Missouri's state bird and the most reliably present bird at the gallery. The male's red is hard to mistake. The female is brown with red accents and a crest that's just as distinctive once you know what you're looking at. They stay year-round, and you'll hear the male's whistle before you see him.

Intensely blue on top, rust-colored chest, white belly. They nest in cavities: old fence posts, nest boxes, dead tree limbs. Table Rock Lake's mix of open field and woodland edge is the habitat they prefer. Watch for them in the open fields around the gallery.

The only hummingbird that breeds in the eastern United States, and a reliable summer visitor around the gallery from May through September. The male's throat patch is an iridescent red that only catches in direct light. Most of the time it just looks dark. Their wings beat 53 times per second and you can hear them coming.

The hawk you're most likely to see soaring over the ridgelines around Table Rock Lake, riding the thermals that come off the hillsides in the afternoon. The brick-red tail is only visible from above. From the ground, look for the dark belly band across the pale underside. Year-round resident, one of the larger hawks in North America.

All black, loud, and smarter than they look. Crows are social and adaptable. They congregate in the fields around the gallery, especially in fall and winter when they form larger roosts. The calls carry a long way. If you hear something that sounds like an argument in the trees, it's probably crows.

The ghostly one. Barn owls have a distinctive heart-shaped white face and hunt almost entirely by sound. Their hearing is precise enough to hunt in complete darkness. They don't hoot; they screech. Old buildings with loft spaces make ideal nesting sites, and the Ozarks' mix of open field and woodland gives them good hunting. Mostly nocturnal and easily missed.

The male in breeding plumage is an almost impossible blue. Not the blue of a bluebird, which has rust and white in it, but solid blue from bill to tail. They're summer residents in the Ozarks, arriving in May and leaving by October. The female is streaky brown and easy to miss. Males sing from exposed perches at the tops of shrubs, which is how you find them.

The largest heron in North America, and one of the most reliably seen birds at Table Rock Lake. They stand motionless at the water's edge, waiting for fish with remarkable patience. Up close they're enormous, with a wingspan of around four and a half feet. In flight, the slow wingbeats and tucked neck are unmistakable. Year-round on the lake.