Understanding the Birds of the Chaparral
Our GoNative initiative centers around the restoration of chaparral habitat in Southern California through native landscaping. While we previously described what makes the chaparral a globally unique habitat from a floristic perspective, we haven’t yet touched on this ecosystem’s faunal diversity. Generally, the best way to get preliminarily acquainted with a region’s animal diversity is to familiarize oneself with the birdlife – birds are highly visible, conspicuous, vocal, generally easy to identify, and diverse. That being said, the dense, tangled nature of chaparral vegetation means that often, all we get of chaparral birds are fleeting glimpses. If we have a solid understanding of the behavior, ecology, and general habit of the “flagship,” or characteristic species of the chaparral, though, then we can easily identify from general impression, and appreciate, birds in the chaparral without much effort. This guide is intended as an aid to assist in building those impressions!
While a dizzying array of species move through the chaparral in migration (see recent research on the importance of this habitat for passerines engaging in morning flight), and several more rely heavily on the habitat in the winter, there are seven resident species in the chaparral that are very common, ubiquitous, and closely associated with this ecosystem in particular. Intimate familiarity with these nine species is the key for any birder to appreciate the chaparral from an avian perspective.
1. Wrentit
The Wrentit, is without doubt, the single characteristic species of the chaparral. While it uses other shrubby habitats in the northern portion of its range (from northern California to the Columbia river), throughout central and southern California, it is virtually exclusively found in chaparral, and virtually every patch of chaparral connected to the larger mountain systems harbors Wrentits. The Wrentit has no analog in North America – it belongs to the parrotbill family, or Paradoxornithidae, otherwise found exclusively in Asia.
The Wrentit is highly secretive, rarely leaving the thick of chaparral vegetation, and is thus almost always detected at least initially by its unmistakable call, perhaps the defining sound of the chaparral – a “bouncing ball” whistled accelerating series of toots. A rapid, almost reptile-like rattle is also often heard. If a bird is bold enough to pop into view, it will reveal itself to be a medium-sized brown ball with a fine, slightly decurved bill for insect-eating, a pale eye, and a long tail.
Wrentits are highly sedentary, with most birds never leaving the small patch of chaparral in which they were born. They form lifelong, tight-knit pair bonds, staying in contact at all times by exchanging their distinctive calls.
2. California Thrasher
If the Wrentit is the chaparral’s most unique species, the California Thrasher is its most exclusive – this odd relative of the mockingbird is found in virtually no other habitat throughout its entire range. It, too, is difficult to see and is usually detected first by its highly distinctive vocalizations, which come in two forms. Firstly, thrashers give a unique song consisting of different burry yet melodic phrases, each repeated no more than two or three times, blurted in constant succession. These phrases may include imitations of many of the other residents of the chaparral, both avian and otherwise. Secondly, thrashers, when moving around, give a harsh, brief “check” call. When singing, thrashers often break their normal secrecy and perch on the top of a branch in plain view, where their stunning appearance is revealed – an overall medium-sized drab brown bird with a long tail and reddish undertail, but with a spectacularly long, decurved bill. This bill is used in the activity that lends the bird its name – scything and thrashing around in the leaf litter to locate insects. The thrasher’s preference for leaf litter is one of the reasons it tends to be most common in older stands of chaparral, rather than those which were recently burned.
3. Spotted Towhee
While not a chaparral exclusive, during the spring and summer, the Spotted Towhee is one of the most common singing birds of the chaparral – this sparrow’s song, often given by birds perching prominently on exposed vegetation, is a distinctive, unmistakable “tow-hee!” (with the “hee” consisting of a shrill trill). The Spotted Towhee is spectacular in appearance, with rufous sides and white spotting punctuating a jet-black back. When it isn’t singing, this bird can be rather secretive, but gives away its presence with its distinctive, harsh, rising-and-falling “mew” call (if you’re in coastal sage scrub habitat, watch out for the similar-sounding California Gnatcatcher, not described in this article). It is also often heard scratching through leaf litter for food, although the California Towhee also exhibits this behavior.
4. California Towhee
The California Towhee is closely related to the previously-described Spotted Towhee, but its microhabitat – California Towhees forage primarily in open, grassy patches interspersed in chaparral, whereas Spotted Towhees rely on leaf litter under larger chaparral shrubs – allows it to coexist with its relative, and also makes it much easier to observe. The California Towhee is frequently heard either singing (giving an accelerating series of very high-pitched “pip” notes ending in a “chuck-chuck,” or, more commonly, simply giving a “pip” call. Apart from its short bill, it is surprisingly similar to the California Thrasher in appearance, being nearly all-brown with a rusty undertail.
5. Bewick’s Wren
The Bewick’s Wren is an extraordinary vocalist, giving a variety of melodic songs consisting of trills, whistles, and “pips”. While the songs of no two individual wrens sound exactly alike, most songs follow a similar theme – a series of longer, clearer whistle notes towards the beginning, and a trill towards the end. With practice, it becomes easier to identify novel songs as belonging to this species. The calls of these species are much more consistent and easy to identify – either a harsh, flat “bzzzzh” scold, or a series of “check-check-check” calls in rapid succession. Bewick’s Wrens are tiny when viewed, but nevertheless distinctive – the long, decurved bill is used for foraging for insects, while the white supercilium stands out from the otherwise dark brown plumage.
6. California Scrub-Jay
The California Scrub-Jay, aptly named for its favorite habitat, is perhaps the easiest and most entertaining to observe of all the chaparral birds. Entire treatises can, and have, been written about this species’ fascinating behaviors, including cooperative flocking and social interactions (scrub-jays are usually found in small groups), intelligence, and caching behaviors (scrub-jays store acorns, usually of scrub oaks or Coast live oaks in the chaparral, over the winter). However, because the scrub-jay is trivial to identify, either by its vibrant blue plumage or by its unmistakable “jay!” and “cha-cha-cha” calls, our entry for the species here can be kept relatively short.
7. Bushtit
The approach of a flock of Bushtits – and it is virtually always a flock – is almost always heard before it is seen. The three-syllable “tit-tit-tit” calls of each individual Bushtit can be difficult to parse out or even notice at first, but with practice, it becomes one of the chaparral’s most distinctive sounds. Bushtits, the sole New World representative of the Eurasian long-tailed tit family, live and travel in gangs throughout their lives, from their cooperative, pendulum-shaped nests to their roving movements in search of insects. As a flock of Bushtits passes by, it is easy to see the members, but quite difficult to get good looks at any individual – if one is achieved, though, it reveals the bird as a tiny brown fast-moving ball with a long tail.
8. Anna’s Hummingbird
Finally, no account of the chaparral’s avifauna is complete without mention of one of its most charismatic residents, the tiny but pugnacious Anna’s Hummingbird. This hummingbird is not difficult to see, but it too is usually heard first – either by its distinctive “skrtskrtskrt” scratchy song, a clear, quick whistle made by air passing through its feathers during a display dive, or a rapid “j-d-j-d” rattle made during chases (this bird is highly territorial, and will defend its territory both against conspecifics and against potential competitors like Allen’s and Black-chinned Hummingbirds). The hummingbird is sometimes seen in feeding action, hovering above chaparral flowers (especially California Fuchsia), but is more commonly seen simply sitting on top of an exposed twig. There, its green back and flanks are on display, and if you catch a view from the right angle, the dark throat of the male is illuminated by the light to reveal a brilliant, iridescent magenta gorget.
