Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Common Quail
Europe's smallest gamebird, a secretive, migratory quail far more often heard than seen, giving a distinctive "wet-my-lips" call.
gamebird
Common Ostrich
The world's largest and heaviest living bird, a flightless African ratite known for its long bare legs, tiny head, and remarkable running speed.
other
Common Myna
A brown-bodied, black-headed myna with bright yellow bill, legs, and bare eye patch, one of the world's most successful urban-adapted birds.
songbird
Common Tern
A widespread, medium-sized tern found across North America, Europe, and Asia, with a black cap, red-orange bill, and deeply forked tail typical of the group.
seabird
Common Eider
A large, bulky sea duck of northern coasts, males boldly patterned black-and-white with a pale green nape and famous for their soft down.
waterfowl
Common Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, a highly adaptable descendant of the wild Rock Dove, seen worldwide in an enormous variety of plumage colors.
other
Common Poorwill
A small, cryptic desert nightjar uniquely known for entering a hibernation-like torpor to survive cold weather.
other
Common Gull
A gentle, medium-sized gull widespread across northern Eurasia, closely related to but geographically separate from the North American Mew (Short-billed) Gull.
seabird
Common Bulbul
A plain brown, noisy, and highly social African songbird known for its cheerful bubbling call and bright yellow undertail.
songbird
Common Kestrel
A familiar, russet-backed falcon best known for its ability to hover motionless in mid-air while scanning the ground for prey.
raptor
Common Pheasant
A large, long-tailed gamebird; males are strikingly iridescent with a bare red face, while females are cryptically mottled brown.
gamebird
Common Pochard
A diving duck with a rounded chestnut head, red eye, and pale grey body in the male, often seen in large rafts on open lakes.
waterfowl
Common Snipe
The Eurasian counterpart to Wilson's Snipe, a cryptically striped marsh bird with a very long bill, famed for the winnowing sound of its aerial display.
shorebird
Common Moorhen
A dark waterbird with a red-and-yellow bill and a white flank stripe, often seen jerking its head and flicking its tail while swimming.
wading-bird
Common Potoo
A large, cryptically patterned nocturnal bird that perches bolt upright on broken branch stubs, vanishing into the bark by day.
other
Common Greenshank
The Old World counterpart of the Greater Yellowlegs, a tall gray sandpiper with long greenish legs and a distinctive upturned bill.
shorebird
Common Chaffinch
One of Europe's most abundant finches, the male sporting a blue-gray crown and pink-buff breast, both sexes showing bold white wing bars.
songbird
Common Grackle
A large, iridescent blackbird with a long keel-shaped tail and pale yellow eyes, common across eastern and central North America.
songbird
Common Gallinule
The New World counterpart to the Common Moorhen, with the same red-and-yellow bill and a bold white flank stripe.
wading-bird
Common Raven
A massive, highly intelligent black corvid with a wedge-shaped tail and deep croaking voice, found across a vast range of wild habitats.
songbird
Common Linnet
A small, sociable finch of farmland and heathland, with breeding males showing a rosy-crimson flush on the forehead and breast.
songbird
Common Tailorbird
A tiny, olive-green warbler-relative famous for stitching leaves together with plant fiber to build its remarkable nest.
songbird
Common Chiffchaff
A small, drab leaf warbler that announces itself with its own name: a simple, repetitive 'chiff-chaff' song that is one of the earliest signs of spring.
songbird
Common Shelduck
A large, goose-like duck with bold white, black, and chestnut plumage and a bright red bill.
waterfowl