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
Cactus Wren
The largest North American wren, a bold, heavily spotted desert bird that nests within the spiny protection of cholla and cactus.
songbird
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
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
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
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
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
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
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