Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Clay-colored Sparrow
A pale, delicately patterned sparrow with a gray nape and brown-streaked crown, giving its distinctive buzzy insect-like song from prairie shrubs.
songbird
Long-billed Thrasher
A darker, longer-billed cousin of the Brown Thrasher found in dense brush of south Texas and northeastern Mexico.
songbird
Snow Bunting
The northernmost-breeding songbird in the world, strikingly white in summer plumage and warm rusty-brown in winter flocks.
songbird
House Finch
A common backyard finch with the male showing rosy red on the head and breast and heavily streaked brown flanks.
songbird
Colima Warbler
A plain gray-brown warbler famous for breeding in the US only in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park.
songbird
Canyon Towhee
A drab, grayish-brown desert towhee closely resembling the California Towhee but with a faint breast spot and rustier crown.
songbird
Prairie Falcon
A pale, sandy-brown falcon of the arid West, identified in flight by dark patches under the wings near the body.
raptor
Abert's Towhee
A plain grayish-brown desert towhee with a black face mask, restricted to riparian corridors of the Sonoran Desert region.
songbird
California Towhee
A plain, uniformly brown towhee with a rusty undertail, common in California backyards and known for its sharp metallic chip call.
songbird
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
Northern Flicker
A large, brown, ground-foraging woodpecker with a bold black crescent bib and a flashing white rump patch visible when it flies.
woodpecker
Oak Titmouse
A plain gray-brown, crested songbird tightly tied to oak woodlands of California, notable for its lack of bold field marks.
songbird
Canada Goose
A large, familiar goose with a black head and neck, white chinstrap, and brown body, widespread across North America in a huge range of habitats.
waterfowl
Willow Ptarmigan
A tundra grouse that turns pure white in winter and rich rufous-brown in summer, the most widespread ptarmigan species and the official bird of Alaska.
gamebird
Eastern Screech-Owl
A tiny, tufted owl of eastern woodlands and suburbs, occurring in both gray and reddish-brown color forms, with a whinnying call rather than a screech.
owl
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
A plain brown swallow that nests in burrows in dirt banks, distinguished from other swallows by its uniform pale throat and lack of a breast band.
songbird
Greylag Goose
A large, bulky pale gray-brown goose with a stout pink or orange bill, the wild ancestor of most domestic geese and widespread across Eurasia.
waterfowl
Ruddy Shelduck
A large, warm orange-brown duck with a paler head, often seen in pairs on open lakes and rivers across Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe.
waterfowl
Egyptian Goose
A large, long-legged, goose-like duck native to Africa with a pale buffy-brown body, a distinctive dark eye patch, and a chestnut chest spot.
waterfowl
Ruffed Grouse
A mottled brown forest grouse famous for the male's drumming display, a rapid low thumping made by beating the wings rather than any vocal sound.
gamebird
Mourning Dove
A slender, soft-brown dove with a long pointed tail, one of the most abundant and widespread birds in North America, known for its mournful cooing call.
other
Gadwall
A subtly beautiful, medium-sized dabbling duck known for its intricate gray-brown male plumage, black rear, and distinctive white wing patch.
waterfowl
Common Eider
A large, heavy-bodied sea duck of northern coasts, breeding males are strikingly patterned in black and white with a pale green nape, while females are finely barred brown.
waterfowl
Canvasback
The Canvasback is a large, elegant diving duck easily recognized by its distinctive long, sloping profile and the male's striking white body, reddish-brown head, and black chest.
waterfowl