Elanoides forficatus Status: Rare casual summer visitor. Formerly regular breeder but extirpated around 1910. Documentation: Specimen: Fullerton, Nance Co, 1880, Illinois State Museum #ISM-602715; located by Wayne Mollhoff (personal communication). Taxonomy: There are two subspecies, forficatus of the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico, and yetapa, from Mexico to northern Argentina (AviList 2025). Nebraska birds […]
GLOSSY IBIS
Plegadis falcinellus Status: Uncommon regular spring migrant statewide. Rare casual breeder Rainwater Basin. Rare casual summer visitor west and southeast. Rare casual fall migrant east and central. Documentation: Photograph: 15 Apr 2005 Harvard WPA, Clay Co (Brogie 2006). Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025). This species hybridizes extensively with White-faced Ibis. For further information, […]
WHITE-FACED IBIS
Plegadis chihi Status: Common regular spring and fall migrant west and central, uncommon east. Uncommon regular breeder north and west, rare southeast. Rare summer visitor east, east central, and south. Accidental in winter. Documentation: Specimen: Olson #43 at UNK, 12 Jun 1916 Island Lake, Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co. Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList […]
AMERICAN GOSHAWK
ASTUR atricapillus Status: Rare regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Rare casual summer visitor northwest. Rare regular winter visitor statewide. Documentation: Specimen: UNSM ZM12491, Nov 1896 near Maxwell, Lincoln Co. Taxonomy: Due to paraphyly in the genus Accipiter as revealed by genetic studies (Catanach et al 2024), four genera were split from Accipiter, including Astur, which comprises […]
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli Status: Fairly common regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Locally common regular breeder Sandhills, locally uncommon Rainwater Basin, rare casual elsewhere. Rare casual summer visitor statewide away from breeding range. Documentation: Specimen: WSC 275, 22 May 1977 Cherry Co. Taxonomy: Four subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025), nycticorax in Eurasia and Africa, obscurus […]
SNOWY EGRET
Egretta thula thula Status: Uncommon regular spring and fall migrant statewide. Uncommon regular summer visitor statewide. Accidental breeder Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co. Documentation: Photograph: Jun 1965 Crescent Lake NWR (Roger Sharpe, personal communication) Taxonomy: Two subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025), brewsteri of the Rocky Mountains westward and thula of eastern North America and South […]