Brought back from the brink with only 27 birds in 1987, California now maintains a free-flying population of 300+ — Big Sur's coastal cliffs are the most reliable viewing spot.
Found nowhere else on Earth — this elegant magpie is endemic to California's oak-studded foothills from Shasta south to Santa Barbara County.
The only North American hummingbird that sings — males produce a remarkable metallic song while displaying with dramatic dive-bombing swoops over nesting females.
Stores thousands of acorns in granary trees — a single tree may contain 50,000 holes stuffed with acorns by a cooperative family group.
Performs a breathtaking "rushing" courtship display in which paired birds sprint across the water surface side-by-side — best seen at Clear Lake in early spring.
Heermann's Gull breeds almost exclusively on a single island in the Gulf of California but visits California's coast after breeding in vast numbers from July onward.
The state's most abundant gull — nests inland at Mono Lake and other alkaline lakes, then disperses to coastal beaches for the non-breeding season.
One of North America's most colonial birds — nests in massive aggregations in tule marshes, but 99% of the global population breeds in a single state.
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