Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Giant Hummingbird
The largest hummingbird species in the world, a grayish-brown Andean bird nearly the size of a swallow with slow, distinctly visible wingbeats.
hummingbird
Dovekie
The smallest North Atlantic auk, a plump black-and-white seabird that breeds in huge Arctic cliff colonies and winters at sea, often near pack ice.
seabird
Dark-eyed Junco
A small, highly variable sparrow-relative often called a "snowbird," typically dark gray or brown above with a contrasting white belly and pink bill.
songbird
Eurasian Bittern
A famously secretive reedbed heron known across Europe for the male's deep, foghorn-like booming call rather than for being seen.
wading-bird
Fork-tailed Sunbird
A tiny, iridescent sunbird of southern China and Vietnam, named for the male's elongated, forked tail streamers.
songbird
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
Grasshopper Warbler
An extremely secretive, streaked warbler best known for its bizarre, mechanical, insect-like reeling song, often compared to the sound of a fishing reel being cast.
songbird
Eastern Whip-poor-will
A cryptically camouflaged eastern forest nightjar celebrated for its relentless, repeated nighttime song that gives the bird its name.
other
Eurasian Hoopoe
An unmistakable pinkish-brown bird with a tall erectile crest, boldly barred wings, and a long curved bill, named for its distinctive call.
other
Gray Jay
A fluffy, tame boreal-forest jay, officially renamed Canada Jay, known for its curiosity around campsites and its habit of hoarding food year-round.
songbird
Eastern Phoebe
A plain grayish-brown flycatcher that pumps its tail while perched and famously nests on bridges, eaves, and other man-made structures.
songbird
Fiordland Penguin
A rare crested penguin, known as tawaki, that breeds uniquely among rainforest and rocky coastline of remote Fiordland, distinguished by its broad yellow eyebrow-stripe crest.
seabird
European Stonechat
A small, perky chat of gorse-covered heathland, the male showing a black head, white collar patches, and a bright orange breast, with a call like clicking stones.
songbird
Ferruginous Hawk
The largest North American buteo, a pale, rusty-shouldered hawk of the open western prairie and shrub-steppe.
raptor
Gang-gang Cockatoo
A small grey cockatoo of southeastern Australia's mountain forests, with males sporting a striking scarlet, wispy-crested head.
parrot
Eurasian Collared-Dove
A pale, sandy-gray dove with a distinctive black half-collar on the nape, rapidly expanding across North America since escaping captivity in Florida in the 1980s.
other
Glaucous-winged Gull
A large, pale gull of the Pacific Northwest coast whose wingtips blend almost seamlessly with its gray mantle, and which frequently hybridizes with the darker Western Gull.
seabird
Gadwall
A subtly patterned gray dabbling duck whose understated plumage reveals intricate vermiculated markings and a black rear end when seen up close.
waterfowl
Dunlin
A medium-small sandpiper with a distinctive drooped bill tip and, in breeding plumage, a bold black belly patch, often seen in large swirling flocks over mudflats.
shorebird
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
A barred, zebra-backed woodpecker of south Texas brushlands with a bright golden-orange patch on the nape and forehead.
woodpecker
European Robin
A small, plump songbird with a bright orange-red face and breast, one of the most familiar and beloved garden birds in Europe.
songbird
Egyptian Goose
A bulky, long-legged African waterfowl with a distinctive dark eye patch, chestnut breast patch, and pink legs.
waterfowl
Giant Kingfisher
Africa's largest kingfisher, a shaggy-crested, black-and-white speckled bird that hunts fish and crabs from streamside perches.
other
Gray-cheeked Thrush
A cold gray-toned northern thrush that breeds in remote subarctic forest and passes through the US mainly as an inconspicuous migrant.
songbird
Emerald Toucanet
A small, compact toucan relative clothed almost entirely in bright green plumage, with a bicolored bill and, in many populations, a blue-tinged throat.
other
Golden Eagle
A massive, powerful eagle of open western landscapes, dark brown overall with golden feathering on the back of the head and neck.
raptor
Gambel's Quail
A desert-adapted quail closely related to the California Quail, distinguished by its plain buffy belly and chestnut side patches.
gamebird
European Bee-eater
One of Europe's most vividly colored birds, a swallow-shaped hunter of flying insects with chestnut, yellow, and turquoise plumage.
other
Dartford Warbler
A small, dark, long-tailed warbler of gorse-covered heathland, notable for its deep wine-red underparts and its unusual habit of staying put year-round rather than migrating.
songbird
Golden-headed Quetzal
An Andean cloud-forest quetzal with iridescent green plumage, a golden-bronze sheen on the crown, and a crimson-red breast, but lacking the extremely long tail streamers of the Resplendent Quetzal.
other
Great Antshrike
A large, red-eyed antbird with strongly different plumage between the sexes: black-and-white males and rich rufous-brown females, both skulking in dense undergrowth.
songbird
Eurasian Jay
A colorful, secretive woodland corvid famous for its striking blue wing patch and habit of hoarding acorns.
songbird
Galah
A common Australian cockatoo with a rose-pink face and underparts contrasting sharply with a pale grey back and crown.
parrot
Eastern Wood-Pewee
A quiet, olive-gray flycatcher of eastern woodlands, best known for its plaintive, slurred "pee-a-wee" song.
songbird
Eastern Meadowlark
A grassland songbird with a bright yellow breast crossed by a bold black V and a rich, flute-like whistled song.
songbird
Egyptian Vulture
A small, distinctive Old World vulture with dirty-white plumage and a bare yellow face, notable for using tools to crack open eggs.
raptor
Gentoo Penguin
The fastest-swimming penguin species, recognized by its bright orange-red bill and a white patch stretching above each eye.
seabird
Field Sparrow
A small, pink-billed sparrow with a plain gray face and rusty cap, known for its sweet accelerating 'bouncing ball' song.
songbird
Golden Conure
A striking, almost entirely golden-yellow Amazonian parrot found only in a limited part of eastern Brazil.
parrot
European Roller
A stocky, crow-sized bird with brilliant blue plumage and a chestnut back, named for its spectacular tumbling courtship flight.
other
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
A long-necked, long-legged tawny duck with a whistling call, found in warm wetlands worldwide.
waterfowl
Barn Owl
A pale, heart-faced owl of open farmland, famous for its ghostly white underside and near-silent, moth-like flight.
owl
European Serin
A tiny, streaky, canary-like finch of southern and central Europe with a bright yellow-green rump and a fast, jingling song.
songbird
California Thrasher
A large, dark, long-billed thrasher endemic to California chaparral, more often heard singing than seen in its dense scrub habitat.
songbird
Gila Woodpecker
A desert-adapted woodpecker that carves its nest cavities into towering saguaro cacti.
woodpecker
Crimson Sunbird
A brilliant scarlet-and-yellow sunbird and the national bird of Singapore.
songbird
Eurasian Blackbird
A common European thrush; the male is glossy black with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring, while the female is dusky brown.
songbird
Brown Thrasher
A large, rich reddish-brown songbird with heavy dark streaking below and bright yellow eyes, known for an extensive repertoire of paired song phrases.
songbird