Birds in Accidentals

 

A chance to go birdwatching in fiction…

Here’s a list of all the birds in Accidentals–except, of course, the main avian protagonist. The links lead to ebird reports, with illustrations and recordings of the songs and calls.

Species are listed in order of first appearance. The Spanish and English common names are taken from Guia Para la Identificacion de las Aves de Arentina y Uruguay (by Tito Narosky and Dario Yzurieta, 15th Ed. 2003) and may differ from those used on ebird; scientific names are given in (); the name listed first is the one mentioned first in the text. English names of the North American birds are those in common use the 1980s-90s.

Click on the species name to see and hear the bird.

Birds in California

(Chapter 1)

American Wigeon (Mareca americana)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)
White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus)
Marsh Hawk (Circus cyaneus)
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus–remembered later, pg 224)

 

Birds in Uruguay

(in the province Rocha)

Tero Común, (Vanellus chilensis; the Uruguayan subspecies is lampronotus)
Ñandú (Rhea americana)
Benteveo, Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)
Brown-and-Yellow Marshbird, Pecho Amarillo Común (Pseudoleistes virescens)
Cardenal Común, Red-Crested Cardenal (Paroaria coronate)
Misto, Grassland Yellow Finch (Sicalis luteola)
Jilguero Dorado (Sicalis flaveola)
Pirincho (Guira guira)
Chingolo, Rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis)
Celestón (Thraupis sayaca)
Naranjero (Pipraeidea bonariensis)
Monjita Blanca (Xolmis irupero)
Cuervillo de Cañada, White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
Cuervillo Cara Pelada, Bare-faaced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus)
Chajá, Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata)
Tordo Músico, Bay-winged Cowbird (Agelaioides badius)
Tachurí Sietecolores, (Tachuris rubrigastra)
Mirasol Grande, Pinnatted Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus)
Espátula Rosada, (Platalea ajaja)
Pollona Azul, Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)
Pato Fierro, (Nomonyx dominicus)
Tero Real, White-back Stilt (error in text, where it is called Black-necked Stilt) (Himantopus mexicanus)
American Golden Plover, Chorlo Dorado (Pluvialis dominica)
Lesser Yellowlegs, Pitotoy Chico (Tringa flavipes)
Pato Capuchino, (Spatula versicolor)
Pato Maicero, (Anas georgica)
Cinnamon Teal, Pato Colorado (Spatula cyanoptera)
Juan Chiviro, (Cyclarhis gujanensis)
Monjita Dominicana, (Xolmis dominicanus)
Chiflón, Whistling Heron (Syrigma sibilatrix)
Tordo Amarillo, (Xanthopsar flavus)
Chestnut-capped Blackbird, (Chrysomus ruficapillus)
Pecho Amarillo Grande (Pseudoleistes guirahurothe third species of “marshbird,” along with Tordo amarillo and Brown-and-Yellow Marshbird)
Yabirú (Jabiru mycteria)
Pato Picaso,(Netta peposaca)
Pato Real, (Cairina moschata)
Pato Brasilero, (Amazonetta brasiliensis)
Federal, (Amblyramphus holosericeus)
Capuchino Corona Gris, (Sporophila cinnamomea)
Verdón, (Embernagra platensis)
Garza Mora, (Ardea cocoi)
Black-necked Swan, (Cygnus melancoryphus)
Coscoroba, (Coscoroba coscoroba)
Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis)
Rayador, Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)
Cóndor andino (Vultur gryphus—mentioned, not seen)