This list of birds of the Sonoran Desert includes all
bird species
endemic to the
Sonoran Desert, and related areas; (a few species listed are only "native" and have a larger continental range). They are retrieved from the
List of birds of Yuma County, Arizona, though not exclusively.
Image:Greater Roadrunner-JRO.jpg, Greater roadrunner
Image:Gila Woodpecker.jpeg , Gila woodpecker ''Melanerpes uropygialis''
Southwest region
The listed birds are based on the southern section of the Lower
Colorado River Valley, from Yuma County and La Paz County, to the
Bill Williams River, (and by extension to
Needles, California/
Topock
Topock ( Mojave: Tuupak) (pronounced ''/'Toe-pock'/'' by locals) is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population within the CDP was 2. Topock a ...
, Arizona). The Colorado River borders the higher elevation
Mojave Desert to the northwest (Needles and Las Vegas), the
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna.
Geography and geology
The Colorado De ...
–(extension of Sonoran Desert) on the southwest and west, and the deserts of the
Sonoran Desert to the east, the
Yuma Desert,
Lechuguilla Desert
The Lechuguilla Desert is a small desert located in southwestern Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border. It is considered to be part of the Lower Colorado Valley region of the Sonoran Desert. It lies in a north–south direction between the Gila Mo ...
, and the
Tule Desert.
Bolded species are exclusive to the hottest deserts (southwestern Arizona;
Baja California; northern Mexico; and the
Carrizo Plain
The Carrizo Plain ( Obispeño: ''tšɨłkukunɨtš'', "Place of the rabbits") is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately long and up to across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, about northwest of Los Angeles. It con ...
).
*
Costa's hummingbird
Costa's hummingbird (''Calypte costae'') is a bird species in the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It breeds in the arid region of the southwest United States and northwest Mexico; it winters in western Mexico.
Taxonomy
Costa's hummingbird was f ...
, ''Calypte costae''
*
Gambel's quail, ''Callipepla gambelii''
*
Black rail, ''Laterallus jamaicensis''
** SW Ariz Sonoran desert, but also other locales.
*
Greater roadrunner, ''Geococcyx californianus'', (Extensive range beyond the Sonoran Desert)
*
Gila woodpecker, ''Melanerpes uropygialis''
*
Gilded flicker
The gilded flicker (''Colaptes chrysoides'') is a large-sized woodpecker (mean length of ) of the Sonoran, Yuma, and eastern Colorado Desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, including all of Baja California, ex ...
, ''Colaptes chrysoides''
*
Vermilion flycatcher, ''Pyrocephalus rubinus''
*
Brown-crested flycatcher, ''Myiarchus tyrannulus''
*
Black-tailed gnatcatcher
The black-tailed gnatcatcher (''Polioptila melanura'') is a small, insectivorous bird which ranges throughout the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is nonmigratory and found in arid dese ...
, ''Polioptila melanura''
** Also ranges E and S into the
Chihuahuan Desert, Texas and Mexico.
*
Crissal thrasher
The crissal thrasher (''Toxostoma crissale'') is a large thrasher found in the Southwestern United States (western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southeastern California, extreme southern Nevada, and extreme southwestern Utah) to c ...
, ''Toxostoma crissale'', ranges S into Central Mexico
*
Curve-billed thrasher
The curve-billed thrasher (''Toxostoma curvirostre'') is a medium-sized mimid native to most of Mexico and to the deserts of southwestern United States. It is a non-migratory species, and throughout most of its range it is the most common deser ...
, ''Toxostoma curvirostre''
*
Le Conte's thrasher, ''Toxostoma lecontei'', Sonoran, and ranges into S Nevada–(locally: the
Carrizo Plain
The Carrizo Plain ( Obispeño: ''tšɨłkukunɨtš'', "Place of the rabbits") is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately long and up to across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, about northwest of Los Angeles. It con ...
, N of Los Angeles)
*
Phainopepla, ''Phainopepla nitens''
** Also ranges into California's
San Joaquin Valley.
*
Lucy's warbler
Lucy's warbler (''Leiothlypis luciae'') is a small New World warbler found in North America. This species ranges includes southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is one of only two warblers to nest in cavities.
Description
Lucy's ...
, ''Oreothlypis luciae''
** Exclusive in Sonoran Desert, Summer Range, (includes the
Colorado River Valley, the Grand Canyon, and S Nevada).
*
Abert's towhee, ''Melozone aberti'', ''(–
Sonoran Desert–)''
*
Black-throated sparrow
The black-throated sparrow (''Amphispiza bilineata'') is a small New World sparrow primarily found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphispiza''; the five-striped sparrow, formerly also classifie ...
, ''Amphispiza bilineata''
**Permanent breeding range, (but ranges E to Texas, and also Summer ranges to very S Oregon, very S Idaho).
*
Yellow-headed blackbird, ''Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus''
** Permanent in S ''Lower
Colorado River Valley''
Image:Greater Roadrunner-JRO.jpg, Greater
roadrunner
Image:Gila Woodpecker.jpeg , Gila woodpecker
''Melanerpes uropygialis''
Image:Pipilo albertii.jpg, Abert's towhee
''Melozone aberti''
Image:PhainopeplaUSGS.jpg , Phainopepla
''Phainopepla nitens''
Image:Yellowheadblackbird.jpg, Yellow-headed
Blackbird
''Xanthocephalus
xanthocephalus''
Southeast region
The southeast Arizona region is defined by: 1–the mountains of eastern Arizona, extending into western and southwestern New Mexico; 2–the
sky islands defined by the NW–to–SE trending mountain ranges (formerly of the
Basin and Range
Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...
geology), also called regionally the
Madrean sky islands; and 3–the northernmost extension of the western spine mountain range of Mexico, the
Sierra Madre Occidental (West). The result is a biome region particular to its: geographic locale, elevation, and proximity to flyways, namely for the mountains (of Mexico, the United States, and to Canada), and for the proximity to the
Gulf of California,
Gulf of Mexico, and the
Pacific Ocean.
Image:Pipilo albertii.jpg, Abert's towhee
''Melozone aberti''
Image:PhainopeplaUSGS.jpg , Phainopepla
''Phainopepla nitens''
Image:Yellowheadblackbird.jpg, Yellow-headed
Blackbird
''Xanthocephalus
xanthocephalus''
See also
*
List of birds of Arizona
{{North American birds
'birds
Sonoran
Sonoran Desert
Birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...