Heron	Franklin's Gull	Loggerhead Shrike
Geese and Swans	Pigeons and Doves	Starlings
Canada Goose	Rock Dove	European Starling
Snow Goose	Passenger Pigeon	Vireos
Tundra Swan	Mourning Dove	Warbling Vireo
Ducks	Typical Owls	Red-eyed Vireo
Wood Duck	Great Horned Owl	Wood Warblers
Mallard	Snowy Owl	Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blue-winged Teal	Burrowing Owl	Blackburnian Warbler
Gadwall	Great Gray Owl	Yellow Warbler
Canvasback	Goatsuckers	Common Yellowthroat
Bufflehead	Whip-poor-will	Ovenbird
Vultures	Swifts	Northern Waterthrush
Turkey Vulture	Chimney Swift	American Redstart
Osprey, Kites, Eagles, and Hawks	Hummingbirds	Orange-crowned Warbler
Golden Eagle	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Tennessee Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk	Kingfishers	Tanagers
Northern Harrier	Belted Kingfisher	Scarlet Tanager
Bald Eagle	Woodpeckers	Cardinals and Buntings
Osprey	Northern Flicker	Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Falcons	Pileated Woodpecker	Sparrows
Merlin	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Song Sparrow
Peregrine Falcon	Flycatchers	Clay-colored Sparrow
American Kestrel	Eastern Phoebe	White-throated Sparrow
Partridges, Pheasants, Grouse, and Turkeys	Eastern Kingbird	Blackbirds and Orioles
Ruffed Grouse	Larks	Red-winged Blackbird
Spruce Grouse	Horned Lark	Brewer's Blackbird
Willow Ptarmigan	Swallows	Baltimore Oriole
Greater Prairie-chicken	Barn Swallow	Brown-headed Cowbird
Sharp-tailed Grouse	Purple Martin	Common Grackle
Rails and Coots	Bank Swallow	Western Meadowlark
American Coot	Jays, Crows, and Magpies	Yellow-headed Blackbird
Sora	Common Raven	Finches
Cranes	Blue Jay	Common Redpoll
Whooping Crane	Gray Jay	American Goldfinch
Sandhill Crane	Chickadees	Purple Finch
Plovers	Black-capped Chickadee	Evening Grosbeak
Piping Plover	Nuthatches	Pine Grosbeak
Semipalmated Plover	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Old World Sparrows
Killdeer	White-breasted Nuthatch	House Sparrow
Avocets and Stilts	Creepers
American Avocet	Brown Creeper