Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Alder Flycatcher
A plain, olive-brown Empidonax flycatcher of northern alder swamps and wet shrublands, virtually identical to the Willow Flycatcher except by voice.
songbird
Sarus Crane
The world's tallest flying bird, a grey crane with a bare red head and neck, revered in South Asian culture as a symbol of marital fidelity.
wading-bird
Grey Heron
A tall, pale grey wading bird widespread across the Old World, closely resembling North America's Great Blue Heron in shape and habits.
wading-bird
Jungle Babbler
A drab, noisy, sociable babbler almost always seen in chattering flocks of half a dozen or more, earning it the nickname 'Seven Sisters.'
songbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
A brood-parasitic blackbird whose glossy brown head contrasts with the male's black body, famous for laying eggs in other birds' 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
European Golden-Plover
A handsome gold-spangled plover of northern moors and tundra, wintering in large flocks on European farmland and estuaries.
shorebird
Red Wattlebird
A large, noisy honeyeater with streaky grey-brown plumage, a bright yellow belly patch, and a fleshy pinkish-red wattle hanging below the eye.
songbird
Hyacinth Macaw
The world's largest flying parrot species, a deep cobalt-blue macaw of central South America specialized for cracking tough palm nuts.
parrot
Red-billed Quelea
A small, sparrow-like African weaver famous for forming the largest flocks of any wild bird species, sometimes numbering in the millions.
songbird
Western Wood-Pewee
A drab, grayish-olive flycatcher of western woodlands best identified by its harsh, nasal 'peeer' call given from an exposed perch.
songbird
Thick-billed Longspur
A stocky, heavy-billed shortgrass prairie longspur, the current official name (since 2020) for the species formerly called McCown's Longspur.
songbird
Violet-green Swallow
A shimmering western swallow with an iridescent green back, violet rump, and white patches that nearly wrap around the face and flanks.
songbird
Sharp-tailed Grouse
A pale, prairie-and-brushland grouse with a short pointed tail, best known for the male's foot-stamping dance and popping purple neck sacs on the lek.
gamebird
Pectoral Sandpiper
A medium-sized, long-necked sandpiper with a sharply demarcated streaked breast band, favoring wet grassy meadows over open mudflats.
shorebird
Pinyon Jay
A uniformly blue, crestless, highly social jay of pinyon-juniper woodlands that lives in large, noisy flocks year-round.
songbird
Orchard Oriole
The smallest North American oriole, with adult males showing a deep chestnut-and-black plumage rather than the bright orange of most other orioles.
songbird
Red-tailed Hawk
North America's most familiar large hawk, often seen soaring over highways or perched on poles, named for the adult's brick-red tail.
raptor
Osprey
A large, fish-eating hawk found near water nearly worldwide, easily known by its white underparts, dark eye-stripe, and dramatic feet-first dive for fish.
raptor
Rock Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, a highly variable dove descended from wild cliff-dwelling stock, now found in cities and towns worldwide.
other
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
A slender, iridescent green bird with a needle-thin bill and rufous underparts that hawks insects from perches along forest edges.
other
Red Grouse
A reddish-brown grouse of British and Irish heather moorland, a distinctive subspecies of the Willow Ptarmigan found nowhere else.
gamebird
Pink-backed Pelican
A relatively small, drab greyish pelican of African wetlands, named for a subtle pink tinge on the back that is often difficult to see in the field.
seabird
Red-billed Leiothrix
A vividly colored, red-billed songbird nicknamed the Pekin Robin, olive-green above with orange-yellow throat and colorful wing patches.
songbird