Top 20 Most Common Bird in Las Vegas

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.

Though this large, widespread bird is mainly known for its aggressively territorial nature, often shown by spitting, chasing, honking, or attacking, the canada Goose does have more loving traits. They mate for life, and this species is one of the birds that has minimal “divorce rates.” Interestingly, they choose mates by size, so smaller geese will mate with other small geese, and larger geese with other large geese.

The medium-sized great-tailed Grackle is notable for its long tail, shaped like a V, and deep black coloring offset by bright yellow eyes. This loud bird can be easily found just by following the sharp sounds of its calls and shrieks. Males in particular shriek and ruffle up their feathers to defend their territory or if they feel threatened.

The mallard is the most abundant duck species in the world, and the ancestor of all domestic ducks. Only the female can produce the distinctive "quack" sound. When the female lays eggs, the male abandons its mate, while the protective mother stays with the ducklings for a long time. This migratory species inhabits shallow waters and it's one of the most popular game birds.

The american Coot is easily mistaken for a species of duck but does not have webbed feet and does not have a waddling gait. They can be found in and around ponds and lakes and frequently dive under the surface to feed on algae and other vegetation. These birds can live to be 22 years old!

The northern Mockingbird is able to mimic the sound of more than 30 bird species, but this master mocker has also been known to imitate the sounds of a whistle, frog call, or a dog's bark. The mimicry keeps other birds out of the mockingbird's territory, but it also plays an important role in courtship - the male with the best mimicking skills is the most attractive to females. You will often hear this mockingbird singing on moonlit nights. Widespread throughout the US, the northern Mockingbird is a state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

The verdin is a very small bird. At 4.5 in (11 cm) in length, it rivals the American bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall, and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous shoulder patch (the lesser coverts). Unlike the tits, it has a sharply pointed bill. Juveniles have a light gray body without the rufous shoulder patch and yellow head. The base of the short bill is thick by the head, and draws to a sharp point at the tip.

This hardy bird is a common sight along the Pacific Coast, with a bright, vibrant coloring that is anything but common. Look for their emerald feathers and soft pink throats, which gives them the appearance of a flying jewel. Anna's Hummingbird is more vocal than other hummingbirds, with a buzzy song you may hear from the males when they are perched.

One of the most famous and widespread doves of North America, the mourning Dove can be often seen in urban areas perching on telephone wires. It is named after its distinctive, plaintive-sounding song. It is also a popular game bird, but its population is still abundant thanks to the prolific breeding and its ability to raise up to five to six broods in a single year.

This plump, pretty dove with a square-tipped tail is known for bobbing its head and flicking its tail while walking. Though nice to look at, many people are not pleased at the sight of a eurasian Collared-dove walking along. In North America they are considered an invasive species, and one that carries a disease-creating parasite that can spread to native dove populations through birdbaths, feeders, or even through hawks preying on them.

This large, dinosaur-like bird is the most common form of cormorant. A frequent visitor to bodies of fresh water, look out for double-crested Cormorants at the water's edge when they “wing-spread”. They will stand with their wings opened wide and tilted towards the sun to dry their feathers, because they are not waterproof.

This common sparrow has a white crown atop its head, which gave it its name, as well as a neat pattern down its wings and a long tail. Some groups of white-crowned Sparrows migrate, while others remain in coastal habitats year-round. Across different groups of these birds are different song “dialects” which are widely studied.

Pied-billed grebes are small, stocky, and short-necked. They are 31–38 cm (12–15 in) in length, with a wingspan of 45–62 cm (18–24 in) and weigh 253–568 g (8.9–20.0 oz). They are mainly brown, with a darker crown and back. Their brown color serves as camouflage in the marshes they live in. They do not have white visible under their wings when flying, like other grebes. Their undertail is white and they have a short, blunt chicken-like bill that is a light grey color, which in summer is encircled by a broad black band (hence the name). In the summer, its throat is black. There is no sexual dimorphism. Juveniles have black and white stripes and look more like winter adults. This grebe does not have webbed feet. Its toes have lobes that come out of the side of each toe. These lobes allow for easy paddling. When flying, the feet appear behind the body due to the feet's placement in the far back of the body. It may be confused with the least grebe, although that species is much smaller and has a thinner bill. Other similarly sized grebes are very distinct in plumage, i.e. the eared grebe and horned grebe. Both species bear much more colorful breeding plumage, with rufous sides, golden crests along the side of the head against contrasting slaty color (also a rufous neck in the horned); while in winter, both the eared and horned grebes are pied with slaty and cream color and have red eyes.

Frequent in urban environments and human-created habitats such as parks and backyards, the little house Finch is known for its loud but pleasant, cheerful singing. It feeds on the ground, mostly on seeds, berries, and other plant material. This bird is highly sociable and very adaptable. It often visits feeders.

These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. Male ruddy ducks have blackish caps that contrast with bright white cheeks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. In flight, ruddy ducks show solidly dark tops of the wings.

The Callipepla gambelii birds are easily recognized by their top knots and scaly plumage on their undersides. Gambel's quail have bluish-gray plumage on much of their bodies, and males have copper feathers on the top of their heads, black faces, and white stripes above their eyes. The bird's average length is 11 in (28 cm) with a wingspan of 14–16 in (36–41 cm). These birds have relatively short, rounded wings and long, featherless legs. Its diet consists primarily of plant matter and seeds. Gambel's quail can be commonly confused with California quail due to similar plumage. They can usually be distinguished by range, but when this does not suffice, California quail have a more scaly appearance and the black patch on the lower breast of the male Gambel's quail is absent in the California quail. The two species are sister taxa which diverged during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, 1 to 2 mya.

The phainopepla is a striking bird, 16–20 cm (6.3–7.9 in) long with a noticeable crest and a long tail; it is slender, and has an upright posture when it perches. Its bill is short and slender. The male is glossy black, and has a white wing patch that is visible when it flies; the female is plain gray and has a lighter gray wing patch. Both sexes have red eyes, but these are more noticeable in the female than the male.

The european Starling, a large, hardy songbird, is one of the most commonly seen bird species in North America. Originally from Europe, this species was brought to the U.S. in the 1890s by enthusiasts of William Shakespeare, who had the unique goal of bringing over every single species of bird that was mentioned in Shakespeare's collective works. Unfortunately, the european Starling, being an adaptable, generalist species, spread invasively across the continent, hurting many native species' populations in the process.

The say's Phoebe is a bold species of bird often found nesting in homes, buildings, and other developed areas where it will continue to come back year after year. Fossil records show that these birds have been present in some areas for 400,000 years. The say's Phoebe is named after the “father of American entomology,” Thomas Say.

Abert's towhees are recognized by their relatively long tails, dark faces, and overall brown plumage. They are related to sparrows and juncos but are more similar to thrashers in appearance. They may be confused with the California towhee, but their dark faces are more distinct, and the range of these species only slightly overlaps. The Abert's towhee is the longest species in the diverse Emberizidae at 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) long, but its length is boasted by a relatively long tail, at 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) in length. Males weigh from 40–54.1 g (1.41–1.91 oz), with an average of 47.1 g (1.66 oz), while females weigh from 39.5–51 g (1.39–1.80 oz), with an average of 44.8 g (1.58 oz). In terms of weight, it is outweighed by several other towhee species. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 8.2 to 9.7 cm (3.2 to 3.8 in), the bill is 1.5 to 1.6 cm (0.59 to 0.63 in) and the tarsus is 2.6 to 2.9 cm (1.0 to 1.1 in).