BIRDS OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



89 



HOODED MERGANSER (Lopho- 

 dytes cucullatus): 16-19 in. Head, neck, 

 and anterior part of back black; broad 

 white bar from behind eye to near rear 

 margin of head; white patch extends 

 into fan-shaped area when crest ele- 

 vated; breast white; two black bars in 

 front of wing; flanks reddish-brown; 

 wings with white area, barred with 

 black; iris yellow. Female: Dark head 

 and neck; pale reddish - brown crest; 

 white patch in wing. Entire body held 

 level in flight. Nests in tree hollows. 



Frequents ponds and slowly flowing 

 streams bordered by willows; occurs 

 on sloughs in marshlands. Several win- 

 ter and spring records for Yosemite. 



COMMON MERGANSER (Mergus 

 merganser): 22-27 in. Head and upper 

 neck greenish-black; hind-neck incon- 

 spicuously crested; upper back black; 

 lower back and tail gray; neck and un- 

 der parts white, latter tinged with salm- 

 on; long, narrow, red, serrated, hooked 

 bill; feet and iris red. Female and im- 

 mature: Crest usually conspicuous; 

 throat white; head and upper neck or- 

 ange-brown; back and tail gray; white 

 patch in black wing; below white. In 

 flight entire body held horizontally. 



^V . V. coastwise and interiorly. Breeds 

 on forest-bordered lakes and streams in 

 the Sierra Nevada. In Yosemite breed- 

 ing records for Hetch Hetchy Reservoir 

 and Yosemite Valley; C. V. in winter. 



COMMON MERGANSER 



22-27 





HAWK-LIKE BIRDS: 

 Order Falconiformes 



NEW-WORLD VULTURES: 

 Family Cathartidae 



TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes 

 aura): 2-2/2 ft. Upper parts blackish; 

 under parts blackish-brown ; under side 

 of wings in area of primary and second- 

 ary feathers ash-gray; red, bare head; 

 bill whitish; feet flesh-colored. Voice 

 a low hiss, seldom uttered. Carrion 

 feeder. Nests in cavities in cliffs or in 

 hollow trees. 



Uncommon R. in the Sierra Nevada, 

 moving to foothills in winter. Has been 

 observed as high as 10,000 feet on 

 Mount Dana but more commonly seen 

 at lower elevations. 



KITES, HAWKS, AND EAGLES: 

 Family Accipitridae 



GOSHAWK (Accipiter gentilis): 

 20-26 in. Above bluish-gray; top of 

 head blackish; white line over eye; 

 below white, streaked and waved with 

 dusky; at a distance under parts appear 

 li§.ht gray; black bars across tail; tip 

 of tail edged with white. Female: 

 Larger than male. Immature: Above 

 brown; below streaked with brown on 

 whitish; tail with dark crossbars and 

 broadly tipped with white. 



Nests from 5,000 to 9,000 feet in well- 

 forested mountains. In summer asso- 

 ciated with coniferous forests but when 

 in the lowlands usually frequents broken 

 woodland. R. in the Sierra Nevada but 

 often moves to lower elevations in win- 

 ter. Recorded as nesting near Yosemite 

 Valley. 



COOPER'S HAWK (Accipiter 

 cooperi): 14-20 in. Above gray or soft 

 brown, darker on crown and nape; 

 white on nape feathers obscured by 

 brown unless hawk bends head down- 

 ward or raises feathers; long rounded 

 tail with crossbars of dark brown; tail 

 feathers tipped with white; wings rela- 

 tively short and broad; under parts 

 white with closely set crossbars of red- 



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