Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Rose-coloured Starling
A striking pink-and-black starling that breeds in huge, irruptive colonies often tied to outbreaks of locusts and grasshoppers.
songbird
Red-shouldered Hawk
A colorful woodland buteo with rich rufous shoulders and underparts, closely tied to river bottoms and swampy forest.
raptor
Nuttall's Woodpecker
A small black-and-white woodpecker nearly endemic to California, closely tied to oak woodland and streamside groves.
woodpecker
Brant
A small, dark sea goose with a stubby black bill and neck, closely tied to coastal eelgrass beds.
waterfowl
Yellow-billed Grosbeak
A stocky finch with an oversized yellow bill tipped in black, a black head (in males), and grey-brown body plumage.
songbird
Swamp Sparrow
A rusty-winged, gray-breasted sparrow closely tied to marshes and wetlands, with a slow, musical trill.
songbird
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
One of the most common hummingbirds of Central America, with iridescent green upperparts, a rufous tail, and a reddish bill tipped in black.
hummingbird
California Scrub-Jay
A crestless, bold blue-and-gray jay of West Coast oak woodlands and suburban yards, closely tied to acorn crops.
songbird
Cape Sugarbird
A fynbos-endemic South African songbird with an extremely long tail and curved bill, closely tied to Protea flowers for nectar.
songbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
A jewel-toned hummingbird of southwestern canyons, easily recognized by its bright red bill with a black tip.
hummingbird
House Sparrow
A stocky, chunky-billed sparrow closely tied to human settlements, with males showing a gray crown, chestnut nape, and black bib.
songbird
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
A pale, crestless blue jay of the interior West's pinyon-juniper woodlands, closely tied to pine nut crops.
songbird
Turkey Vulture
A large, dark scavenger with a naked red head and a distinctive tilting, V-shaped soaring flight, famed for its exceptional sense of smell.
raptor
Northern Parula
A small, compact, blue-gray and yellow warbler with a distinctive bicolored bill, closely tied to hanging Spanish moss or Usnea lichen for nesting.
songbird
Cedar Waxwing
A sleek, crested, silky-brown songbird with a yellow-tipped tail and waxy red wingtips that travels in nomadic flocks following fruit crops.
songbird
Blue-crowned Motmot
A striking, sluggish forest bird with a black-bordered blue crown, greenish body, and a long, distinctive racket-tipped tail that it swings like a pendulum.
other
Pine Warbler
A softly plumaged, olive-yellow warbler tightly tied to pine forests, notable among warblers for regularly eating seeds and visiting bird feeders.
songbird
Spotted Owl
A dark-eyed, chocolate-brown forest owl closely tied to old-growth woodland and famous as a flagship species for old-growth conservation debates.
owl
Red-breasted Nuthatch
A tiny, tin-horn-voiced nuthatch of conifer forests, with rusty-orange underparts and a bold black eye-stripe bordered by white.
songbird
King Bird-of-paradise
A tiny, jewel-like bird-of-paradise with a crimson-and-white body and two wire-thin tail plumes tipped with emerald discs.
songbird
Common Black Hawk
A broad-winged, all-black hawk tightly tied to desert rivers, where it wades and forages for crabs and other aquatic prey.
raptor
Sandwich Tern
A slender, crested tern easily told from relatives by its long black bill with a distinctive yellow tip, named for the English town of Sandwich, Kent.
seabird
Red-throated Loon
The smallest and most lightly built loon, distinguished in summer by a wine-red throat patch and a habit of holding its bill tilted upward.
seabird
Rufous Motmot
The largest motmot species, with rich rufous-orange underparts and head, a green back, and a long tail ending in bare-shafted racket tips.
other