Birds
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Chordeiles minor
Description
At night, common nighthawks fly, with quick flaps, glides, and darting movements, around lights pursuing flying insects. They are brown with a white mark on the underside of each narrow wing.
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Scientific Name
Antrostomus vociferus (formerly Caprimulgus vociferus)
Description
Although many people hear the evening calls of whip-poor-wills, few ever see these birds because by day they crouch on the ground amid fallen leaves, where they are perfectly camouflaged.
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Scientific Name
Bombycilla cedrorum
Description
Sleek, crested cedar waxwings gather in large, relatively quiet groups to eat berries from shrubs and trees. The voice is a high-pitched, whizzy trill.
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Scientific Name
Eremophila alpestris
Description
Horned larks are common in open, plowed crop fields anywhere in Missouri. Their movement against the ground, and their distinctively marked faces and “horns,” can help you see their flocks.
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Scientific Name
Vireo olivaceus
Description
Singing an incessant series of question-and-answer homilies from dawn to dusk, even through the hottest of summer days, the red-eyed vireo has been called the “preacher bird.”
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Scientific Name
Vireo griseus
Description
The white-eyed vireo’s white irises would seem its most distinctive feature, but it’s actually better known for its distinctive, loud, vociferous song.
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Scientific Name
Scolopax minor
Description
This remarkable bird is a short-necked, short-legged, terrestrial shorebird with a long bill. The eyes are set back on its head. When this bird is flushed, its short wings make a startling whirring sound.
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Scientific Name
Hirundo rustica
Description
Streamlined, agile fliers with forked tails, barn swallows build cup-shaped nests out of mud affixed to protected areas on the walls of barns and under bridges.
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Scientific Name
Petrechelidon pyrrhonota
Description
Cliff swallows fly in swarms around their clusters of juglike mud nests attached to overpasses, bridges, and other structures. Note the whitish forehead, buffy rump patch, and chestnut throat.
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Scientific Name
Gallinago delicata
Description
Wilson’s snipe, formerly called the common snipe, is a migratory game bird in Missouri. Like its relative the woodcock, this member of the sandpiper family is not usually seen on mudflats. It prefers swamps and wet, grassy areas.
See Also
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Scientific Name
Hemaris diffinis
Description
The snowberry clearwing is a moth that confuses people because it looks like a bumblebee and flies like a hummingbird!
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Scientific Name
Hyles lineata
Description
The white-lined sphinx moth sometimes confuses people because it flies, hovers, and eats from flowers like a hummingbird. The adults often fly during daylight hours as well as in the night and are often found at lights.
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Scientific Name
Darapsa myron
Description
The Virginia creeper sphinx moth is common in woods and brushy areas and comes to lights at night. The larvae eat Virginia creeper and grape leaves.
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Scientific Name
Perimyotis subflavus (formerly Pipistrellus subflavus)
Description
Tri-colored bats, formerly called eastern pipistrelles, are relatively small and look pale yellowish or pale reddish brown. The main hairs are dark gray at the base, broadly banded with yellowish brown, and tipped with dark brown.
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Scientific Name
Myotis grisescens
Description
Gray myotises are difficult to distinguish from other mouse-eared bats. A key identifying feature of the gray myotis is that its wing is attached to the ankle and not at the base of the toes. It’s an endangered species.
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Scientific Name
Myotis lucifugus
Description
The little brown myotis (little brown bat) is one of our most common bats, but populations are declining. White-nose syndrome has taken a heavy toll in northeastern states. This species is now listed as vulnerable across its range.
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Scientific Name
Myotis sodalis
Description
The Indiana myotis, or Indiana bat, summers along streams and rivers in north Missouri, raising its young under the bark of certain trees. It is an endangered species.
About Birds in Missouri
About 350 species of birds are likely to be seen in Missouri, though nearly 400 have been recorded within our borders. Most people know a bird when they see one — it has feathers, wings, and a bill. Birds are warm-blooded, and most species can fly. Many migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs (often in a nest), and the parents care for the young. Many communicate with songs and calls.