Birds

Birds and the Mississippi River
Each day, birds must find food, water, shelter, and places offering refuge from predators. This becomes even more important during migration as birds are often moving through unfamiliar terrain with unknown risks. The Mississippi River valley--along with its rich diversity of habitats--provides birds with those important resources. It is little wonder then that this large, south-flowing river forms the core of one of North America's great flyways and offers birders wonderful opportunities to observe a wide variety of species.

Download the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area birdlist.

Selected Bird Species The following links provide information about some of the bird species that either inhabit or migrate through the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Blackbird, Red-winged Bluebird Cardinal, Northern Chickadee, Black-capped Coot, American Cormorant, Double-crested Crow, American Dove, Mourning Dove, Rock (Pigeon) Eagle, Bald Egret, Great Falcon, Peregrine Finch, House Flicker, Northern Goldfinch, American Goose, Canada Grackle, Common Grebe, Pied-billed Grosbeak, Rose-breasted Gull, Herring Hawk, Red-Tailed	Heron, Great Blue Jay, Blue Killdeer Kingfisher, Belted Mallard Oriole, Baltimore Pheasant, Ring-necked Robin, American Sandpiper, Spotted Sparrow, House Starling Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Tree Swan, Tundra Thrasher, Brown Vulture, Turkey Wood Duck Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Warbler, Yellow

What Bird was That?
Use this simple key to help identify birds in your backyard or on your visits to the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.