Tennessee is one of the state of the United States of America. Tennessee is located in the southeastern region of North America. It is bordering with the state of Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas. There are many Tennessee birds that have sparkling colors that will be listed below.
The state of Tennessee have a total are of 110 thousand kilometers square with population of almost 7 million people. The area is known to have more than ten thousand caves that have been discovered. As other southeastern state of America, Tennessee have a humid weather with hot summers and mild winters.
Tennessee is divided into areas which are East, Middle, and West Tennessee. The state have numerous public lands that are under the management of the National Park Service. Some of the well-known lands are Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee Forest.
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Documented Birds of Tennessee
By 2019 there are more than 400 species of birds listed by the official government of the state of Tennessee. These birds are either permanent residents or frequent visitors of the Tennessee states. Moreover, there are also some accidental, provisional, and introduced species tagged in this documented lists.
From the family Anatidae which consist of swans, goose, and ducks, the state recorded about forty-five species of Tennessee birds living in the area. Among the species are snow goose, brant, barnacle goose, wood duck, redhead, mottled duck, greater scaup, black scoter, bufflehead, goldeneye, and merganser.
The state recorded four species of family Phasianidae which include wild turkey, prairie chicken, grouse, and pheasant. Meanwhile, from family Columbidae of pigeons and doves, there are eight different species. Some of the species are rock pigeon, passenger pigeon, inca dove, common dove, and mourning dove.
One of the most populated bird species in Tennessee is coming from family Scolopacidae. This family consists of small birds which the majority of them live near the sore. The most species are the sandpipers. Aside from them, the family also made up from curlews, stints, knots, godwits, dowitchers, and phalaropes.
Next, there are a strings of ocean birds’ species that have been populating Tennessee State. There are long-billed murrelet from family of auks, murres, and puffins. There are also gulls, terns, and brown noddy on the list of ocean birds in Tennessee. Frigatebirds and shearwaters also populate the ocean there.
In the family of Accipitridae which are birds of prey, there are fifteen species that are listed on the Tennessee birds’ documentation. Among the species are white-tailed kite, golden eagle, cooper’s hawk, mississipi kite, red-tailed hawk, and rough-legged hawk.
Moreover, typical owl from the family Strigidae also populated the state such as snowy owl, barred owl, and short-eared owl. Beautiful birds such as flycatchers, swallows, parrots, warbler, finch, vireos, jays, and ravens are also documented as the list of birds in Tennessee area.
10 Most Vibrant Tennessee Birds
As mentioned before, there are hundreds of species of birds in Tennessee. However, there are some species of birds that are arguably having the most beautiful physical traits and characteristics. These species mostly, although not all, come from the family of Corvidae and Fringillidae.
1. House Finch
House finch is a species of Tennessee birds that are considered striking for its vibrant colors. As any species of birds, the male house finch are the species with more vibrant color feathers than the female. Having a species name Haemorhous mexicanus, this bird species belong to family Fringillidae.
House finch is a small sized bird. The length of this bird species is only about 12,5 to 15 centimeters and body only weigh about 20 grams. The wingspan can reach only up to 25 centimeters. This bird species is populating the urban area of Tennessee. They are also comfortable to build their nests there.
The male bird has an overall reddish brown color of their feathers. The body and wings has beautiful layer of brown colored feathers sometimes also streaked with lighter brown. The top of the head until the front chest has plum red colored feathers.
2. Northern Cardinal
Northern cardinal is sometimes recognized simply as redbird is one of the most beautiful Tennessee birds. The bird species, known as Cardinalis cardinalis, is of the family Cardinalidae. The most distinguishable feature of this species is, true to its name, the striking red color of the male species.
Another distinct physical feature of the northern cardinal is strike of feathers on the top of their heads. The male northern cardinal has striking red colors on its whole body except for the area resembling masks of its face that are all black. The female has less vibrant reddish colors and the same gray masks on its face.
Northern cardinal is a songbird which means that they can produce melodic sounds. This bird is medium in size compared to another songbirds in the area. The length is measuring 20 to 23 centimeters and the wings span up to 31 centimeters. The average weight of this species is about 45 grams.
3. American Redstart
The American redstart is another beautiful species of Tennessee birds. This bird, also known as Setophaga ruticilla, belongs to the warbler family. The male American redstart has a beautiful midnight blue feathers with equally as striking yellow on parts of its wings, tails, and front parts.
The female counterpart of American redstart has lighter colored feathers than the male species. It has mostly white feathers with grey wings, lighter grey head, and splash of light oranges on its tail and wings. Same as other species of warbler, this songbird can produce musical sounds.
American redstart is a small bird with the length only measuring in 11 to 14 centimeters. The wingspan can reach only up to 23 centimeters and it weigh less than 10 grams. This bird species feed on insects that they catch while flying.
4. Tufted Titmouse
Tufted titmouse is one of the species of Tennessee birds residing in the area. The bird species, also known as Baeolophus bicolor, belongs to genus Baeolophus and family Paridae. This bird has an elegant colored feather with grey and white covering the under and upper part of the body.
Tufted titmouse also has a strike of feathers standing straight on top of their head. The light grey of the feathers combined with the pure white colors make this bird species a beautiful sight to see. This bird species is also a songbird which can make a beautiful whistling sounds.
Tufted titmouse lives in the forests as well as gardens and parks. They feed on food they found on the trees such as seeds, nuts, berries, as well as small insects and snails.
5. Blue Jay
Blue Jay is arguably the most beautiful bird species of the Tennessee birds. This bird species, also known as Cyanocitta cristata, belongs to genus Cyanocitta and family Corvidae. Blue jay mostly consume berries and nuts but they also feed on small insects.
There are four subspecies of the blue jay which are northern blue jay, coastal blue jay, interior blue jay, and florida blue jay. Blue jay has layers of sky blue colors on its back and pure white on the under part of its body. The blue color also has strikes of white and black which complement the beautiful colors.
Blue jay is also a loud bird. This bird will make a loud calls when it sees a raptor such as an eagle or hawk approaching them. They are also a slow flier which will be unbeneficial if they are being targeted as preys.
6. White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed vireo belongs to genus Vireo and family Vireonidae. This bird species is included in the documentation of birds currently residing in Tennessee area. White-eyed vireo has a small size body with its length only measuring from 13 to 15 centimeters.
White-eyed vireo has olive green dominated feathers. The under parts of its body has an all-white feathers, however the wings, head, and tails all have layers of olive green, white, and black. The bird lives and build their nests in southeastern part of North America but they migrate during cold seasons.
The female bird will lay about 3 to 5 eggs during breeding season. The eggs will be incubated by both parents for about two weeks before they hatch. The birds feed on insects such as caterpillars.
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7. Northern Shrike
Northern shrike is a species of birds that is currently residing in the Tennessee area. The bird species, also known as Lanius borealis, belongs to the genus Lanius and family Laniidae. This species is a songbird which means that it can produce a melodic sounds when it calls its own kinds.
This bird is medium in size. Northern shrike has monotone colored feathers that is dominated by white, black, and light grey. The black feathers on its eyes is forming an eye mask that complement the physical appearance of the northern shrike.
Northern shrike usually feed on small vertebrates as well as bugs, spiders, and grasshoppers. They also need to watch out for raptors such as sparrow and lark that preys on the northern shrike.
8. Great-Crested Flycatcher
Great-crested flycatcher is also known by its species name, Myiarchus crinitus. They belong to genus Myiarchus and family Tyrannidae. This bird species is medium sized with about 17 to 21 centimeters in length and weighing about 25 to 40 grams. The wingspan can reach about 34 centimeters.
This beautiful bird has brown and greyish dominated feathers. The under part of the body is grey colored and the upper parts are dominated with brown colored feathers. This songbird has a whistling weep that distinguish them from any other species.
Great-crested flycatcher usually build their nests in the woods. They will migrate during the cold season to the warmer places in South America such as Mexico. They usually feed on many types of insects such as bees, butterflies, wasps, moths, and grasshoppers. They also have nuts and berries on their consumption.
9. Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Rose breasted grosbeak is the next bird species of the Tennessee birds documented by the state. The species has a binomial name of Pheucticus ludovicianus which is belonging to genus Pheucticus and family cardinalidae. This bird has exceptional physical features of the male species.
The male species, true to its namesake, has s splash of bright rose red colored feathers on its chest. The rest of the under part of the body is white colored which create a deep contrast with the red colors. The upper parts of the body is black.
The female, on the other hand, is showing a duller colored feathers and appearance. The female grosbeak has brown and white colored with light brown feathers on its chest. The grosbeak is medium size bird with about 18 to 22 centimeters length and 35 to 65 grams of weight.
10. Indigo Bunting
The last bird species in the list of the most vibrant Tennessee birds is the indigo bunting. Faithful to its namesake, indigo bunting male has striking blue colors on their whole feather covered body. On the other hand, the female has more plain brown colored feathers in its body.
The bird species, also known as Passerina cyanea, belongs to genus Passerina and family Cardinalidae. Indigo bunting is a small bird, with only 13 centimeters in length. This species is a migrating bird. They will leave southeastern North America during the cold winter season to warmer places in the South.
Indigo bunting are also known to be songbird species. This songbird species has a high pitched sounds that they use to communicate with their own kinds. Indigo bunting hunt for their food in brushes or in the woods. They mainly feed in seeds, small fruits, and insects.
There more than 400 birds species in Tennessee State of the United States of America. The diverse list documented by the official government of Tennessee shows a range of birds that are both permanently living in the area or just a faithful passerby. Some bird species are also tagged accidental and provisional.
