Ancient Avifauna of North America - Birdlife Prior to ca. A.D. 1800

© 2007 James Ed. Ducey of Nebraska

This material is posted May 23, 2007 in recognition of the 300th birthday of Carl Linnaeus.

People exploring through the ages have always enjoyed new places with flights and flocks of the wild birds. The winged ones were prominent about the sealands, coasts, islands and countries that were a plethora of habitats. Through the past millenia, various types of the birds are known for many locales of the North American continent.

Bird history provides a thrilling glimpse of the former extent and distribution for a vast bunch of colorful and wild birds sometimes chronicled for a particular place and time.

Two research tenets provide bird occurrence details. Studies of bones dated to a particular time-frame provide the initial means to document the occurrence of a species at a locale at a particular time, thousands of years in the past. Petroglyphs also provide material related to bird-life at a particular place and time. As the time extends onward, historic narratives occur with greater frequency and continue to expand as settlement expands. About 1800, the interest in birds take flight as detailed records are kept for specific localities, bringing forth the basic features used by bird enthusiasts afield in modern times.

Details from thousands of years, originating about 15,000 years before the common era or about 13,000 years B.C., with the common era year correlated to about A.D. 2000. The bone studies continue to reveal local avifaunas through the next millenia, with excavation studies continuing into the historic era. During the most recent 1,000 years there are written narratives that mention birds and their lore.

The region considered is North America, from middle America north through Mexico, the United States of American, Canada, and including Greenland. A designated sitename often used the archaic name given at the time of the visit, with alternate names also noted.

A consistent method was used to evaluate bird information. If the material referred to a bird type or bird-related object, the reference was noted for eventual entry into a relational database. Some items may have had only a single reference of interest, while others had detailed lists and ongoing mentions of birds in the narrative. Publications included in the review includes archeology journals, bird research journals, online materials, decades old books on the library shelf, and anything otherwise pertinent to the topic. There were several very useful historic articles that evaluated the history of ornithology for North America; other summary articles also often provided references to other useful source material.

Species identification was based on a description or identification given in the source material. Most bone studies give a list of the species, using an accepted scientific name. Narrative sources have a whole range of references to birds and related things, from archaic names, to old nomenclature, to vague descriptions, and other variety. Each mention of a bird was entered, evaluated using any identifying marks or remarks, its range was considered, and other pertinent information was used to designate a name when it was not clearly given. In several cases with extensive reports in the latter part of the era, lists were provided to qualified birders for their review and comments. Many beneficial comments were received in this manner.

Each bird observation or notation entered into a data table had to match an entry in the appropriate topic table. The bird name would match a entry on the list of common and proper names for birds, bird types, and bird objects.

The locale matched an entry in the site table, with a designated sitename often using the archaic name given at the time of the visit, with alternate names also noted. Multiple designated names can be used for a single locale if bird material was separated into distinct strata levels. Meta-data for each includes the general location, county if available or known (for most Arizona sites, dating information has not available), state and country. The year of the record material is noted and evaluated within this table.

Number of bird records from different countries of North America.

• U.S.A. - 14,086 • Canada - 3095 • Mexico - 416 • Greenland - 133 • Bahama Islands - 81 • West Indies - 51 • Bermuda Islands - 48 • Jamaica - 36 • Guatemala - 34 • U.S.A. Territory - 32 • Cuba - 21 • Puerto Rico - 18 • Panama - 17 • Virgin Islands - 17 • Belize - 13 • U.S.A., Canada - 13 • Bahama, Antilles - 11 • Dominican Republic - 11 • Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc. - 8 • Honduras - 7 • Haiti - 6 • Barbados - 4 • Haiti, Dominican Republic - 3 • Nicaragua - 2

North America area evaluated during research into ancient avifauna.

Ancient Avifauna

A wonderful array of wild birds are known from eras across the North American Continent. There are recognized species, numerous references to generic names, wonderful petroglyphs and rock art. Artifacts are bird bone whistles, an awl, or bird bone beads. Numerous types of bird effigies the distinct character of a bird known by the people for their ceremonies. There are bird-motif garments, and a feather blanket or quilt. Each item helps depict the grand avifauna of the ancient times.

These are the 573 bird species and associated bird types, depictions or objects known from this evaluation of bird history, with a value for the number of records for each:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 5 West Indian Whistling-Duck - 5 Bean Goose - 1 Greater White-fronted Goose - 33 Emperor Goose - 7 Snow Goose - 165 Ross's Goose - 7 Brant - 64 Barnacle Goose - 3 Cackling Goose - 17 Canada Goose - 359 Goose - 506 Goose (Branta sp.) - 7 Trumpeter Swan - 102 Tundra Swan - 71 Swan - 211 Muscovy Duck - 4 Wood Duck - 109 Gadwall - 34 American Wigeon - 80 American Black Duck - 34 American Black Duck/Mallard - 79 Mallard - 211 Mallard/Mexican Duck - 2 Mallard/Northern Pintail - 2 Duck - 590 Mallard/Gadwall - 4 Duck, dabbling species - 110 Unidentified waterfowl - 210 Mottled Duck - 2 Blue-winged Teal - 102 Blue-winged Teal/Cinnamon Teal - 9 Cinnamon Teal - 17 Northern Shoveler - 65 White-cheeked Pintail - 3 Northern Pintail - 88 Northern Pintail/Gadwall - 2 Green-winged Teal - 108 Green-winged Teal/Blue-winged Teal - 42 Teal - 142 Canvasback - 53 Canvasback/Redhead - 6 Duck, diving species - 33 Redhead - 48 Redhead/Ring-necked Duck - 2 Ring-necked Duck - 21 Ring-necked Duck/Scaup - 12 Ring-necked Duck/Lesser Scaup - 26 Greater Scaup - 14 Lesser Scaup - 51 Scaup - 28 Steller's Eider - 4 Spectacled Eider - 1 King Eider - 18 Common Eider - 31 Eider - 6 Harlequin Duck - 26 Labrador Duck - 7 Surf Scoter - 32 White-winged Scoter - 28 Black Scoter - 12 Scoter - 10 Long-tailed Duck - 42 Bufflehead - 78 Goldeneye/Bufflehead - 3 Common Goldeneye - 41 Goldeneye - 6 Hooded Merganser - 82 Common Merganser - 54 Red-breasted Merganser - 45 Merganser - 89 Ruddy Duck - 53 Plain Chachalaca - 8 Chachalaca - 2 White-bellied Chachalaca - 1 Crested Guan - 2 Great Curassow - 5 Curassow - 6 Gray Partridge - 3 Ring-necked Pheasant - 5 Common Peafowl - 1 Ruffed Grouse - 142 Greater Sage-Grouse - 45 Spruce Grouse - 53 Willow Ptarmigan - 57 Rock Ptarmigan - 12 White-tailed Ptarmigan - 2 Ptarmigan - 81 Blue Grouse - 33 Sharp-tailed Grouse - 75 Greater Prairie-Chicken - 120 Prairie-Chicken/Grouse - 33 Grouse - 126 Grouse/Ptarmigan - 6 Lesser Prairie-Chicken - 5 Wild Turkey - 710 Turkey - 6 Unidentified galliformes - 7 Domestic Chicken - 51 Ocellated Turkey - 19 Mountain Quail - 5 Scaled Quail - 33 California Quail - 12 Gambel's Quail - 66 Northern Bobwhite - 186 Black-throated Bobwhite - 4 Spotted Wood-Quail - 1 Singing Quail - 1 Montezuma Quail - 2 Quail - 61 Ocellated Quail - 1 Red-throated Loon - 30 Arctic Loon - 10 Pacific Loon - 8 Common Loon - 104 Yellow-billed Loon - 8 Loon - 74 Least Grebe - 1 Pied-billed Grebe - 106 Pied-Billed Grebe/Horned Grebe - 2 Horned Grebe - 35 Red-necked Grebe - 21 Eared Grebe - 38 Western Grebe - 30 Grebe - 48 Black-footed Albatross - 8 Albatross - 13 Short-tailed Albatross - 19 Northern Fulmar - 18 Fulmar - 3 Bermuda Petrel - 2 Pink-footed Shearwater - 2 Buller’s Shearwater - 1 Sooty Shearwater - 11 Short-tailed Shearwater - 7 Manx Shearwater - 5 Shearwater - 8 Audubon’s Shearwater - 1 Wilson’s Storm-Petrel - 2 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel - 1 Leach's Storm-Petrel - 9 Storm-Petrel - 5 Ashy Storm-Petrel - 2 Black Storm-Petrel - 1 Petrel - 19 White-tailed Tropicbird - 1 Red-billed Tropicbird - 5 Tropicbird - 16 Brown Booby - 12 Booby/gannet - 1 Booby - 14 Northern Gannet - 30 American White Pelican - 67 Pelican - 28 Brown Pelican - 28 Brandt's Cormorant - 14 Neotropic Cormorant - 2 Double-crested Cormorant - 111 Cormorant - 64 Great Cormorant - 2 Red-faced Cormorant - 1 Pelagic Cormorant - 21 Anhinga - 5 Magnificent Frigatebird - 13 American Bittern - 67 Least Bittern - 13 Bittern - 20 Heron/bittern - 4 Bare-throated Tiger-Heron - 1 Great Blue Heron - 116 Heron - 99 Great Egret - 46 Egret - 15 Snowy Egret - 15 Little Blue Heron - 13 Tricolored Heron - 4 Reddish Egret - 3 Green Heron - 26 Black-crowned Night-Heron - 29 Night Heron - 6 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - 14 White Ibis - 17 Scarlet Ibis - 9 Glossy Ibis - 1 White-faced Ibis - 3 Ibis - 12 Roseate Spoonbill - 12 Jabiru - 1 Wood Stork - 13 Stork - 4 Black Vulture - 19 Vulture - 17 Turkey Vulture - 127 California Condor - 25 Greater Flamingo - 14 Osprey - 55 Swallow-tailed Kite - 15 Kite - 9 White-tailed Kite - 2 Mississippi Kite - 4 Bald Eagle - 214 Eagle - 99 White-tailed Eagle - 1 Steller's Sea-Eagle - 1 Northern Harrier - 84 Sharp-shinned Hawk - 29 Cooper's Hawk - 51 Bicolored Hawk - 1 Northern Goshawk - 38 Accipiter species hawk - 3 Gray Hawk - 1 Common Black-Hawk - 2 Great Black-Hawk - 1 Harris's Hawk - 2 Roadside Hawk - 2 Red-shouldered Hawk - 37 Broad-winged Hawk - 15 Short-tailed Hawk - 1 Swainson's Hawk - 44 Swainson's Hawk/Rough-legged Hawk - 6 White-tailed Hawk - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 135 Red-tailed Hawk/Ferruginous Hawk - 3 Hawk - 164 Red-tailed Hawk/Rough-legged Hawk - 2 Hawk/eagle - 17 Buteo species hawk - 97 Ferruginous Hawk - 26 Rough-legged Hawk - 40 Harpy Eagle - 1 Golden Eagle - 119 Ornate Hawk-Eagle - 1 Collared Forest-Falcon - 1 Crested Caracara - 1 American Kestrel - 124 Merlin - 49 Aplomado Falcon - 2 Gyrfalcon - 13 Peregrine Falcon - 34 Prairie Falcon/Peregrine Falcon - 1 Prairie Falcon - 52 Falcon - 71 Yellow Rail - 3 Gray-breasted Crake - 1 Clapper Rail - 6 King Rail - 14 Virginia Rail - 21 Rail - 24 Rail/coot - 9 Sora - 42 Purple Gallinule - 11 Gallinule-type waterbird - 7 Common Moorhen - 24 American Coot - 160 Limpkin - 3 Limpkin species - 1	Sandhill Crane - 210 Crane - 65 Whooping Crane - 42 Northern Lapwing - 4 Black-bellied Plover - 20 European Golden-Plover - 2 American Golden-Plover - 16 Wilson’s Plover - 1 Common Ringed Plover - 1 Semipalmated Plover - 5 Piping Plover - 2 Killdeer - 31 Mountain Plover - 2 Plover - 56 American Oystercatcher - 19 Black Oystercatcher - 5 Black-necked Stilt - 10 American Avocet - 23 Northern Jacana - 1 Greater Yellowlegs - 17 Lesser Yellowlegs - 6 Yellowlegs - 6 Spotted Redshank - 6 Solitary Sandpiper - 2 Willet - 23 Wandering Tattler - 2 Gray-tailed Tattler - 1 Spotted Sandpiper - 15 Upland Sandpiper - 18 Eskimo Curlew - 8 Whimbrel - 8 Curlew - 54 Long-billed Curlew - 31 Black-tailed Godwit - 2 Hudsonian Godwit - 15 Bar-tailed Godwit - 1 Marbled Godwit - 17 Godwit - 5 Ruddy Turnstone - 16 Black Turnstone - 1 Turnstone - 1 Surfbird - 2 Red Knot - 4 Sanderling - 7 Semipalmated Sandpiper - 5 Least Sandpiper - 7 White-rumped Sandpiper - 2 Pectoral Sandpiper - 3 Stint - 1 Sandpiper - 51 Shorebird - 82 Dunlin - 9 Stilt Sandpiper - 1 Buff-breasted Sandpiper - 1 Short-billed Dowitcher - 4 Dowitcher - 10 Long-billed Dowitcher - 1 Wilson's Snipe - 72 American Woodcock - 44 Wilson's Phalarope - 4 Red-necked Phalarope - 10 Red Phalarope - 8 Phalarope - 6 Skua - 2 Pomarine Jaeger - 1 Parasitic Jaeger - 12 Long-tailed Jaeger - 3 Laughing Gull - 5 Franklin's Gull - 3 Black-headed Gull - 5 Bonaparte's Gull - 5 Heermann's Gull - 6 Mew Gull - 10 Ring-billed Gull - 11 California Gull - 12 Herring Gull - 39 Iceland Gull - 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull - 3 Western Gull - 11 Glaucous-winged Gull - 20 Glaucous Gull - 11 Great Black-backed Gull - 9 Gull - 184 Gull/tern - 2 Black-legged Kittiwake - 12 Red-legged Kittiwake - 4 Ivory Gull - 1 Gull-billed Tern - 1 Caspian Tern - 6 Royal Tern - 2 Sandwich Tern - 1 Common Tern - 11 Arctic Tern - 7 Least Tern - 3 Sooty Tern - 2 Black Tern - 5 Tern - 28 Brown Noddy - 11 Black Skimmer - 10 Dovekie - 9 Common Murre - 23 Thick-billed Murre - 6 Murre - 23 Razorbill - 16 Great Auk - 44 Alcids - 9 Black Guillemot - 25 Pigeon Guillemot - 21 Guillemot - 13 Marbled Murrelet - 8 Xantus's Murrelet - 3 Ancient Murrelet - 5 Murrelet - 1 Cassin's Auklet - 10 Parakeet Auklet - 5 Least Auklet - 3 Whiskered Auklet - 1 Auklet - 2 Crested Auklet - 8 Rhinoceros Auklet - 13 Atlantic Puffin - 8 Horned Puffin - 8 Tufted Puffin - 27 Puffin - 16 Rock Pigeon - 2 Pigeon - 27 Scaled Pigeon - 2 White-crowned Pigeon - 8 Plain Pigeon - 1 Band-tailed Pigeon - 8 White-winged Dove - 2 Zenaida Dove - 1 Mourning Dove - 134 Dove - 25 Passenger Pigeon - 285 Inca Dove - 1 Common Ground-Dove - 11 Blue Ground-Dove - 1 White-tipped Dove - 1 Key West Quail-Dove - 1 Ruddy Quail-Dove - 3 Carolina Parakeet - 54 Parakeet - 5 Orange-fronted Parakeet - 1 Military Macaw - 3 Scarlet Macaw - 35 Macaw - 17 Thick-billed Parrot - 6 White-fronted Parrot - 2 Yellow-lored Parrot - 2 Cuban Parrot - 6 Red-lored Parrot - 1 Parrot - 32 Mealy Parrot - 1 Yellow-headed Parrot - 1 Yellow-crowned Parrot - 1 Black-billed Cuckoo - 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 14 Cuckoo - 9 Lesser Ground-Cuckoo - 1 Greater Roadrunner - 27 Smooth-billed Ani - 4 Groove-billed Ani - 2 Barn Owl - 31 Flammulated Owl - 3 Flammulated Owl/Screech-owl - 1 Western Screech-Owl - 4 Eastern Screech-Owl - 55 Screech-Owl - 6 Vermiculated Screech-Owl - 1 Great Horned Owl - 160 Great Horned Owl/Great Gray Owl - 1 Snowy Owl - 41 Northern Hawk Owl - 17 Northern Pygmy-Owl - 3 Elf Owl - 1 Burrowing Owl - 26 Spotted Owl - 6 Barred Owl - 52 Great Gray Owl - 8 Long-eared Owl - 30 Long- or Short-eared Owl - 25 Short-eared Owl - 40 Boreal Owl - 12 Northern Saw-whet Owl - 16 Owl - 88 Common Nighthawk - 40 Common Poorwill - 4 Chuck-will's-widow - 8 Goatsucker - 2 Buff-collared Nightjar - 1 Whip-poor-will - 35 Chimney Swift - 21 White-throated Swift - 4 White-eared Hummingbird - 1 Blue-throated Hummingbird - 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 63 Hummingbird - 19 Rufous Hummingbird - 7 Resplendent Quetzal - 1 Blue-crowned Motmot - 2 Ringed Kingfisher - 1 Belted Kingfisher - 42 Kingfisher - 2 Emerald Toucanet - 1 Toucan - 1 Red-headed Woodpecker - 46 Red-headed/Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 Acorn Woodpecker - 4 Golden-cheeked Woodpecker - 1 Gila Woodpecker - 5 Red-bellied Woodpecker - 32 West Indian Woodpecker - 1 Williamson's Sapsucker - 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 23 Downy Woodpecker - 25 Hairy Woodpecker - 27 Red-cockaded Woodpecker - 2 White-headed Woodpecker - 1 American Three-toed Woodpecker - 9 Northern Flicker - 135 Woodpecker - 76 Chestnut-colored Woodpecker - 1 Pileated Woodpecker - 37 Ivory-billed Woodpecker - 17 Western Wood-Pewee - 1 Eastern Wood-Pewee - 6 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1 Acadian Flycatcher - 2 Willow Flycatcher - 1 Least Flycatcher - 2 Black Phoebe - 1 Eastern Phoebe - 17 Say's Phoebe - 2 Great Crested Flycatcher - 14 Flycatcher - 14 Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher - 1 Western Kingbird - 2 Eastern Kingbird - 21 Gray Kingbird - 1 Loggerhead Kingbird - 1 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 1 Rose-throated Becard - 1 Loggerhead Shrike - 12 Northern Shrike - 19 Shrike - 3 White-eyed Vireo - 1 Yellow-throated Vireo - 3 Blue-headed Vireo - 2 Warbling Vireo - 2 Red-eyed Vireo - 8	Gray Jay - 21 Steller's Jay - 20 Blue Jay - 51 Jay - 16 Corvids - 4 Florida Scrub-Jay - 19 Western Scrub-Jay - 1 Mexican Jay - 2 Pinyon Jay - 15 Clark's Nutcracker - 9 Black-billed Magpie - 58 Magpie - 8 American Crow - 161 Crow - 49 Northwestern Crow - 10 Cuban Crow - 2 White-necked Crow - 2 Fish Crow - 6 Crow/raven - 26 Chihuahuan Raven - 15 Common Raven - 218 Raven (likely Common Raven) - 8 Raven - 26 Horned Lark - 47 Purple Martin - 28 Tree Swallow - 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2 Bank Swallow - 14 Cliff Swallow - 7 Barn Swallow - 19 Swallow - 53 Carolina Chickadee - 5 Black-capped Chickadee - 12 Chickadee - 6 Chestnut-backed Chickadee - 1 Boreal Chickadee - 6 Gray-headed Chickadee - 1 Tufted Titmouse - 14 Titmouse - 5 Red-breasted Nuthatch - 11 White-breasted Nuthatch - 12 Brown-headed Nuthatch - 7 Brown Creeper - 5 Creeper - 3 Cactus Wren - 1 Rock Wren - 5 Canyon Wren - 4 Carolina Wren - 4 Bewick's Wren - 1 House Wren - 10 Winter Wren - 7 Sedge Wren - 1 Wren - 17 Marsh Wren - 4 American Dipper - 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet - 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11 Arctic Warbler - 1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 4 Northern Wheatear - 2 Eastern Bluebird - 46 Bluebird - 4 Western Bluebird - 9 Mountain Bluebird - 2 Townsend's Solitaire - 3 Veery - 1 Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1 Swainson’s Thrush - 2 Hermit Thrush - 3 Wood Thrush - 16 Thrush - 52 American Robin - 92 Red-legged Thrush - 3 Varied Thrush - 3 Gray Catbird - 23 Northern Mockingbird - 78 Bahama Mockingbird - 1 Sage Thrasher - 3 Brown Thrasher - 26 Thrasher - 5 California Thrasher - 2 Pearly-eyed Thrasher - 1 European Starling - 2 American Pipit - 7 Pipit - 4 Bohemian Waxwing - 1 Cedar Waxwing - 18 Blue-winged Warbler - 7 Golden-winged Warbler - 5 Northern Parula - 6 Yellow Warbler - 10 Chestnut-sided Warbler - 8 Magnolia Warbler - 2 Cape May Warbler - 2 Black-throated Blue Warbler - 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler - 20 Black-throated Green Warbler - 6 Blackburnian Warbler - 2 Yellow-throated Warbler - 6 Pine Warbler - 6 Prairie Warbler - 2 Palm Warbler - 3 Blackpoll Warbler - 6 Cerulean Warbler - 2 Black-and-white Warbler - 7 American Redstart - 12 Prothonotary Warbler - 3 Worm-eating Warbler - 4 Swainson’s Warbler - 1 Ovenbird - 10 Northern Waterthrush - 1 Louisiana Waterthrush - 6 Kentucky Warbler - 1 Common Yellowthroat - 11 Hooded Warbler - 6 Wilson's Warbler - 3 Canada Warbler - 6 Yellow-breasted Chat - 7 Warbler - 40 Bananaquit - 3 Hepatic Tanager - 1 Summer Tanager - 14 Scarlet Tanager - 13 Tanager - 4 Western Tanager - 1 Western Spindalis - 3 Cuban Bullfinch - 1 Black-faced Grassquit - 1 Greater Antillean Bullfinch - 2 Green-tailed Towhee - 6 Spotted Towhee - 1 Eastern Towhee - 20 Canyon Towhee - 1 Bachman’s Sparrow - 1 American Tree Sparrow - 8 Chipping Sparrow - 1 Field Sparrow - 4 Black-chinned Sparrow - 1 Vesper Sparrow - 3 Lark Sparrow - 1 Black-throated Sparrow - 2 Lark Bunting - 2 Savannah Sparrow - 6 Grasshopper Sparrow - 1 Henslow’s Sparrow - 1 Le Conte's Sparrow - 1 Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow - 1 Fox Sparrow - 16 Song Sparrow - 7 Swamp Sparrow - 2 White-throated Sparrow - 12 White-crowned Sparrow - 5 Sparrow - 56 Golden-crowned Sparrow - 1 Dark-eyed Junco - 30 Junco - 3 Yellow-eyed Junco - 1 Lapland Longspur - 4 Snow Bunting - 28 Northern Cardinal - 83 Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 8 Blue Bunting - 1 Blue Grosbeak - 10 Grosbeak - 12 Lazuli Bunting - 1 Indigo Bunting - 14 Bunting - 12 Painted Bunting - 16 Dickcissel - 7 Bobolink - 20 Red-winged Blackbird - 80 Blackbird - 60 Eastern Meadowlark - 18 Meadowlark - 25 Western Meadowlark - 13 Lark - 28 Yellow-headed Blackbird - 15 Yellow-headed Blackbird/Common Grackle - 3 Rusty Blackbird - 10 Brewer's Blackbird - 9 Common Grackle - 59 Boat-tailed Grackle - 5 Great-tailed Grackle - 6 Grackle - 1 Brown-headed Cowbird - 16 Giant Cowbird - 1 Orchard Oriole - 9 Hooded Oriole - 2 Troupial - 1 Baltimore Oriole - 20 Orioles/blackbirds/meadowlarks - 17 Oriole - 9 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch - 7 Pine Grosbeak - 18 Purple Finch - 12 Purple Finch/Red Crossbill - 1 House Finch - 3 Finch - 23 Red Crossbill - 15 Crossbill - 1 White-winged Crossbill - 7 Common Redpoll - 12 Redpoll - 2 Hoary Redpoll - 1 Pine Siskin - 3 Lesser Goldfinch - 4 American Goldfinch - 23 Goldfinch - 4 Evening Grosbeak - 1 House Sparrow - 2 Passeriformes species - 112 Unidentified birds - 469 Extinct Sheldgoose - 1 Wattled Curassow - 1 Ancestral Condor - 1 Rancho La Brea Condor - 1 Occidental Vulture - 5 Painted Vulture - 2 Merriam's Teratorn - 1 American Neophron - 1 Fragile Eagle - 2 Cheriway Caracara - 2 Caracara - 7 Swarth Falcon - 1 Uria affinis - 1 DeBooy's Rail - 3 Thickknee - 1 Conkling Roadrunner - 3 Great-footed Turkey - 1 California Turkey - 1 Guineafowl - 1 Extinct Jay - 1 Thick-billed Cowbird - 1 Perching birds - 96 Bird bone artifact - 11 Bird bone awl - 5 Bird bone whistle - 5 Bird burial - 3 Bird effigy smoking pipe - 12 Bird effigy whistle - 1 Bird fetish - 1 Bird figurine - 4 Bird illustration - 1 Bird motif pottery - 10 Bird shell engraving - 1 Bird petroglyph - 25 Owl petroglyph - 3 Bird rock art - 24 Bird skins - 3 Bird stone sculpture - 1 Birdstone - 1 Bird effigy - 73 Bird-head effigy - 11 Bird-motif garment - 48 Bird-item blanket - 2
The overall tally is 18,163 records. Recognized species are listed in taxonomic sequence, with others in a non-standard order to match bird groups or types of objects.

The species with the most number of records, are, in descending order: Wild Turkey, Canada Goose, Passenger Pigeon, Common Raven, Bald Eagle, Mallard, Sandhill Crane, Northern Bobwhite, Snow Goose, American Crow, Great Horned Owl and American Coot.

The records available denote 343 recognized species in the twelve-plus millenia prior to the first bird narrative report. In the next nine hundred years, 523 species were determined to be present.

These are the states and provinces represented in the tally...

• Illinois, U.S.A. - 999 • New Mexico, U.S.A. - 912 • Virginia, U.S.A. - 854 • California, U.S.A. - 806 • Pennsylvania, U.S.A. - 703 • Arizona, U.S.A. - 695 • Utah, U.S.A. - 602 • Alaska, U.S.A. - 591 • British Columbia, Canada - 499 • Manitoba, Canada - 482 • Ontario, Canada - 449 • North Carolina, South Carolina, U.S.A. - 433 • New York, U.S.A. - 419 • South Dakota, U.S.A. - 363 • Georgia, U.S.A. - 336 • Wisconsin, U.S.A. - 333 • Massachusetts, U.S.A. - 332 • Nevada, U.S.A. - 321 • Florida, U.S.A. - 321 • Nebraska, U.S.A. - 312 • Kentucky, U.S.A. - 276 • Missouri, U.S.A. - 275 • Iowa, U.S.A. - 273 • Labrador, Canada - 267 • Washington, U.S.A. - 262 • Newfoundland, Canada - 252 • Ohio, U.S.A. - 249 • Colorado, U.S.A. - 239 • Alabama, U.S.A. - 229 • North Carolina, U.S.A. - 205 • South Carolina, U.S.A. - 196 • Michigan, U.S.A. - 195 • Arkansas, U.S.A. - 192 • Louisiana, U.S.A. - 189

• Ontario, Quebec, Canada - 176 • Quebec, Canada - 169 • Texas, U.S.A. - 166 • Kansas, U.S.A. - 161 • Saskatchewan, Canada - 160 • Nova Scotia, Canada - 154 • New Hampshire, U.S.A. - 145 • Tennessee, U.S.A. - 127 • Minnesota, U.S.A. - 115 • Northwest Territories, Canada - 103 • New Jersey, U.S.A. - 103 • North Dakota, U.S.A. - 100 • Idaho, U.S.A. - 94 • Indiana, U.S.A. - 76 • Nanavut, Canada - 70 • Prince Edward Island, Canada - 69 • Baja California, Mexico - 64 • Maine, U.S.A. - 63 • Chiapas, Mexico - 60 • Vermont, U.S.A. - 60 • Quintana Roo, Mexico - 56 • Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada - 54 • Maryland, U.S.A. - 46 • New York, Vermont, U.S.A. - 46 • Connecticut, U.S.A. - 43 • Wyoming, U.S.A. - 41 • Alberta, Canada - 40 • Veracruz, Mexico - 38 • West Virginia, U.S.A. - 37 • South Carolina, Florida, U.S.A. - 36 • Oregon, U.S.A. - 35 • Yucatan, Mexico - 34 • Rhode Island, U.S.A. - 33 • Montana, U.S.A. - 29

• Yukon Territory, Canada - 27 • Chihuahua, Mexico - 25 • Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Canada - 24 • Oklahoma, U.S.A. - 23 • Nanuvut, Canada - 21 • New Brunswick, Canada - 21 • Maryland, Virginia, U.S.A. - 20 • Delaware, U.S.A. - 17 • Nayarit, Mexico - 16 • Mississippi, U.S.A. - 14 • Mexico, Mexico - 12 • Guerrero, Mexico - 12 • Sonora, Mexico - 9 • Durango, Mexico - 8 • Baja California Sur, Mexico - 8 • Vermont, New York, U.S.A. - 8 • Yucatan, Quinta Roo, Mexico - 4 • Ontario, Manitoba, Canada - 3 • Guanajuato, Mexico - 2 • Sinaloa, Mexico - 2 • Matanzas, Cuba - 2 • Jalisco, Mexico - 2 • District of Columbia, U.S.A. - 1 • Guadalajara, Mexico - 1 • North Carolina, Virginia, U.S.A. - 1 • Arizona, California, U.S.A. - 1 • Oaxaca, Mexico - 1 • Chiapis, Mexico - 1 • Nunavut, Canada - 1 • Nuevo Leon, Mexico - 1

Only those sites with this detail are shown with the table summary; some smaller countries and islands do not have provinces or regional subdivisions.

At least 450 recognized species are mentioned in the more than 225 narrative sources reviewed, and presented here in chronological order:

• 1011 when the wealthy Icelandic merchant Thorfinn Karlsefne sailed west to a new found land
• 1169-1170 with adoc ap Owen Gwyneth sailing with his brother Rhiryd, to the land of Pengwyn
• 1492-1503 Christopher Columbus voyages around the West Indies, Caribbean Sea
• 1497 John Cabot, of Italy, visits Prima Tierra Vista, or Newfoundland
• 1501 visit by Gaspar Corte Real to eastern Greenland
• 1517 expedition of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba discovers Yucatan; accounts by Peter Martyr, Fernandez de Oviedo, Lopez de Gomara, Las Casas
• 1524 voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano on west coast ot the Atlantic Ocean
• 1528 narrative of Alvar Nuneze Cabeza De Vaca, expedition of 600 men to Florida, survivors to Texas and New Mexico
• 1534 with Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo at Santiago, Guatemala
• 1534-1536 by Jacques Cartier along the Saint Lawrence River
• 1536 Richard Hore in eastern Canada
• 1539 Fernando Cortes Marques and Captain Francisco de Ulloa, at Gulf of California and Monterey Bay
• 1539 journey of Fray Marcos de Niza along the eastern shore of the Gulf of California and northward
• 1539-1542 narrative of the expedition of Hernando de Soto along the Gulf coast
• 1540 narrative of the expedition led by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
• 1542 with Jean Alphonse along the St. Lawrence River
• 1555 narrative of Andre Thevet in North America
• 1556-1558 voyage by Robert Tomson to the West Indies and Mexico
• 1562 by John Ribault, with James Le Moyne, along the Carolina and Florida coast
• 1565 notes by John Hawkins on a second voyage to the West Indies
• 1566 Martinez relation from Juan Pardo expeditions in Carolinas
• 1568 David Ingram along the Atlantic coast on Hawkins voyage
• 1570-1577 issue of Francisco Hernandez narrative from Nueva Espana
• 1572 for Henry Hawkes at Guatemala
• 1577-1578 with Martin Frobisher expedition for a northwest passage
• 1578 report by Anthonie Parkhurst of the Terra Nova
• 1579 Sir Francis Drake narrative, The World Encompassed
• 1581 Hernan Gallegos relation of Chamuscado-Rodriguez expedition to explore New Mexico
• 1582 David Ingram from Cape of Florida at Baie of Mexico, through eastern America, until near Cape Britton
• 1582 Hakluyt list of North American Birds
• 1582 with merchant Antonio de Espejo in New Spain
• 1582-1583 Diego Perez de Luxan account of Espejo expedition
• 1583 with Sir Humfrey Gilbert at Newfoundland; Edward Hayes and Sir George Peckham reports
• 1584-1590 voyages of Sir Walter Raleigh at North Carolina colony, Virgin Islands
• 1585-1587 with John Davis, at Davis Strait and Labrador
• 1585-1587 work of scientist Thomas Hariot, with John White at the new found land of Virginia
• 1588 when master Thomas Cavendish sailed along the western coast
• 1590-1591 Casper Castano de Sosa memoria of western Texas and New Mexico
• 1595 Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno at Mexico, Baja, California
• 1598-1601 with Juan de Onate y Salazar ordered to Rio Grande in northern New Spain
• 1602 edition for Bartholomew Gosnold at Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod Bay
• 1602 Father de la Ascension account of Sebastian Vizcaino voyage in New Spain, from Baja to Catalina Islands
• 1603 exploration of Virginia by Martin Pring
• 1604-1618 explorations of New France by Samuel de Champlain
• 1605 with James Rosier at Nantucket and coastal Maine, as chronicler of the George Waymouth journey
• 1605-1612 James Hall journeys to Greenland; 1612 by John Gatonbe
• 1606-1607 Marc Lescarbot wrote extensively about the local birds at Port Royal, Terres de L'Accadie in the land of Acadia
• 1607 by George Percy at plantation in Virginia
• 1607-1608 Christopher Newport on lower James River, Chesapeake Bay
• 1607-1611 voyages of Henry Hudson, with Abacuk Prickett
• 1607-1615 when John Smith was establishing the James Towne colony at Virginia
• 1608 by Edward Wingfield and Francis Perkins, Jamestown colonists
• 1610 news from Virginia by Richard Rich, featuring Captain Newporte
• 1610 William Strachey came to the new colony at Virginia in May
• 1610-1611 discourse by Abacuk Prickett on Hudson voyage
• 1612 John Gatonbe on Captain James Hall expedition to Greenland
• 1613 by Alexander Whitaker at Jamestown, the Virginia colony
• 1613 William Baffin of London voyage to Spitzbergen, now Greenland
• 1614 Edward Topsell, a clergyman of Europe, prepared an illustrated manuscript with North American species
• 1615 account of William Baffin on Robert Bilot voyage to Baffin's Bay
• 1615 by Raphe Hamor, Secretary of the Virginia colony at Jamestown
• 1615 Richard Whitbourne sent to Newfoundland
• 1619-1620 Jens Eriksen Munk spent the winter at the mouth of the Churchill River
• 1620 by John Mason that arrived at Newfoundland in 1615
• 1620-1621 relation by George Morton from the Plymouth Colony at Cape Cod Baye
• 1623 by Emmanuel Altham at Plymouth Colony
• 1624 Nicolaes Van Wassenaer wrote of New Netherland in recollections of a six year visit at the Hudson river
• 1625 narrative verse by William Morrell about New-England
• 1625-1630 Johan de Laet at the Sankinan nation
• 1626-1628 Isaack de Rasieres wrote about a few birds at New Plymouth after his arrival in July 1626
• 1629-1635 chronicles from Salem colony, northern Massachusetts Bay; Francis Higginson, William Woods and Richard Rather
• 1630-1672 Nicolas Denys at Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and seacoast New Brunswick
• 1631 Luke Foxe at western Hudson Bay, New Yorkshire
• 1631-1632 Captaine Thomas James in search for the northwest passage
• 1632-1634 and New English Canaan by Thomas Morton at Plymouth Colony
• 1633 in William Wood's description at Rumny Marsh
• 1633-1642 David Peterson De Vries and James Island, Hudson River, Achter Col
• 1634 by surgeon Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert at Fort Orange
• 1634 by William Wood, in New Englands Prospect, after arrival at the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1629
• 1635 mention in journal of Richard Rather at the Newfoundland Banks
• 1641-1646 anonymous journal of New Netherland
• 1644 Reverend Johannes Megapolensis, Jr. account of the Mohawk Indians of the Hudson River
• 1649 an anonymous writer prepared a systematic list of birds for Virginia
• 1650 representation report issued from New Netherland
• 1650 Virginia by Edward Williams
• 1650 voyage to Virginia by Colonel Henry Norwood
• 1650 with Edward Bland at discovery of New Brittaine at Virginia
• 1651-1683 explorations of Pierre Esprit Radisson
• 1653 arrival of Jacob Steendam, a Danish poet at New Amsterdam
• 1656 Adriaen Van der Donck description of New Netherlands
• 1661 by Wise family at the Barrier Islands
• 1662 report by Father Nicholas de Freytas on expedition of Don Diego Dionisio de Penalosa
• 1663 explorations by William Hilton in South Carolina
• 1666 report from Robert Horne at Cape Fear, Province of Carolina
• 1669 in a true relation of Virginia by Nathaniel Shrigley at Chesapeake Bay
• 1669-1670 discoveries by John Lederer on marches from Virginia to west Carolina
• 1671 Samuel Clarke at Chesapeake Bay
• 1672, 1674 accounts by John Josselyn at New England
• 1673 accont of Father Claudius Dablon on Father James Marquette voyage in Mississippi Valley
• 1675 illustrated work of natural history from French Canada
• 1676-1680 by Father Chrestien le Clercq in New Relation of Gaspesia
• 1678-1692 notes by botanist John Banister along Appomattox River in east Virginia
• 1679-1680 manuscript of envoy Jasper Danckaerts in New Netherland region; with Peter Sluyter
• 1679-1687 discoveries and voyages of Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Joutel journal in New France
• 1680 Father Louis Hennepin in the Mississippi Valley
• 1680-1681 notes of voyage by surgeon Lionel Wafer at Isthmus of Darien
• 1682 account of province of Carolina by Thomas Ashe
• 1682 account of the province of Carolina by Samuel Wilson
• 1682 Father Zenobius Membre at Lake Borgne on La Salle's voyage
• 1683 by William Penn at his land grant property near Philadelphia
• 1686 by Durand de Dauphine with the Huguenots in Virginia
• 1686-1687 and Father Anastasius Douay at villages of the Cenis
• 1688-1693 observations of Reverend John Clayton in Virginia
• 1691-1697 by Henry Kelsey in Canada
• 1693 journey by Don Carlos de Siguenza, a Franciscan missionary and historian in the southwest
• 1693 Spanish letters and narratives from New Spain
• 1697-1698 expeditions to Sonora and Arizona by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and Juan Mateo Manje
• 1697-1699 letters by Juan Maria de Salvatierra S.J. at Bay of San Dionisio de Californias and Loreto, lower California
• 1698 published account after many years of Gabriel Thomas at the province of Pennsylvania
• 1699 Jean-Francois Buisson de Saint-Cosme was a missionary priest on the lower Mississippi
• 1699-1700 Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville along northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico
• 1700 Father James Gravier, a missionary among the native Illinois people
• 1702 as Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, established a settlement at Detroit
• 1705 period by Daniel Coxe in Carolina
• 1705 Robert Beverly in The History and Present State of Virginia
• 1707 account by John Archdale of Carolina
• 1709 voyage by Captain Wood Rogers on the west coast of America
• 1714, 1724 by Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, explorer of the Missouri river basin
• 1715-1716 by John Fontaine at Virginia
• 1719 map prepared by Henri Chatelain included a list of the Oiseaux, or birds
• 1721 Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix was a French Jesuit traveling in New France
• 1723 voyage by Hans Egede to western coast of Greenland, subsequent residence
• 1725, 1730, 1732, etc. with Mark Catesby about the eastern United States of America and offshore notations
• 1727-1751 era of Captain William Coats in Hudsons Baye, Prince Rupert's Land
• 1728 boundary survey notes by William Byrd in Virginia and North Carolina
• 1729-1734 William Moraley, indentured servant in the new world
• 1736 voyage to Georgia by Francis Moore
• 1738 or 1740 edition by Eleazar Albin at Greenland, Canada, east coast
• 1741 Bering's voyages to the Aleutian Islands and south Alaska coast; narratives of Captain Alexei Chirikov's vessel, and journal of Georg Wilhelm Steller
• 1741-1742 and Captain Christopher Middleton at Churchill Harbour
• 1743, 1750, 1764 issues of the Linnaean system of classification from Europe
• 1743-1751 four-part summary of species known by George Edwards; later records in natural history notes
• 1744 Arthur Dobbs account of countries adjoining to Hudson's Baye, including northern Lake Erie
• 1746-1747 voyage of William Moor and Francis Smith to Hudson Bay
• 1748-1749 travels by Peter Kalm on the central east coast, Canada
• 1751 Christopher Gist in Ohio and Pennsylvania
• 1751-1762 by Jean-Bernard Bossu in Louisiana, Illinois and Alabama
• 1751-1768 missionary labors of Johann Jakob Baegert, S.J. at lower Californie
• 1753 in April by soldier J.C.B. at Pennsylvania
• 1757 account by William Burke of the European settlements in America
• 1758 account by Miguel Venegas and Father Torquemada at Baja, Mexico, California
• 1759 by Captain John Knox at Nova Scotia
• 1759-1760 by Andrew Burnaby at Virginia
• 1759-1767 wartime forays by Major Robert Rogers at Vermont, Great Lakes and Ohio River
• 1761 published by James Glen in South Carolina
• 1762-1792 by John Heckewelder at Ohio
• 1763 translation of French edition by Le Page Du Pratz of upper and lower Louisiana
• 1764 Thomas Morris journal at Michigan
• 1766 by Jonathan Carver at Minnesota and Wisconsin
• 1766 diary and manuscripts of Joseph Banks at east Newfoundland and south Labrador; illustrations by Peter Paillou and Sydney Parkinson
• 1766 Wenceslaus Linck diary of expedition to northern Baja peninsula
• 1767 David Crantz in a History of Greenland
• 1769 tour of Richard Smith through New York
• 1769-1774 by Fray Juan Crespi, missionary explorer in California
• 1770-1786 during six voyages of Captain George Cartwright to Labrador
• 1772 expedition report for the province of Texas by El Marques de Casa Calvo; Athanase de Mezieres material
• 1774 journal of P.V. Fithian at Virginia
• 1774 notes of Roger Curtis published about Newfoundland
• 1774-1775 notations of Nicholas Cresswell at Maryland and Virginia
• 1774-1775 Samuel Hearne and Philip Turnor in country west of Hudson Bay
• 1775 J. Hector St. John Crevecoeur in notes of an American farmer
• 1775-1776 Spanish missionary Francisco Garces travels through Sonora, Arizona and California
• 1776 Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante in Colorado and Arizona
• 1776-1779 notes by Thomas Anburey in travels through the interior part of North America
• 1778 account by Athanase de Mezieres expedition from Bexar to the Indian nations of the upper Trinity, Brazos and Red Rivers in east Texas
• 1778 and Samuel Peters in a history of Conneticut
• 1778 during Captain James Cook voyages to Alaska and British Columbia
• 1778 Thomas Hutchins at Illinois and Ontario
• 1778 voyages and travels of John Long among Chippewa Indians
• 1779 about British settlements by Abbe Raynal
• 1779 Philip Turnor from York Fort to Cumberland House; 1791-1792 frm Cumberland House to Athapiscow country
• 1780 era history of Mexico by Abbe D. Francesco Saverio Clavigero, translated from Italian in 1806
• 1782 by Marquis de Chastellux about Virginia
• 1783-1784 Johann David Schoepf travels along the southern Atlantic coast
• 1783-1784 journals and letters of Count Francesco dal Verme at New York, Massachusetts and South Carolina
• 1784 catalog by John Filson about Kentucky
• 1784-1787 at Hudson's Bay for general report by Edward Umfreville published in 1790
• 1784-1790 Gilbert Imlay at Genesee Tract and Kentucky
• 1784-1812 travel narratives by David Thompson
• 1785 Arctic Zoology by Thomas Pennant, including birds; plus supplement to zoology
• 1785-1786 for Louis Castiglioni's Viaggio, about travels in the United States of America
• 1786 Alexander Walker account of a voyage to the north west coast
• 1786 by Jean-Francois de Galaup de la Perouse at San Francisco Bay and Hecate Strait
• 1786 chapter in Storia della California by Don Francisco Javier Clavigero, S.J.
• 1787 end of work by George Henry Loskiel, published in 1794; Indian Mission region in Western Territory of central Ohio, west from New York and Pennsylvania
• 1787 with Thomas Jefferson at his plantation on coastal Virginia
• 1787-1792 voyages of the vessel Columbia Rediviva at British Columbia; log of Robert Haswell, narrative of John Hoskin, remarks of John Boit
• 1788 on Pedro Vial expeditions in Texas and New Mexico; Francisco Xavier Fragosa diary from Red River to Santa Fe
• 1789-1793 western Canada explorations by Sir Alexander Mackenzie
• 1790-1792 Joseph Billings to northern Russia at Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea and Strait
• 1791 Antonio Pineda on Spanish expedition to Mexico
• 1791 Ferdinand-Marie Bayard at Virginia
• 1791-1792 birdlist by Benjamin Smith Barton, mostly near Philadelphia
• 1791-1792 Philip Turnor and Peter Fidler on Slave River to Great Slave Lake
• 1791-1792 voyage to the northwest coast by Joseph Ingraham
• 1791-1795 by George Vancouver on the western Pacific coast
• 1792 Archibald Menzies, a Scottish botanist and explorer on the Vancouver explorations on the North Pacific coast
• 1792 Captain George Cartwright notes Funk Island
• 1792 Spanish voyage to Vancouver Island and the Strait de Juan de Fuca
• 1792 volume III of the history of New Hampshire by Jeremy Belknap
• 1794 Henry Wansey around eastern North America in the summer
• 1794 Samual Williams published The Natural and Civil History of Vermont
• 1794, 1801 with Moreau de St. Mery on an American journey
• 1795 Duke Francois-Alexandre-Frederic La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt visit to Maine
• 1795 period letter by Timothy Dwight regarding north-east Massachusetts; subsequent travels in New England and New York
• 1795-1796 explorations by Andre Michaux, a French botanist and explorer
• 1795-1796 voyage of Captain Charles Bishop in the Pacific northwest
• 1796 Isaac Weld travels to Chesapeake Bay, Appalachians, Great Lakes
• 1797 by King Louis-Philippe of France on a visit to America
• 1797-1810 and beyond paintings by John Abbot, in the southern Georgia and Carolina country
• 1798 by Nicolas de Finiels in the upper Louisiana territory
• 1798 by Polish visitor Julian Niemcewicz at Mount Vernon in June
• 1798-1892 John Davis at South Carolina and Virginia, including Ode to the Mocking-bird, Sonnet to the Whip-poor-will, and odes
• 1800-era eastern North America, the research period for 1807? identification of new bird species by L.J.P. Vieillot
• 1802 departure of Sesse from Mexico
• 1802 published birdlist by John Drayton at South Carolina
• 1803-1804 Pierre Clement de Laussat at New Orleans, Louisiana Colony
• 1806 bird-list by John Stewart, Esq., for Prince Edward Island
• 1808 Francisco Amangual diary on Pedro Vial expedition in Texas

Each narrative has its own story of endeavour, unique to the travels and traditions of the time. The accounts are fascination to read an then determine from the sometimes perplexing maze of words on events and places and dates for bird notations, etc.

Other publications were reviewed as well, but did not contain any relevant information.

Additional sources can be considered after 1800. Besides determining the site records for identifications of new species by L.J.P. Vieillot, there are the vast lands of the untamed west explored by Capts. Meriwhether Lewis and William Clark, where the journals relate many new and refreshing bird observations. Numerous other sources continue the documentation of bird occurrence, as people delved into the natural history of birds, and took time to document migration dates and other seasonal features of wild birds in their natural haunts. Sources continue with newspapers and other not yet known publications - books, articles or reports - yet to be documented with the currently known history for ornithology in North America.

This information could also benefit from detailed knowledge of experienced local birders, or others that may recognize general descriptions to a specific type of bird, or be helpful in finding new sources or being involved in a review process.

The bird species known from past periods of North American history provide particular details for bird occurrence and distribution. Aspects of the birdlife in different landscapes and eras provide important details essential for further study and evaluation to improve the extent of known, historic avian knowledge.

Bibliography

There are nearly 900 citations in the bibliography table of the Ancient Avifaunas database. References of particular interest include:

T.M. Brewer. 1840. Wilson's American ornithology, with notes by Jardine: to which is added a synopsis of American birds, including those described by Bonaparte, Audubon, Nuttall, and Richardson. Otis, Broaders, and Company, Boston. 746 pages. Reprint in 1970 by Arno Press Inc. & The New York Times. American Environmental Studies series.

Numerous additional species were integrated into the database with the input of the species list from this hefty reference. This comprehensive review established names and conventions for standards continued with modern ornithology.

Elsa Guerdrum Allen. 1951. The history of American ornithology before Audubon. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 41: 386-591.

Kevin R. McNamara. 1990. The feathered scribe: the discourses of American ornithology before 1800. William and Mary Quarterly 47(2): 210-234.

Jeremy M. Gaskell. 1999. A review of some early testimony from the New World in respect of the Great Auk, Pinguinus impennis. Archives of Natural History 26(1): 101-112.

James E. Ducey. 2000. Birds of the untamed West: the history of birdlife in Nebraska from 1750-1875. Making History, Omaha, Nebraska. 299 pages, including many illustrations from the period.