Notes ⁵

Big, mostly-grey bird; nothing else looks like it on this side of the country. Mostly in the baylands or along creeks but can be seen flying overhead or occasionally standing still in a field somewhere (they'll hunt squirrels and gophers). I sometimes see them standing on the grassy slopes next to 280, particularly around the Stanford Dish, or in the Cuesta Park Annex. Fly with their necks curled up in an S and their legs trailing behind. They have little head plumes that are sometimes visible.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) David Cook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/kookr/2928930798/
2. (c) David A. Hofmann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/23326361@N04/3400762276/
3. (c) Paul, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/w9ned/5524417804/
4. (c) Mike Baird, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/8463061521/
5. (c) sea-kangaroo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

iNaturalist NZ Map