U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Cache River

National Wildlife Refuge

Bird List

photo: Maslowski
Red-headed

Woodpecker

White trailing

edge of wing

Identifying Field Marks of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker

and Similar Birds

In flight - view from below

Distinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker characteristics:

■ White trailing edge of wing

(vs. dark trailing edge of Pileated).

■ Wing more slender than Pileated.

■ Tail feathers longer and more pointed.

■ Pale, ivorywhite bill.

Pileated

Woodpecker

Wood Duck

Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

In flight - view from below
Pileated

Woodpecker

Wood Duck

Red-headed

Woodpecker

Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

White trailing

edge of wing

In flight - view from above

Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

White trailing

edge of wing

Distinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker characteristics:

■ White trailing edge of wing

(vs. dark trailing edge of

Pileated).

■ Two white stripes

converge on lower back.

■ Tail feathers longer and

more pointed.

■ Pale, ivory-white bill.
Female Head

■ Female Ivory-bill crest is entirely black (female

Pileated crest resembles male ivory-billed red crest

with black forehead – use chin color as distinguishing

feature)

Male

Pileated

Woodpecker

Female

Pileated

Woodpecker

Female

Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

At rest

Distinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker characteristics:

■ Two white stripes converge on lower back.

■ Entirely white secondary feathers obvious as white

patch or shield.

■ Largely dark face and dark chin (vs. white chin of

Pileated).

■ Pale, ivory-white bill.

■ Crest is curved and pointed;

male crest is red with

black forehead

(Pileated male

crest is entirely

red).

Male

Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

Red-headed

Woodpecker
If you believe you may have seen an Ivory-billed

Woodpecker, immediately after the sighting, make a

drawing of what you saw, noting the following

characteristics:

■ Color of trailing edge of wing (white vs. black)

■ Crest and forehead color

■ Bill color

■ Chin color

■ Relative size

■ Vocalizations

■ Habitat

If you are with someone else, individuals should make

their own notes without conferring with each other.

Please report any sightings to refuge officials and to the

Cornell Lab of Ornithology via its website:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory

 Please bookmark these important websites:

http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill

Information on the recovery of the Ivory-billed

Woodpecker

http://cacheriver.fws.gov/

Up-to-date information on refuge public use and

regulations

http://www.agfc.com

Arkansas hunting regulations

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory

To report sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Guidelines for recording a sighting

Illustrations: © David Allen Sibley
photo: Ray Paterra Hollingsworth
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge was established in

1986 to protect significant wetland habitats and provide

feeding and resting areas for migrating waterfowl. This

refuge follows portions of the White River, Cache River

and Bayou De View. These historic bottomland hardwood

swamps provide extremely valuable habitat for over 200

different species of birds. The Cache/Lower White River

basin was identified as the single most important

wintering area for mallard ducks in North America. The

Cache River National Wildlife Refuge is a Wetland of

International Importance designated in 1989 as a result

of the Ramsar Convention. The Cache/Lower White

River Important Bird Area (IBA) has been nominated for

international recognition as a global IBA by the

Arkansas Audubon Society.

The bird checklist was designed to be informative and

simple to use. The list is arranged in the order

established by the American Ornithologists’ Union.

Symbols which appear in this checklist represent the

following:

Seasonal Appearance

Sp- Spring March-May

S- Summer June-August

F- Fall September-November

W- Winter December-February

Seasonal Abundance

a— abundant (common species - very numerous)

c— common (certain to be seen in suitable habitat)

u— uncommon (present but not certain to be seen)

o— occasional (seen only a few times a season)

r — rare (seen at intervals of 2 to 5 years)

x — accidental

* — breeds on the refuge

” — Non-verified occurrence on Refuge, but has potential

Please report sightings of non-verified species to the

refuge.
SP S F W

Common Name

Ducks, Geese, and Swans

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck o o o

Fulvous Whistling-Duck “

Greater White-fronted Goose o o c

Snow Goose c c c

Ross’s Goose u u u

Canada Goose * c o c c

Trumpeter Swan “

Wood Duck * c c c c

Gadwall c c c

American Wigeon c c c

American Black Duck o o o

Mallard * c c c

Mottled Duck “

Blue-winged Teal c o c

Northern Shoveler c c c

Northern Pintail c c c

Green-winged Teal c c c

Canvasback o o o

Redhead o o o

Ring-necked Duck c c c

Greater Scaup “

Lesser Scaup o o o

Bufflehead c c c

Common Goldeneye “

Hooded Merganser * c c c

Common Merganser r r r

Red-breasted Merganser x

Ruddy Duck c c c

Turkey and Quail

Wild Turkey * c c c c

Northern Bobwhite * c c c c

Loons and Grebes

Common Loon “

Pied-billed Grebe * c c c c

Horned Grebe”

Eared Grebe”

Pelicans, Cormorants and Anhingas

American White Pelican o u o u

Double-crested Cormorant * c u c c

Anhinga * u u u u

Bitterns, Egrets, and Herons

American Bittern u u r

Least Bittern “

Great Blue Heron * c c c c

Great Egret * c c c c

Snowy Egret * c c c

Little Blue Heron * c c c
SP S F W

Tricolored Heron “

Cattle Egret * c u c

Green Heron * c c c

Black-crowned Night-Heron * u u u o

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron * u u u

Spoonbills and Storks

Roseate Spoonbill r

Wood Stork u u

New World Vultures

Black Vulture * c c c c

Turkey Vulture * c c c c

Osprey, Hawks, Eagles and Falcons

Osprey “

Swallow-tailed Kite “

Mississippi Kite * c c c

Bald Eagle * u u u c

Northern Harrier c c c

Sharp-shinned Hawk * c r c u

Cooper’s Hawk r u

Red-shouldered Hawk * c c c c

Broad-winged Hawk * c u c

Red-tailed Hawk * c c c c

Golden Eagle “

American Kestrel o r o c

Peregrine Falcon “

Rails, Gallinules and Cranes

Yellow Rail “

Black Rail “

King Rail * o r o r

Virginia Rail “

Sora “

Purple Gallinule “

Common Moorhen “

American Coot * o u o c

Sandhill Crane r r r

Plovers, Stilts and Sandpipers

American Golden-Plover c u o

Killdeer * c c c c

Black-necked Stilt o u u

American Avocet “

Greater Yellowlegs c o c

Lesser Yellowlegs c c c

Solitary Sandpiper c c c

Spotted Sandpiper c c c

Semipalmated Sandpiper “

Least Sandpiper c o c u

Pectoral Sandpiper c c c

Short-billed Dowitcher “
SP S F W

Long-billed Dowitcher o c

Wilson’s Snipe c c u

American Woodcock * u u u u

Gulls and Terns

Franklin’s Gull “

Bonaparte’s Gull “

Ring-billed Gull c c c

Herring Gull “

Caspian Tern “

Forster’s Tern c c

Least Tern “

Black Tern “

Doves and Pigeons

Rock Pigeon “

Eurasian Collared-Dove * u u u u

Mourning Dove * c c c c

Inca Dove “

Cuckoos and Roadrunners

Black-billed Cuckoo “

Yellow-billed Cuckoo * c c c

Greater Roadrunner “

Owls

Barn Owl * o o o o

Eastern Screech-Owl * u u u u

Great Horned Owl * u u u u

Barred Owl * c c c c

Long-eared Owl “

Short-eared Owl “

Goatsuckers

Common Nighthawk * c c c

Chuck-will’s-widow “

Whip-poor-will o c o

Swifts, Hummingbirds and Kingfishers

Chimney Swift * c c c

Ruby-throated Hummingbird * c c c

Belted Kingfisher * c u c c

Woodpeckers

Red-headed Woodpecker * c c c c

Red-bellied Woodpecker * c c c c

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker c c c

Downy Woodpecker * c c c c

Hairy Woodpecker * c c c c

Northern Flicker * c u c c

Pileated Woodpecker * c c c c

Ivory-billed Woodpecker r r r r
Flycatchers

Olive-sided Flycatcher “

Eastern Wood-Pewee * c c c

Acadian Flycatcher * c c c

Least Flycatcher “

Eastern Phoebe * c c c

Great Crested Flycatcher * c c c

Eastern Kingbird * c c c

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher * c c c r

Shrikes

Loggerhead Shrike * o c o r

Vireos

White-eyed Vireo * c c c

Bell’s Vireo “

Yellow-throated Vireo * c c c

Blue-headed Vireo c c

Warbling Vireo * u u u

Philadelphia Vireo u o

Red-eyed Vireo * c c c

Jays, Crows, Larks and Swallows

Blue Jay * c c c c

American Crow * c c c c

Fish Crow * c c c c

Horned Lark * c c c c

Purple Martin * c c c o

Tree Swallow * c c c o

Northern Rough-winged Swallow * c c c

Bank Swallow c r c

Cliff Swallow * c c c

Barn Swallow * c c c

Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, Creepers

Carolina Chickadee * c c c c

Tufted Titmouse * c c c c

Red-breasted Nuthatch x

White-breasted Nuthatch * u u u u

Brown Creeper c c c

Wrens

Carolina Wren * c c c c

Bewick’s Wren “

House Wren * c o c u

Winter Wren u u u

Sedge Wren o r o

Marsh Wren “

Kinglets and Gnatcatchers

Golden-crowned Kinglet c o c

Ruby-crowned Kinglet c c c

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher * c c o

SP S F W
SP S F W

Thrushes, Mockingbird and Thrasher

Eastern Bluebird * c c c

Veery u

Gray-cheeked Thrush o

Swainson’s Thrush c o

Hermit Thrush c o c

Wood Thrush c c c

American Robin * c c c c

Gray Catbird * o c r

Northern Mockingbird * o o

Brown Thrasher * c c c c

Starling, Pipits, and Waxwings

European Starling * c c c c

American Pipit o c c

Sprague’s Pipit r r

Cedar Waxwing * c o c

Warblers

Blue-winged Warbler o u u

Golden-winged Warbler u u

Tennessee Warbler c c

Orange-crowned Warbler c c u

Nashville Warbler c c

Northern Parula * c c c

Yellow Warbler c u c

Chestnut-sided Warbler o r u

Magnolia Warbler c u

Yellow-rumped Warbler c c c

Black-throated Green Warbler c u u

Blackburnian Warbler u u

Yellow-throated Warbler * u u u

Pine Warbler * u u u u

Prairie Warbler “

Bay-breasted Warbler “

Blackpoll Warbler o

Cerulean Warbler u

American Redstart c u c

Prothonotary Warbler * c c c

Worm-eating Warbler * u u u

Swainson’s Warbler * c c c

Ovenbird * u u u

Northern Waterthrush c o c

Louisiana Waterthrush * o o o

Kentucky Warbler * c c

Mourning Warbler “

Common Yellowthroat * u u u

Hooded Warbler * o c c

Wilson’s Warbler u o u

Canada Warbler u u

Yellow-breasted Chat * c c c
SP S F W

Tanagers, Sparrows, Grosbeaks and Buntings

Summer Tanager * c c c

Scarlet Tanager * u u u

Eastern Towhee * c c c c

American Tree Sparrow “

Chipping Sparrow * c c c c

Clay-colored Sparrow “

Field Sparrow * c c c c

Vesper Sparrow u u u

Lark Sparrow “

Savannah Sparrow u u c

Grasshopper Sparrow * u u u

Le Conte’s Sparrow u u u

Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow “

Fox Sparrow “

Song Sparrow c c c

Lincoln’s Sparrow u u

Swamp Sparrow c c c

White-throated Sparrow c c c

White-crowned Sparrow c c c

Dark-eyed Junco c c c

Lapland Longspur o o c

Smith’s Longspur”

Northern Cardinal * c c c c

Rose-breasted Grosbeak c u

Blue Grosbeak * c c c

Indigo Bunting * c c c r

Painted Bunting “

Dickcissel * c c c r

Bobolink, Blackbird, Meadowlark and Orioles

Bobolink c u

Red-winged Blackbird * c c c c

Eastern Meadowlark * c c c c

Rusty Blackbird c c c

Brewer’s Blackbird “

Common Grackle * c c c c

Brown-headed Cowbird * c c c c

Orchard Oriole * c c c

Baltimore Oriole “

Finches and House Sparrow

Purple Finch u x

House Finch “

Pine Siskin “

American Goldfinch * c c c c

House Sparrow * c c c c
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Sighting Notes

Date

Time

Weather

No. of Species

Route or Area

Observers
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Remarks

This blue goose,

designed by

J. N. “Ding”

Darling, has

become a symbol

of the

National

Wildlife

Refuge

System.
Cache River National Wildlife Refuge

26320 Highway 33 South

Augusta, Arkansas 72006

870/347 2614

http://cacheriver.fws.gov

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

August 2005