Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Snowy Plover
A pale, delicate plover of Pacific and Gulf Coast beaches and interior salt flats, once considered the same species as the Old World Kentish Plover.
shorebird
Masked Lapwing
A large, loud Australasian lapwing with prominent yellow facial wattles and a sharp yellow spur on each wing, common in parks, pastures, and wetlands.
shorebird
Guianan Toucanet
A small toucan of the Guiana Shield forests, with males showing a black head and a mostly greenish bill, and females bearing a rich chestnut cap.
other
Guianan Cock-of-the-rock
A brilliant yellow-orange bird of the Guiana Shield with a striking disc-shaped crest, famed for the males' elaborate lek courtship displays.
other
Marsh Wren
A small, energetic wren of cattail marshes, known for its loud, gurgling song and the male's habit of building multiple decoy nests.
songbird
Least Sandpiper
The smallest shorebird in the world, a tiny brown sandpiper best distinguished from its similar relatives by its greenish-yellow legs.
shorebird
Green Heron
A small, stocky, secretive heron with a dark greenish back, chestnut neck, and a reputation as one of the few birds known to use tools to catch fish.
wading-bird
Magnolia Warbler
A boldly patterned warbler with a black-streaked yellow breast and a distinctive black-and-white tail band, best identified from below in flight.
songbird
Intermediate Egret
A medium-sized white egret of Africa, Asia, and Australia whose size and proportions fall neatly between the larger Great Egret and smaller Little Egret.
wading-bird
Hooded Oriole
A slender, long-tailed oriole strongly associated with palm trees, with males showing bright orange-yellow plumage and a black face and bib.
songbird
Hooded Vulture
A small, drab, bare-faced vulture of Africa that scavenges close to towns and villages and has suffered catastrophic population declines.
raptor
Killdeer
A widespread shorebird recognized by its double black breast bands and its dramatic 'broken-wing' display to lure predators from the nest.
shorebird
Kea
A large, highly intelligent olive-green mountain parrot from New Zealand's South Island, the world's only alpine-dwelling parrot.
parrot
Green Jay
A dazzlingly colored jay of south Texas brushlands with a green back, sky-blue head markings, and lemon-yellow outer tail feathers.
songbird
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
A small desert woodpecker with a finely barred black-and-white 'ladder' back pattern, well adapted to arid scrub, mesquite, and cactus habitat.
woodpecker
Hill Myna
A glossy black forest myna with vivid yellow head wattles, renowned as one of the most accomplished vocal mimics among wild birds.
songbird
Lesser Rhea
A large flightless bird of the southern South American steppe, smaller and paler than the Greater Rhea, with grayish-brown plumage flecked with white.
other
Herring Gull
A large, familiar gray-backed gull with pink legs and a yellow bill marked by a red spot, widespread and adaptable across coasts, lakes, and cities.
seabird
Eastern Towhee
A striking sparrow relative with a black hood, rufous flanks, and white belly, known for its 'drink-your-tea' song and rustling leaf-litter foraging.
songbird
Emu
Australia's tallest native bird, a large flightless ratite with shaggy grayish-brown feathers and a distinctive loping stride.
other
European Shag
A sleek, dark green-black diving seabird of European rocky coasts, sporting a jaunty forward-curling crest in the breeding season.
seabird
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
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
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