This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the world's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds.
This article covers western North America, i.e. the regions of the United States and Canada which lie west of the Great Plains.
Patterns of endemism
There are no families endemic to this region.
The following genera are endemic to the region: Dendragapus, the blue grouse (2 species) Chamaea, wrentit (1 species)
Endemic Bird Areas
Most bird species which are endemic to this region have ranges which are too large to qualify for BirdLife International's restricted-range endemic status. As a result, only one Endemic Bird Area has been defined, in California.
List of species
The following is a list of species endemic to this region:
California condor
California quail
Gambel's quail
Mountain quail
Sooty grouse
Dusky grouse
Greater sage-grouse
Gunnison grouse
White-tailed ptarmigan
Prairie falcon
Black oystercatcher
Black turnstone
Surfbird
Heermann's gull
Spotted owl
Flammulated owl
Northern pygmy owl
Anna's hummingbird
Lewis's woodpecker
Williamson's sapsucker
Red-breasted sapsucker
Red-naped sapsucker
Nuttall's woodpecker
White-headed woodpecker
Gray vireo
Pinyon jay
California scrub jay
Santa Cruz Island scrub jay
Yellow-billed magpie
Northwestern crow
Oak titmouse
Juniper titmouse
Mountain chickadee
Chestnut-backed chickadee
Pacific wren
Wrentit
Mountain bluebird
Varied thrush
Sage thrasher
California thrasher
Bendire's thrasher
Le Conte's thrasher
McKay's bunting
Green-tailed towhee
California towhee
Abert's towhee
Rufous-winged sparrow
Brewer's sparrow
Bell's sparrow
Sagebrush sparrow
Golden-crowned sparrow
Tri-colored blackbird
Gray-crowned rosy finch
Brown-capped rosy finch
Black rosy finch
Cassin's finch
Lawrence's goldfinch
In addition, the following are endemic as breeding species:
Fork-tailed storm-petrel
Whooping crane
Mountain plover
Bristle-thighed curlew
Long-billed curlew
Aleutian tern
Hammond's flycatcher
Gray flycatcher
Dusky flycatcher
Cassin's vireo
Virginia's warbler
Lucy's warbler
Black-throated gray warbler
Hermit warbler
Townsend's warbler
MacGillivray's warbler
Western tanager
Lazuli bunting
Bullock's oriole
The following species are near-endemic:
Red-faced cormorant
Pelagic cormorant
Brandt's cormorant
Trumpeter swan
Cinnamon teal
Glaucous-winged gull ? (12% of the population winters in Asia) Western gull Western screech owl Common poorwill
The following species spend the winter wholly within the region:
Western grebe ? Clark's grebe ?