Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Willie Wagtail
A small, confident black-and-white bird constantly wagging its tail from side to side, well known for its cheerful song and bold habit of mobbing much larger birds.
songbird
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
A tiny, swallow-sized seabird, sooty-black with a white rump band, famous for pattering its feet across the water's surface as it feeds, and considered one of the most abundant birds on Earth.
seabird
New Zealand Robin
A tame, upright New Zealand forest bird, dark grey-black above with a pale belly, well known for boldly following walkers and foraging on the forest floor within easy view.
songbird
Chukar
A bold, boldly barred Eurasian partridge introduced to the arid, rocky western United States, known for its distinctive black facial necklace and cackling call echoing across canyon terrain.
gamebird
Australian Brushturkey
A large, black-bodied mound-building bird with a bare red head and neck and a yellow throat wattle, well known for the huge leaf-litter mounds it builds to incubate its eggs.
gamebird
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
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
A slender, secretive woodland bird nicknamed the 'rain crow' for its habit of calling before summer storms, marked by a downcurved yellow lower bill and rufous flight feathers.
other
Saddleback
A glossy black New Zealand forest bird with a bold chestnut "saddle" across its back and bright orange-red wattles, now surviving mainly on predator-free islands after near extinction on the mainland.
songbird
Boreal Owl
A small, elusive owl of northern boreal forests with a squarish facial disc and a soft, high-pitched song heard mostly on cold winter nights.
owl
Common Poorwill
A small, cryptic desert nightjar uniquely known for entering a hibernation-like torpor to survive cold weather.
other
Chuck-will's-widow
The largest nightjar in North America, best known for its far-carrying, repetitive nighttime call that gives the bird its name.
other
Mexican Whip-poor-will
A southwestern mountain nightjar, virtually identical to the Eastern Whip-poor-will but distinguished by a slower, huskier song.
other
Eastern Whip-poor-will
A cryptically camouflaged eastern forest nightjar celebrated for its relentless, repeated nighttime song that gives the bird its name.
other
Ring Ouzel
A blackbird of high, wild upland moors and crags, the male distinguished by a striking white crescent across the breast.
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
Eurasian Jackdaw
A small, sociable crow with a silvery-grey nape and pale, staring eyes that nests in cavities and cliffs.
songbird
European Roller
A stocky, crow-sized bird with brilliant blue plumage and a chestnut back, named for its spectacular tumbling courtship flight.
other
Caspian Tern
The largest tern in the world, a gull-sized bird with a massive coral-red bill and a harsh, crow-like call, found on coasts and large lakes across every continent except Antarctica.
seabird
Zone-tailed Hawk
A blackish hawk that mimics the flight and silhouette of Turkey Vultures, letting it sneak up on unsuspecting prey.
raptor
Little Gull
The smallest gull in the world, a dainty, tern-like bird best known for its distinctive blackish underwings, unique among gulls.
seabird
Great-tailed Grackle
A large, glossy, long-tailed blackbird with a loud, varied voice that has rapidly expanded across urban and agricultural North America.
songbird
Bronzed Cowbird
A stocky blackbird with a distinctive ruff of neck feathers and striking red eyes that, like other cowbirds, lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
songbird
Chestnut-headed Oropendola
A colonial-nesting blackbird relative with a rich chestnut head and pale-tipped bill, famous for its long, hanging, woven nests dangling from tall trees.
songbird