Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Canvasback
A large diving duck with a distinctive sloping forehead profile, the drake showing a rich chestnut head, black breast, and pale whitish body.
waterfowl
Red-breasted Merganser
A slim, shaggy double-crested sea duck with a thin serrated bill, the most marine of the mergansers.
waterfowl
Common Shelduck
A large, goose-like duck with bold white, black, and chestnut plumage and a bright red bill.
waterfowl
Blue-winged Teal
A small, long-distance migrant dabbling duck whose drake shows a bold white crescent before the eye and a powder-blue wing patch in flight.
waterfowl
Black Scoter
An all-black sea duck whose males show a bright orange-yellow knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Surf Scoter
A black sea duck with a bold multicolored bill patch, males marked with white patches on the forehead and nape.
waterfowl
Common Goldeneye
A hardy cavity-nesting diving duck named for its brilliant golden-yellow eye, the drake bearing a round white cheek spot on a glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
Common Teal
The smallest common dabbling duck of Eurasia, with breeding males showing a chestnut head and an iridescent green eye patch.
waterfowl
American Coot
A stocky slate-grey marsh bird with a chalky white bill, often mistaken for a duck though it is actually a rail.
wading-bird
King Eider
An Arctic sea duck whose males sport a bulbous orange bill knob and a colorful blue-gray and mint-green head.
waterfowl
American Wigeon
A round-headed dabbling duck nicknamed 'baldpate' for the male's creamy white forehead crown that contrasts with an iridescent green eye patch.
waterfowl
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
Bufflehead
North America's smallest diving duck, the compact drake striking with a large white patch wrapping around an iridescent black-and-purple head.
waterfowl
Northern Pintail
An elegant, slender dabbling duck named for the male's long, needle-like tail, marked by a chocolate-brown head and a crisp white neck stripe.
waterfowl
Lesser Scaup
North America's most abundant diving duck, closely resembling the Greater Scaup but with a peaked crown and a purplish (rather than greenish) head gloss.
waterfowl
Eurasian Wigeon
A Eurasian dabbling duck with a rich chestnut head and creamy forehead, an uncommon but regular visitor to North American coasts among flocks of American Wigeon.
waterfowl
Barrow's Goldeneye
A western diving duck closely related to the Common Goldeneye, the drake distinguished by a crescent-shaped white face patch and a steep purplish-black head.
waterfowl
Greater Scaup
A rounded-headed diving duck of large open waters, the drake showing a glossy greenish-black head and pale gray back, closely resembling the smaller Lesser Scaup.
waterfowl
Bat Falcon
A small, fast falcon with a black back, orange belly, and a habit of hunting bats and birds at dawn and dusk.
raptor
Bourke's Parrot
A small, soft pink-and-brown Australian grass parrot known for its gentle nature and dawn-and-dusk feeding habits.
parrot
Common Nighthawk
A cryptically patterned, long-winged aerial insect-hunter often seen at dusk with erratic, bat-like flight and a nasal "peent" call.
other
Blue-winged Kookaburra
A large, pale-eyed kingfisher of northern Australia known for its harsh, cackling calls given by family groups at dawn and dusk.
other
Black-crowned Night-Heron
A stocky, thick-necked heron active mainly at dusk and night, with a glossy black crown and back, pale grey wings, and striking red eyes.
wading-bird