Asio otus wilsonianus, A. o. tuftsi Status: Fairly common regular winter visitor statewide. Uncommon regular resident north, rare south. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM12786, 9 May 1892 Waverly, Lancaster Co. Taxonomy: There are four subspecies recognized, two in Eurasia and Africa, and two in North America (Gill et al 2022), tuftsi from western Canada to northern Mexico, […]
LEWIS’S WOODPECKER
Melanerpes lewis Status: Rare casual spring migrant west and west central. Rare casual fall migrant west and central. Rare regular local breeder west. Accidental winter visitor. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM6299, 30 May 1900 Warbonnet Canyon, Sioux Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (Gill et al 2022). Spring: Away from known breeding locations, there are few […]
PILEATED WOODPECKER
Dryocopus pileatus abieticola Status: Uncommon regular breeder east. Rare casual winter and spring visitor away from east. Documentation: Photograph: 24 Jan 1991 Bellevue, Sarpy Co (Grenon 1991). Taxonomy: There are two subspecies, pileatus, resident south and east of south-central Texas, southeast Kansas, southern Illinois, and Maryland, and abieticola north and northwest of the range of […]
HAIRY WOODPECKER
Leuconotopicus villosus villosus, L. v. monticola Status: Common regular resident west, fairly common central and east. Rare regular winter visitor west. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM6321, 12 Dec 1895 Fort Robinson, Sioux Co. Taxonomy: There have been several recent changes in assignment of woodpeckers to genera. Genus Leuconotopicus includes species previously assigned to Picoides (Fuchs and […]
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
Sphyrapicus varius Status: Uncommon regular spring migrant east and central, rare casual west. Fairly common fall migrant east, uncommon central, rare west. Rare regular winter visitor southeast, rare casual elsewhere. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM6307, 9 Oct 1921 Lancaster Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are currently recognized (Gill et al 2022). Yellow-bellied, Red-naped (S. nuchalis), and Red-breasted […]
CRESTED CARACARA
Caracara plancus CHERIWAY Status: Accidental in summer. Documentation: Photograph: 11 Nov 2012 Genoa, Nance Co, first seen 14 Jul (Brogie 2013). Taxonomy: The caracaras of North, Central, and South America, traditionally considered a single species C. plancus with four or five subspecies, was treated as three species by Dove and Banks (1999) and Banks et […]