• Read more about Yellow-billed Cuckoo

A specialist eating hairy caterpillars that most other birds will not touch, this cuckoo is unique. Its haphazard nest is made of a few crossed twigs and dried leaves and placed in low shrub or small tree. It occurs in open woodlands and riparian forest in the west. During the winter it migrates to the Amazon of South America.

• Read more about Great Egret

Large and obvious, the yellow bill and dark legs of this white water bird make identification easy. The Great Egret occurs around the world in marshy areas, irrigation ditches, ponds and in tidal estuaries where it stalks fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs and small birds. It makes a large nest of twigs and branches and usually nests in colonies with other water birds, such as herons, pelicans and cormorants. Following nesting in late summer, many individuals wander far north before returning to winter in coastal and warmer inland aquatic areas.

• Read more about Double-crested Cormorant

A common species on inland lakes, rivers and ponds, it is also found in coastal habitats. It is regularly seen roosting near the water on trees, snags, beaches and rocky cliffs with its wings hanging open to dry in the sun. The cormorant has adaptations to the eyes to see underwater, and it uses its fully webbed feet to propel itself at great speeds in pursuit of the fish on which it relies heavily. This species nests in large colonies in trees or on the ground. The platform nest is made of twigs, sticks and aquatic vegetation.

• Read more about Black-capped Gnatcatcher

Barely entering the United States from Mexico, this species is restricted to dry thorny undergrowth of foothill forests. It hunts actively for insects on vegetation and during the winter usually stays with large flocks of titmice, kinglets, and vireos. In the summer pairs are found near the small nest in a fork of a low bush or shrub. The male has a black cap during the breeding season but loses it in the winter