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Backyard BirdsBackyard Birds
Surely some of the most watched and beloved of Canada's wildlife species are the birds we see in our backyards. Robins and woodpeckers, hummingbirds and goldfinches intrigue us with their antics or cheer us with their songs. We may take our birds for granted, yet they have a lot to teach us.
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Browse through a few of our Canadian species in these "At A Glance" fact sheets. Each page has basic information on some of our Canadian wildlife, with links to detailed, reputable sources such as Hinterland Who's Who and the Government of Canada. Don't see a species you need? Comments or questions? Let us know!
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Spotted Owl
2025-12-05
The Northern Spotted Owl is a fairly large, brown owl, 40 to 48 centimetres long, with a puffy round head and no ear tufts. The chocolate to chestnut brown feathers of the head, neck, back and under-parts have many circular or irregular white spots, for which this attractive owl is named. The Northern Spotted Owl has large, round facial discs with dark outer rims, dark brown eyes and a yellowish-green bill.
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The Northern Flicker
2025-12-05
Northern Flickers are a mid-sized woodpecker reaching approximately 32 centimetres. There are two types, the more widely spread Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker and the Red-shafted found mainly in southern British Columbia. Both have a spotted breast, black breast band below the throat, black barring on their backs (lines that run across their backs from wing to wing) and white patch on their rump, visible in flight. The Yellow-shafted males have a red patch at the back of their heads, a black stripe down the side of their brown face and brilliant yellow under their wings and tail. Red-shafted males, however, lack the red patch on the back of their heads, have a red stripe down the side of their grey face and a bright orange-red colour under their wings. They also have a bit of white around the black breast patch. Females of both sub species appear the same except for the lack of the red or black stripe down the side of their face. In areas where both sub species are found close they sometime hybridize making identification tricky.
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White-Crowned Sparrow
2025-12-05
The most distinctive feature of this relatively large sparrow, as reflected in its name, is the striped crown. Its grey head is crowned with conspicuous black and white stripes. The white-crowned sparrow lacks the yellow spot near each eye and the white throat of the white-throated sparrow, a close relative. This bird is approximately 17 - 19 cm in size. Loud scuffling in the bushes often signals the presence of this spirited bird. Using both of its rather large feet, it vigorously scratches among the leaf litter in search of food.
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For more species, visit Hinterland Who's Who, a joint program of the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Environment Canada.
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