Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Kelp Gull
A widespread Southern Hemisphere gull with a black back and white head, ecologically similar to the Great Black-backed Gull of the north, and a rare vagrant to the Gulf Coast of North America.
seabird
Dalmatian Pelican
The largest of the world's pelican species, a greyish-white giant with shaggy curled nape feathers and a striking orange-red pouch, once seriously threatened but now slowly recovering.
seabird
Common Goldeneye
A hardy cavity-nesting diving duck named for its brilliant golden-yellow eye, the drake bearing a round white cheek spot on a glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
New Zealand Pigeon
A large, iridescent New Zealand forest pigeon with a metallic green-bronze head and back and a pure white breast, an important disperser of seeds from large native fruiting trees.
other
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
Stitchbird
A small, striking New Zealand honeyeater-like bird, the male boldly patterned in black, yellow, and white, now surviving only on predator-free islands and in reintroduced mainland sanctuaries.
songbird
Golden-winged Warbler
A gray-and-white warbler with a bold golden wing patch and yellow crown, once common in shrubby eastern habitat but now steeply declining and prone to hybridizing with Blue-winged Warbler.
songbird
Cattle Egret
A stocky, short-necked white egret closely associated with grazing livestock, whose remarkable natural range expansion made it one of the most successful bird colonizations in modern history.
wading-bird
Black Skimmer
A unique black-and-white coastal bird with an oversized red-and-black bill whose lower mandible is longer than the upper, used to skim fish from the water's surface in flight.
seabird
Zebra Finch
A tiny, boldly patterned Australian finch famous for its orange cheek patch, fine barring, and near-constant chattering calls.
songbird
Bell's Vireo
A small, drab, hyperactive vireo of dense willow and mesquite thickets, known for its fast, chattering, question-and-answer song.
songbird
Common Starling
A glossy, iridescent black bird famous for its speckled winter plumage, noisy chattering song, and spectacular murmuration flocks.
songbird
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
Eurasian Reed Warbler
A plain, unstreaked, warm brown warbler of dense reedbeds, best known for its steady, rhythmic, chattering song and as a frequent host of the Common Cuckoo.
songbird
Eurasian Skylark
A streaky brown ground bird famous for its prolonged, high-flying song delivered while hovering far overhead.
songbird
Common Pheasant
A large, long-tailed gamebird; males are strikingly iridescent with a bare red face, while females are cryptically mottled brown.
gamebird
Eurasian Blackbird
A common European thrush; the male is glossy black with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring, while the female is dusky brown.
songbird
Common Kestrel
A familiar, russet-backed falcon best known for its ability to hover motionless in mid-air while scanning the ground for prey.
raptor
Blue Rock Thrush
A stocky, solitary thrush of rocky habitats; the male is an overall slate-blue, while the female is grey-brown with fine scaly barring.
songbird
Nankeen Kestrel
Australia's smallest falcon, a rufous-backed kestrel famous for hovering motionless in the air while scanning for prey.
raptor
Red-winged Blackbird
A glossy black marsh bird whose males display bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches while perched and singing atop cattails.
songbird
Eastern Phoebe
A plain grayish-brown flycatcher that pumps its tail while perched and famously nests on bridges, eaves, and other man-made structures.
songbird
Shoebill
An enormous, prehistoric-looking wading bird of African swamps, famous for its massive shoe-shaped bill and statue-like patience while hunting.
wading-bird
Sungrebe
A secretive aquatic bird best known for the male's habit of carrying chicks in skin pouches under his wings while swimming.
other