Colorado Birds: Pictures And Bird Identification Tips

Lark Bunting, the state bird of Colorado,

Two distinct ecosystems, the Rocky Mountains and everything in the state east of the Rocky Mountains provides the basis for explaining Colorado’s wonderful bird diversity.

The Colorado Field Ornithologists released a bird list noting over five hundred different species documented to date. They range from the small backyard birds to the larger raptors.

The grasslands east of the Rockies are the final stretch of the great Midwestern plains. Colorado’s state bird celebrates that plains heritage. The male Lark Bunting is a sparrow of the plains that turns into an elegant looking black feathered wonder during the breeding season. It resembles the female with a more dull grayish set of feathers during the non-breeding season.

The area is also a great place to see many of the so called high-priority grassland birds indigenous to the area. Ferruginous Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, Golden Eagles, Burrowing Owls, Mountain Plovers, Prairie Falcons, McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Vesper, Grasshopper, Cassin’s and Brewer’s Sparrows all make a home in the area.

Clark's Nutcracker
Colorado also means Rocky Mountain birds. Depending on the source, the general region hosts approximately 270 species of birds. The Rocky Mountain National Park provides the gateway for much of Colorado birding, at least on the tourist end. Visitors to the area soon discover that birding the Rockies can also be organized into a few locations around the Rocky Mountain National Park, including the Arapaho National Recreation Area, and the towns of Estes Park and Granby.