Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Mountain Quail
The largest North American quail, known for its long, straight, dagger-like head plume and chestnut throat patch.
gamebird
Bachman's Sparrow
A secretive southeastern sparrow of open pine savanna, celebrated for one of the most beautiful songs of any North American sparrow.
songbird
Cactus Wren
The largest North American wren, a bold, heavily spotted desert bird that nests within the spiny protection of cholla and cactus.
songbird
Scaled Quail
A distinctive desert quail of the American Southwest, instantly recognized by its scaly gray plumage and prominent, white-tipped crest.
gamebird
White-throated Swift
A fast, boldly black-and-white patterned swift of western cliffs and canyons, among the fastest fliers of any North American bird.
other
Chukar
A rocky-terrain partridge with a bold black facial necklace and boldly barred flanks, introduced to the arid American West from Eurasia.
gamebird
Henslow's Sparrow
A secretive prairie sparrow with a large flat head, olive face, and one of the most unimpressive songs of any North American bird.
songbird
Swainson's Hawk
A long-winged prairie hawk famous for one of the longest migrations of any North American raptor, traveling all the way to the pampas of Argentina.
raptor
White-winged Scoter
The largest North American scoter, a bulky black sea duck with a bold white wing patch and a small white crescent under the eye.
waterfowl
Bank Swallow
The smallest North American swallow, brown above and white below with a crisp brown breast band, nesting colonially in burrows dug into sandy banks.
songbird
Brown-crested Flycatcher
The largest of the North American Myiarchus flycatchers, a bushy-crested, cavity-nesting bird of desert washes and saguaro country with a rolling 'whit-will-do' call.
songbird
Bobolink
A grassland songbird famous for the breeding male's striking black-and-white "backward tuxedo" plumage and one of the longest migrations of any North American songbird.
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
Black Swift
The largest North American swift, an all-dark bird that nests almost exclusively on cliff ledges behind or near waterfalls and in coastal sea caves.
other
McCown's Longspur
A thick-billed prairie longspur historically named for a 19th-century army officer; in 2020 the American Ornithological Society officially renamed the species Thick-billed Longspur.
songbird
Cerulean Warbler
A sky-blue, canopy-dwelling warbler of mature eastern forests, among the fastest-declining North American warblers due to habitat loss on both its breeding and wintering grounds.
songbird
Altamira Oriole
The largest oriole in the United States, a bright orange bird found only in the Rio Grande Valley of extreme south Texas, famous for weaving the longest hanging nest of any North American bird.
songbird
Green Kingfisher
A small, quiet kingfisher of South Texas and Latin America, easily recognized by its glossy green plumage and low-profile hunting style.
other
Blackpoll Warbler
A boreal-breeding warbler famous for its extraordinary nonstop transoceanic migration flight from the northeastern U.S. to South America.
songbird
Bufflehead
A tiny, energetic diving duck of North America, recognized by the male's striking white wedge on his oversized, iridescent head.
waterfowl
Vermilion Flycatcher
A tiny, brilliant scarlet-red flycatcher of southwestern deserts and riverbanks, among the most vividly colored songbirds in North America.
songbird
Winter Wren
A tiny, dark, almost tailless woodland wren of eastern North America known for its remarkably long, bubbling song.
songbird
White-tipped Dove
A stealthy, ground-dwelling dove of the Americas, known for its ghostly, bottle-like hooting and flashing white tail-tips.
other
Rusty Blackbird
A boreal-breeding blackbird that turns rusty-edged in fall plumage, now one of the most steeply declining songbirds in North America.
songbird