Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Rock Wren
A pale, grayish-brown wren of arid rocky landscapes, known for bobbing on boulders and building pebble-paved nest paths.
songbird
Red-legged Partridge
A boldly patterned partridge with a striped black-and-white throat patch, a red bill, and red legs, native to southwestern Europe.
gamebird
Rhinoceros Auklet
A dusky-brown North Pacific auk named for the pale horn-like projection on its bill that develops in breeding season.
seabird
Plum-headed Parakeet
A slender green parakeet whose male sports a striking plum-purple head bordered with a thin black-and-blue neck ring.
parrot
Raggiana Bird-of-paradise
The national bird of Papua New Guinea, known for the male's spectacular fanned display of orange-red flank plumes.
songbird
Laughing Dove
A small, slender pinkish-brown dove with a black-and-rufous speckled necklace patch and a soft, chuckling, laugh-like call.
other
Montagu's Harrier
The slimmest and most elegant of the harriers, a long-distance migrant that increasingly nests in arable farmland.
raptor
Gilded Flicker
A large, desert-dwelling flicker with golden-yellow underwings that nests in the towering saguaro cactus.
woodpecker
Eurasian Pygmy Owl
Europe's smallest owl, a sparrow-sized predator of northern coniferous forest that hunts by day as often as by night.
owl
Fork-tailed Sunbird
A tiny, iridescent sunbird of southern China and Vietnam, named for the male's elongated, forked tail streamers.
songbird
Burrowing Owl
A small, long-legged owl that nests underground in abandoned burrows and is often seen standing bolt upright by day.
owl
Australian Ringneck
A widespread, variably colored Australian parrot identified by the narrow yellow band across its hindneck.
parrot
Chuck-will's-widow
The largest nightjar in North America, best known for its far-carrying, repetitive nighttime call that gives the bird its name.
other
Blue Crane
South Africa's national bird, a pale blue-grey crane with an oversized head and dark wingtip plumes that trail like a train.
wading-bird
Cliff Swallow
A colonial swallow famous for building gourd-shaped mud nests in dense clusters under bridges, eaves, and cliffs.
songbird
Alexandrine Parakeet
A large green parakeet named for Alexander the Great, with a heavy red bill and a distinctive maroon shoulder patch.
parrot
Willow Ptarmigan
A tundra grouse and Alaska's state bird, turning pure white in winter and rich mottled rufous-brown in summer, with males retaining a chestnut head and neck longest into spring.
gamebird
Western Gull
A large, dark-backed gull restricted almost entirely to the Pacific coast of North America, a common sight on rocky shorelines and piers from Washington to Baja California.
seabird
Spot-billed Pelican
A greyish Asian pelican named for the dark spots that appear on its bill during the breeding season, with strongholds in protected wetlands of India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.
seabird
Philadelphia Vireo
The smallest eastern vireo, with a yellow-washed underside and dark eye line, breeding in northern second-growth woodlands and often confused with Warbling Vireo and Tennessee Warbler.
songbird
Spotted Sandpiper
A small, constantly bobbing sandpiper of North American shorelines, easily recognized in breeding plumage by the bold dark spots covering its white underparts.
shorebird
Southern Masked Weaver
A common, widespread southern African weaver whose breeding males are bright yellow with a black face mask and red eyes, known for its intricately woven grass nests.
songbird
Montezuma Oropendola
A large Central American icterid with a chestnut body, black head, orange-tipped bill, and bare blue-and-pink facial skin, known for colonial hanging nests and loud gurgling calls.
songbird
Greater Sage-Grouse
The largest North American grouse, famous for males' spectacular strutting display with inflated air sacs on communal leks scattered across the sagebrush sea.
gamebird