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Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana)

Birds of Lewis & Clark

Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis)

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark observed and recorded many birds during their expedition, including grouse, aquatic birds, and a woodpecker. They also named two birds after themselves: Lewis’s Woodpecker and Clark’s Nutcracker, as pictured above. 

Their personal writings and Corp of Discovery journals identify 134 species of birds with reasonable certainty . . . . perhaps the men felt a special interest in birds because Lewis knew, and the others were surely told, that President Thomas Jefferson was an enthusiastic birdwatcher, who was keeping his own personal list of birds as seen and positively identified around his home. [1]

Portraits of William Clark (left) and Meriwether Lewis

While camping at Fort Clatsop, today’s Oregon near the Pacific Ocean, Lewis describes aquatic birds: four seagulls, black cormorant, Arctic loon, and western grebe.

Other birds they spotted included the Dusky Horned Owl, which is a sub-species of the Great Horned Owl, seen on the Clearwater River (Kooskooskee) on March 3, 1806, on their return trip. This owl is the darkest colored of all the horned owls.

More attention from naturalists is given to the species of grouse that the Expedition members spotted during a ritualistic Lek. Both Meriwether Lewis and William Clark documented October 1, 1804 sightings of the sharp-tailed grouse and the sage grouse during their expedition. The sage grouse is known to perform elaborate mating rituals, including songs and dances on their breeding grounds during their Leks. [2]

Not all of the Lewis and Clark sightings or identifications of birds were accurate. For example: Clark’s Nightengale, known as the “mystery bird,” was heard one night by Clark and company. Exactly what bird species did their party hear? This particular “nightingale” sang all night on June 3, 1804. Capt. Clark and First Sergeant John Ordway heard the night call and named a small creek near that June, 1804 campsite “Nightingale Creek” after the bird. The bird’s true identity remains unknown.

The historian and biologist Paul Cutright dismissed the idea of the bird being a cardinal, or other species, finally concluding that the bird’s identity was a mystery. Virginia Holmgren, who has studied the 134 species carefully, has proposed that the mystery bird could have been a hermit thrush, a veery, or a whip-poor-will. All good guesses for their secretive behavior and haunting calls, day and night. (See list below)[4]

Another guess, and the one where I have landed 121 years later (in 2025) is that it was a Northern Mockingbird. I believe strongly it could be the Northern Mockingbird, because, although there are no Nightengales that are native to North America, (the mockingbird is sometimes called “America’s nightengale,”) it is known for its beautiful singing voice and tendancy to make plaintive calls all night long during mating season. My gambling bucks would go to this beautiful “mimic of a bird caller” with more melodious notes in its repertoire than almost any other species.[3]

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) N.B. the Latin name means multilingual mime bird

[1] https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/birds/

[2] Holmgren, Virginia C., Birdwatcher’s Guide to Lewis and Clark

[3] My sister, Mary Hooper Klaff, sent me a note and voice recording in April, 2025 where she asked: “Henry: What do you make of this bird call? I was outside at 12:30am, when it’s always pretty quiet, and there were nonstop bird calls. It’s coming from the same location, although there is another series down the street. It cannot be real birds doing this. Changing series of bird calls nonstop. This is a sample of the call, as I recorded it.” When I heard the call that she had recorded on her phone, I thought it was either a catbird and a mockingbird. I finally landed on the Northern Mockingbird. On second though, it could just as easily be a seasonal serenade by The American Nightengale.

[4] List of Sightings of Birds by Lewis & Clark and Corp of Discovery

  • Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa
  • Least Tern, Sterna antillarum
  • Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus
  • Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula
  • Rusty Blackbird, Euphagus carolinus 
  • Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephla
  • Mountain Bluebird, Sialia currucoides
  • Brown Brant, Branta bernicla bernicla
  • Black Brant, Branta bernicla nigricans
  • Glue Goose, Chen caerulescens caerulescens 
  • Greater white fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
  • Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens hyberborea
  • Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
  • Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola
  • Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
  • California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus
  • Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
  • Canvasback, Aythya ualisineria
  • Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis
  • Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
  • Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
  • Heath Pheasant, Tympanuchus cupido cupido
  • Greater Prairie-Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus
  • Sage Grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus aka cock-of-the-plains, 
  • Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus
  • Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
  • Black-winged Crow, corvus corax 
  • Clark’s Nutcracker, Nucifraga columbiana
  • Steller’s jay, Cyanocitta stelleri
  • Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis
  • Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
  • Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis
  • Great Egret, Casmerodius albus
  • Common Egret, Ardea alba
  • Whooping Crane, Grus americana
  • American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus
  • Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus 
  • Northwestern Crow, Corvus caurinus
  • Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus
  • Eskimo Curlew, Numenius borealis
  • Red-necked Grebe, Podiceps grisegena
  • Horned Grebe, Podiceps auritus
  • Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
  • American Coot, Fulica americana
  • Common Merganser, Mergus merganser
  • Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris
  • Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca
  • Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis
  • Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
  • Wood-Duck, Aix sponsa
  • Cinnamon Teal, Anas cyanoptera
  • Gadwall, Anas strepera
  • Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
  • Hammond’s Flycatcher, Empidonax hamondii
  • American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
  • Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
  • Cackling Goose, Branta canadensis minima
  • Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
  • Western Gull, Larus occidentalis
  • Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens
  • California Gull, Larus californicus
  • Bonaparte’s Gull, Larus philadelphia
  • Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis
  • Rough-legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus 
  • Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis
  • Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus
  • American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
  • Merlin, Falco columbarius
  • Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
  • Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii
  • Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus
  • Red-tailed Hawk, Buteojamaicensis
  • Black-shouldered Kite, Elanus caeruleus
  • White-tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus 
  • Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
  • American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus
  • Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, 
  • Great Egret, Casmerodius albus
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris
  • Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus
  • Black-chinned Hummingbird, Archilochus alexandri
  • Calliope Hummingbird, Stellula calliope
  • Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Selasphorus platycercus
  • Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
  • Pinyon Jay, Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus
  • Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens 
  • Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus
  • Semipalmated Plover, Charadrius semipalmatus
  • Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon
  • Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana
  • Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna 
  • Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
  • Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris
  • Yellow Rail, Coturnicops noveboracensis 
  • Sprague’s Pipit, Anthus spragueii
  • McCown’s Longspur, Calcarius mccownii
  • Common Redpoll, Caruelis flammea
  • Purple Finch, Carpodacus pupurea 
  • House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
  • Common Loon, Gavia immer
  • Red-throated Loon, Gavia stellata
  • Arctic Loon, Gavia arctica
  • Black-billed Magpie, Pica pica
  • Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
  • Bank Swallow, Riparia riparia
  • Purple Martin, Progne subis
  • Cliff Swallow, Hirundo pyrrhonota
  • Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos 
  • Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis 
  • Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
  • Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus
  • Great Gray Owl, Strix nebulosa
  • Carolina Parakeet, Conuropsis carolinensis
  • Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya 
  • American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
  • Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus
  • Blue Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus
  • Spruce Grouse, Dendragapus canadensis
  • Passenger Pigeon, Ectopistes migratorius
  • Band-tailed Pigeon, Columba fasciata
  • Common Pigeon, Columba Livia
  • Upland Sandpiper, Bartramania longicauda
  • Stilt Sandpiper, Calidris himantopus
  • Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotus
  • Willet, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
  • American Avocet, Recuruirostra americana
  • Mountain Plover, Charadrius montanus 
  • Mountain Quail, Oreortyx pictus
  • Common Raven, Corvus corax
  • American Robin, Turdus migratorius
  • Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naeuius
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus uarius
  • Red-breasted Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus ruber
  • Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
  • Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia 
  • House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
  • Fox Sparrow, Passerella iliaca unalascensis
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow, Zonotricia atricapilla
  • Wood Stork, Mycteria americana
  • Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
  • Whooper Swan, Cygnus cygnus
  • Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator 
  • Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus
  • Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors
  • Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis 
  • Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum
  • Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopauo 
  • White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucurus
  • Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
  • Whip-Poor-Will, Caprimulgus vociferus
  • Common Poorwill, Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
  • Lewis’s Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis
  • Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
  • Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus
  • Clark’s Crow, Nucifraga Columbiana
  • Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus
  • Lark-Woodpecker; Yellow-shafted Flicker, Colaptes auratus auratus 
  • Red-shafted Flicker, Colaptes auratus cafer
  • Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus 
  • Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus
  • Winter Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
  • House Wren, Troglodytes aedon