Non-Passerines pages initiated March 20, 2000; Last updated:  February 12, 2003

Chapter 4:

Non-PASSERINES, Part IV
(Doves through Woodpeckers)

Jump to:
DOVES -- Rock, Eurasian Collared-, White-winged, Mourning, Inca, Common Ground- -- PIGEONS -- Band-tailed, Passenger -- PARAKEET -- Carolina -- CUCKOOS -- Black-billed, Yellow-billed -- ANIS -- Groove-billed -- OWLS -- Barn, Eastern Screech-, Great Horned, Snowy, Burrowing, Barred, Long-eared, Short-eared, Northern Saw-whet -- NIGHTJARS -- Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, Whip-poor-will -- SWIFT -- Chimney -- HUMMINGBIRDS -- Green Violet-ear, Broad-billed, White-eared, Buff-bellied, Ruby-throated, Black-chinned, Anna's, Calliope, Broad-tailed, Rufous, Allen's -- KINGFISHER -- Belted -- WOODPECKERS -- Red-headed, Red-bellied, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy, Hairy, Red-cockaded, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Ivory-billed

Return to Chapter Index for more species

KEY:

PIGEONS and DOVES (Columbiformes Columbidae)

Rock Dove (Columba livia)

Recorded all months.

Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata)

Accidental.

All records:

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Recorded all months.
First state record was one on Greenwood Island, Jackson County on July 1, 1991 by JRW, followed closely by three at Pascagoula on November 9, 1991 (G. Jackson 1992; Schiefer 1992). These were initially considered likely "escapees" by some (Purrington (1991) listed the July 1 record as "probable"), but they rapidly spread and within a decade literally hundreds inhabit the Mississippi gulf coast and are rapidly expanding northward. An interesting report of "Ringed Turtle-Dove" at a Gulfport feeder March 2, 1986 (J. Jackson 1986b) may have been this species. Field guides at that time didn't recognize the distinction between those two look-alike species, primarily because the collared-dove had yet to become prominent in the North American birding scene. The collared-dove probably first occurred in south Florida in the early 1980s, probably arising from the escaped Bahama populations of the 1970s (Smith 1987; Romagosa and McEneaney 2000). One caveat against the "misidentification hypothesis" is the presence of a Ringed Turtle-Dove and several Eurasian Collared-Doves both on the coast in 1992, (Schiefer 1993) once everyone was well aware of the differences... An excellent online resource for information on the expansion of this species in the USA can be found at this BIRDSOURCE page.

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): October 9 - May 30, June 27. Has nested on the coast (Muth 1995). Gene Knight reports breeding activity Summer '96 in Pascagoula, Jackson Co. (fide JAT).
Maximum number:  123 seen at once in Jackson Co. on February 13, 1995 (CD, LJ; Stedman 1995).
Has been present all year in recent years. These early / late dates may soon cease to be significant.

Fall early dates:

Spring late dates:

Summer records:  Has nested on the coast (Muth 1995).

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Recorded all months.

Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

Extinct.

Inca Dove (Columbina inca)

All records:

Common Ground-Dove (Columbina passerina)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): February 28 - July 7; August 25 - December 30. -- recorded in every month except January...

All records by season:

PARROTS (Psittaciformes Psittacidae)

(Arinae)

Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis)

Extinct. But for the historical status of this bird in Mississippi, see the excellent review composed by Daniel McKinley (McKinley 1981).

NEW WORLD CUCKOOS and ANIS
(Cuculiformes Coccyzidae)

(Coccyzinae)

Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): April 12 - May 31, August 21 - November 5.

Spring early dates:

Spring late dates:

Fall early dates:

Fall late dates:

Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): March 31 - November 2, November 26.

Spring early dates:

Fall late dates:

Winter records:

(Crotophaginae)

Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): September 8, October 2 - January 5.

Fall early dates:

Winter late dates:

BARN-OWLS (Strigiformes Tytonidae)

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Recorded all months.

OWLS (Strigiformes Strigidae)

Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio)

Recorded all months.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Recorded all months.

Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)

No coastal records found.

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): October 14 - February 25.

All records:

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Recorded all months.

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)

No coastal records found, though the presence of one video-taped on an oil platform 70 miles offshore in Alabama waters on November 16, 1999 (Peterson, pers. comm) may lead one to conclude it is possible here in coastal Mississippi.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Unusual on the coast.  Only six records prior to 1987 (Toups and Jackson 1987).
Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): October 15 - January 15.

All records by season:

Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

No coastal records found.

NIGHTJARS (Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgidae)

(Chordeilinae)

Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): April 2 - October 28.  JAT (pers. comm) knows of a Chordeiles sp. report from early March (year uncertain) which may pertain to either this species or Lesser Nighthawk (of which there are no substantiated records for the state to date).

Spring early dates:

Fall late dates:

(Caprimulginae)

Chuck-will's-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): April 6 - October 15, December 1 - January 29.

Spring early dates:

Fall late dates:

Winter records:

Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): September 12 - January 29; March 27 - April 20.

Spring early dates:

Spring late dates:

Fall early dates:

Fall late dates:

Winter records:

SWIFTS (Apodiformes Apodidae)

(Cypseloidinae)

Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): March 10 - October 20, November 2-17.

Spring early dates:

Fall late dates:

HUMMINGBIRDS (Trochiliformes Trochilidae)

(Trochilinae)

Green Violet-ear (Colibri thalassinus)

Accidental. No coastal records (yet!). Our only state record was from Olive Branch, Desoto County, MS on October 5, 1999. It was observed by a number of people but failed to stay for long.

Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris)

Accidental. One state record.

All records:

White-eared Hummingbird (Hylocharis leucotis)

Accidental. One state record.

All records:

Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazilia yucatanensis)

Annual resident. First state record was found in Bay St. Louis, November 26-30+, 1987 (Hodges 1987).

Winter early dates:

Winter late dates:

***********
NOTE:  Two separate, unconfirmed, undocumented sight reports of Blue-throated Hummingbird exist from Gulfport (fide JAT, pers. comm), but they are not listed on the official state checklist, and are not included here beyond this mention. 
***********

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): March 10 - October 27.
We now have several winter records each year which may span the entire fall through winter transition (Schiefer 1998b, for example).  This makes identifying departure dates very difficult. Therefore, only spring arrival dates are listed -- usually of adult males.

Spring early dates:

Fall late dates:

Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)

Annual winter resident. First state record was November 26-27, 1987 in Bay St. Louis, Hancock Co. (Hodges 1987).

Winter early dates:

Winter late dates:

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Accidental.

All records:

Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope)

Accidental.

All records:

Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)

Accidental. First state record was an imm male banded in Pearl River County on January 14, 1994 (had been present since December 6, 1993) (Schiefer 1994).

All records:

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): August 10-12, September 10 - March 14.
While I'm not sure of the "earliest" report for the state, a returning banded bird ("Mopbucket") just north of the Hancock County line in Picayune, Pearl River County on August 1, 2000 must be close.  A second Rufous showed up in that same yard on August 4, 2000.

Fall early dates:

Spring late dates:

Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin)

Accidental.

All records:

KINGFISHERS (Coraciiformes Alcedinidae)

(Cerylinae)

Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)

Recorded all months.

WOODPECKERS (Piciformes Picidae)

(Picinae)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Recorded all months.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Recorded all months.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Range by Toups and Jackson (1987): October 1 - May 5.  
JAT notes a September 28, year unknown, early date (pers. comm).

Fall early dates:

Spring late dates:

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Recorded all months.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Recorded all months.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

Recorded all months.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Recorded all months.

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Recorded all months.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)

J. Jackson (1988b) provides a nice review of the status of this species in the state.

Send broken links or other suggestions / comments to Stacy Peterson; [email protected]

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