Top 20 Most Common Bird in American Fork
Perched with delight on the edge of the Rocky Mountains, American Fork reveals a spectacular array of bird life, owed to its varied habitats, including mountainous terrains and riparian areas. Its landscape sings with the vibrant colors and distinct calls of several iconic species, such as the American White Pelican, White-faced Ibis, and the striking Western Tanager, setting American Fork apart in its ornithological significance. With 20 common bird species recorded, one is never far from a feathered encounter in American Fork.
Most Common Bird
1. American Robin
The american Robin is the most common, and largest, thrush in North America. It's a bird of striking colors, including its vibrant, red-breasted plumage and pale blue eggs. It likes to feed on summer fruit and berries, but worms play an important role in its diet as well. This songbird is a state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Its cheery song is considered one of the first signs of spring.
2. House Finch
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.
3. Black-capped Chickadee
This small songbird is the most common garden bird in Canada and the northern USA, and also one of the most scientifically studied birds in the world. Able to produce more than 15 complex sounds, the black-capped Chickadee can easily confuse predators with its calls. It's a clever, skillful, and adaptable bird—it can retrieve hidden food after a month and it's able to fly even when its body temperature drops.
4. Woodhouse's Scrub-jay
Woodhouse's scrub jay is a medium-sized bird, approximately 27–31 cm (11–12 in) in length (including its tail), with a 39 cm (15 in) wingspan, and about 80 g (2.8 oz) in weight. Coastal Pacific birds tend to be brighter in coloration than those of the interior, but all are patterned in blue, white, and gray, though none as uniform in color as the related Mexican jay. In general, this species has a blue head, wings, and tail, a gray-brown back, and grayish underparts. The throat is whitish with a blue necklace. The call is described as "harsh and scratchy". 
5. Mallard
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.
6. European Starling
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.
7. House Sparrow
Just as its name implies, the little house Sparrow socializes with humans more than any other bird species. Able to adapt and thrive in almost any habitat, excluding the extremes such as deserts and mountain peaks, this species was once restricted only to North Africa and Eurasia but now is found across the globe. Unfortunately, this opportunistic eater is not completely harmless—it can cause considerable damage to crops.
8. Eurasian Collared-dove
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.
9. Dark-eyed Junco
One of the most common birds of North America, the dark-eyed Junco lives in flocks in open forests, but it's very common in urban areas. This a highly variable species consists of at least five subspecies. This ground bird is often seen during winter, so it's sometimes called the "Snowbird," although it shares the nickname with the Snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis).
10. Song Sparrow
The song Sparrow can be found low to the ground in vegetation and thickets in nearly all habitat conditions, including suburban areas. They are frequent visitors to home birdfeeders but can also be seen foraging for food on the ground. Their appearance can differ across the 24 known subspecies, but all of them tend to only make short, fluttery flights.
11. Spotted Towhee
The spotted Towhee is a large sparrow found in sunny, open forests and recognizable by its distinctive two-footed hop. A ground dweller, it scratches the ground in search of food. Regarded as an extremely vocal bird, its song varies according to geographical location. During the breeding season, the male spends more than 70% of its mornings singing, trying to attract the female.
12. Northern Flicker
In the search of its favorite food—ants—the northern Flicker often forages leaf litter and tree bark, which makes it the only ground forager in the woodpecker group. It's a migratory species, which is quite a rare behavior for woodpeckers, as well. The northern Flicker has an eastern (yellow-shafted) and a western (red-shafted) form. It lays a large number of eggs - the known record is 71 eggs in 73 days.
13. Black-billed Magpie
A large, familiar bird of urban and suburban areas, this black-billed Magpie is often seen standing on road signs and fence posts. This opportunistic bird is known as the "raider" of other birds' nests. Thanks to its long tail, it is able to change the direction of flight suddenly. In some cultures, the black-billed Magpie is considered a bad omen.
14. California Quail
The california Quail is a small, ground-dwelling bird that is well adapted to urban environments. This unobtrusive and highly sociable bird lives in large flocks that sometimes count more than 70 individuals. The male and the female produce different calls, often singing in "orchestral patterns". A state bird of California, a california Quail appeared as a character in Walt Disney's "Bambi."
15. Lesser Goldfinch
A common visitor of birdhouses or anywhere with birdseed, the lesser Goldfinch is a small, notch-tailed bird that enjoys gardens and open wooded areas. Its size has made it commonly overlooked, but listen out for its charming, chiming song. Social birds, they are often seen in large groups of hundreds traveling together at a time.
16. Mourning Dove
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.
17. Downy Woodpecker
The smallest woodpecker in North America, the downy Woodpecker is almost identical to the Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus), but it's significantly smaller and has a shorter bill. It inhabits woods and wooded areas, but is also regularly encountered in urban environments. It often visits birdfeeders, which is an unusual behavior among woodpeckers.
18. Barn Swallow
A familiar sight in rural and semi-open areas, the small barn Swallow can often be spotted by its distinctly graceful flight as it travels low over fields. Seemingly unbothered by having human neighbors, they nest unafraid in barns, garages, beneath bridges or wharves. Interestingly enough, they have come to prefer these locations so much that you are unlikely to spot a nest in a place that is not a human-made structure.
19. American Dipper
This species, like other dippers, is equipped with an extra eyelid called a "nictitating membrane" that allows it to see underwater, and scales that close its nostrils when submerged. Dippers also produce more oil than most birds, which may help keep them warmer when seeking food underwater. The song consists of high whistles or trills peee peee pijur pijur repeated a few times. Both sexes of this bird sing year round.
20. Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warblers are small birds that are so tiny they are known to get tangled up in orb-weaver spiders' webs. Their nests are often parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. No worries, says the yellow Warbler, for I'll just rebuild a new nest on top of the one you took from me. This sometimes goes on and on to the point where the nest grows to six tiers high.
