| Northern Cardinal |
In adult male northern cardinals, upperparts are bright red with darker wings and tail. The head is crested. The area around the bill is black, and the large conical bill is red. Underparts are bright red. Females are buffy tan below and grayish brown above. Otherwise, they are similar to males, with reddish tinges in wings, tail, and crest.
| American Robin |
Mature American robins have grayish-brown upperparts with a blackish head and a split white eye ring. The underparts are rich rusty red with white under the tail feathers. The female is paler than the male. The blackish throat is streaked with white. Juveniles are much like the adults, only heavily spotted with brown. The melodious song consists of a variety of three-note phrases strung together, sometimes seemingly endlessly. Calls include a “Pick! Tut-tut-tut.”
| American Crow |
American crow adults are entirely black with a long, heavy bill. In bright sunlight there may be a purplish sheen on the highlights of the plumage. The tail is rounded at the tip, not wedge-shaped as in the common raven, a former breeding species that no longer even occurs in Missouri. Voice is the well-known “caw, caw.” Young birds are more nasal, resembling the voice of the fish crow.
| Osprey |
- Adult male osprey are large, dark brown above, and white below; the head is white with a black streak through each eye. Eyes are vivid yellow. Females usually have dark streaks on the breast whereas the males are usually clear white. Immatures are like adults except that their upper parts are flecked with white.
- In flight, viewed from below, osprey are mainly white, with dark speckles on the breast, barring on the wings and tail, and a dark patch visible at the bend of each wing; the wings are characteristically angled, resembling an M. Viewed from head on, the wings are arched (something like a gull's), the bend of the wing held higher than the wing tips. Wings are long in proportion to the body size, and wing beats are typically slow and deep. Voice includes descending chirps and rising squeals, and a loud, clear whistle, often in a series and sometimes in response to other osprey.
- Size: Length: 24 inches; wingspan: 66 inches. (Midway between eagle size and large hawk size.)
| Turkey Vulture |
- The turkey vulture is a large-bodied bird with blackish plumage and a small, red, naked head (juveniles have black heads). The beak is short, hooked and whitish. The legs and feet are pink but often stained white. From below, the wings appear black with the trailing half of the wing gray or silvery. When soaring, turkey vultures hold their wings in a V position (not flattened horizontally). Turkey vultures frequently tilt from side to side as they soar.
- Similar species: Black vultures, common in the southeastern United States, are expanding their range northward, and Missouri sightings of them are increasing. Note their black head, shorter tail, and (seen from below) a white patch near the ends of the wings. When they soar, their wings are held nearly horizontal, and they frequently alternate between a series of three to four flaps and soaring.
- Size: Length: 27 inches (tip of bill to tip of tail); wingspan: 70 inches.