Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Veery
A uniformly tawny thrush of moist woodlands, named for its breezy, downward-spiraling song of repeated "veer" notes.
songbird
Verdin
A tiny, active desert songbird with a bright yellow head and a chestnut shoulder patch, famous for its bulky twig nests.
songbird
Boreal Owl
A small, elusive owl of northern boreal forests with a squarish facial disc and a soft, high-pitched song heard mostly on cold winter nights.
owl
Cockatoo
A family of large, crested parrots native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, distinguished by their erectile crests and mostly white, black, pink, or grey plumage.
parrot
Swallow-tailed Kite
An unmistakable black-and-white raptor with a deeply forked tail that glides effortlessly over southern swamps.
raptor
Emperor Penguin
The tallest and heaviest of all penguin species, famous for breeding through the brutal Antarctic winter on open sea ice.
seabird
Ruddy Shelduck
A warm orange-brown, goose-like duck with a pale head and dark tail, often seen in pairs on open wetlands.
waterfowl
Atlantic Puffin
A charismatic black-and-white seabird with a colorful triangular bill, nicknamed the 'sea parrot,' that nests in burrows on North Atlantic cliffs.
seabird
Band-tailed Pigeon
A large, plain gray forest pigeon of the western mountains, told by its yellow bill, white nape crescent, and pale terminal tail band, often gathering in flocks at acorn-rich oak groves.
other
Tufted Puffin
A large North Pacific puffin with a massive orange bill and long golden head plumes trailing backward in breeding plumage.
seabird
White-necked Jacobin
A striking Neotropical hummingbird with males showing a deep blue-violet hood, snow-white underparts, and a bold white band across the tail.
hummingbird
Indian Robin
A small, confiding chat of dry open country, the male glossy black with a white shoulder flash and chestnut under the tail.
songbird
Horned Puffin
A black-and-white North Pacific puffin with a bright orange-and-yellow bill and a small dark 'horn' of skin above each eye.
seabird
Gang-gang Cockatoo
A small grey cockatoo of southeastern Australia's mountain forests, with males sporting a striking scarlet, wispy-crested head.
parrot
Sooty Grouse
A large, dark Pacific-coast mountain grouse, the coastal counterpart of the Dusky Grouse, known for the male's deep hooting display from tall conifers.
gamebird
Buff-tailed Coronet
An Andean hummingbird with green body plumage and a bold buffy-orange patch flashing in the wings and tail during flight.
hummingbird
Steller's Jay
A bold, crested jay of western conifer forests with a striking black head and deep blue body.
songbird
Laughing Gull
A common, noisy coastal gull of the eastern and Gulf coasts, named for its raucous, laugh-like call.
seabird
White-winged Crossbill
A boreal finch with a crossed bill and two bold white wing bars, specialized for feeding on spruce cones.
songbird
White-headed Woodpecker
An unmistakable pine-forest woodpecker with an all-white head set against a glossy black body.
woodpecker
Masked Trogon
A brilliantly colored Andean trogon with a glossy green back, black face mask, and a bright red belly.
other
Cackling Goose
A smaller, stubby-billed look-alike of the Canada Goose, formerly considered the same species.
waterfowl
Surf Scoter
A black sea duck with a bold multicolored bill patch, males marked with white patches on the forehead and nape.
waterfowl
Woodlark
A short-tailed lark of heathland and woodland edge known for its rich, melancholy, fluting song.
songbird