Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Cory's Shearwater
A large, gull-like shearwater of the Atlantic Ocean, with brownish-grey upperparts, a yellowish bill, and a slow, languid flight low over the waves.
seabird
Blue-headed Parrot
A stocky, short-tailed parrot with a rich blue head and neck, green body, and a bare pinkish-red patch of skin around the eye.
parrot
Cerulean Warbler
A sky-blue, canopy-dwelling warbler of mature eastern forests, among the fastest-declining North American warblers due to habitat loss on both its breeding and wintering grounds.
songbird
Cape Cormorant
A glossy black cormorant of the southern African coastline that forms some of the largest seabird breeding colonies in the world.
seabird
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
Bananaquit
A tiny, tame, constantly active nectar-feeder with a thin curved bill, gray-black upperparts, a bold white eyebrow stripe, and bright yellow underparts.
songbird
Chinese Pond-Heron
A small East Asian heron that transforms from a plain streaky brown bird into a maroon-and-slate breeding beauty each spring.
wading-bird
Arizona Woodpecker
The only brown-backed woodpecker found in the United States, restricted to oak canyons of southeastern Arizona and New Mexico.
woodpecker
Black-capped Vireo
A small vireo of Texas oak scrub with a glossy black cap, bold white spectacles, and a red eye, a conservation success story after habitat restoration and cowbird control.
songbird
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
A long-legged duck with a bright pink bill, chestnut body, and bold black belly that often perches in trees.
waterfowl
Blue Crane
South Africa's national bird, a pale blue-grey crane with an oversized head and dark wingtip plumes that trail like a train.
wading-bird
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
A large macaw with vivid sky-blue upperparts and golden-yellow underparts, found across much of tropical Central and South America.
parrot
Bearded Bellbird
A striking cotinga whose male has a brown head, white body, and a curtain of dangling black wattles, and whose loud, bell-like call carries far through the forest.
songbird
Cape May Warbler
A boldly patterned boreal warbler with a chestnut cheek patch and tiger-striped breast, whose populations boom and bust with spruce budworm outbreaks.
songbird
Barnacle Goose
A compact black, white, and grey goose with a striking cream-white face, famous for nesting on sheer Arctic cliffs.
waterfowl
Common Loon
An iconic North American lake bird famed for its striking black-and-white checkered plumage and haunting, wavering calls.
seabird
Cassin's Auklet
A small, plain sooty-gray auklet of the North Pacific that nests in burrows and forages mainly on krill and other tiny crustaceans.
seabird
Bridled Titmouse
A small, boldly patterned titmouse with a striking black-and-white "bridled" facial pattern, found in oak canyons of the Southwest.
songbird
Barred Owl
A large, dark-eyed forest owl known for its distinctive 'who-cooks-for-you' call and vertically streaked belly.
owl
Brandt's Cormorant
A stocky, dark cormorant of the Pacific coast known for a buffy throat patch bordered by a striking blue breeding pouch, nesting in dense colonies on coastal cliffs and islands.
seabird
Black-throated Trogon
A quiet lowland-forest trogon with a black face and throat, green upperparts, and a bright yellow belly.
other
Bank Swallow
The smallest North American swallow, brown above and white below with a crisp brown breast band, nesting colonially in burrows dug into sandy banks.
songbird
Cirl Bunting
A scarce, sedentary bunting of warm farmland, the male showing a black-and-yellow striped face and an olive breast band.
songbird
Buff-tailed Coronet
An Andean hummingbird with green body plumage and a bold buffy-orange patch flashing in the wings and tail during flight.
hummingbird
Common Starling
A glossy, iridescent black bird famous for its speckled winter plumage, noisy chattering song, and spectacular murmuration flocks.
songbird
Common Swift
A sooty-brown, scythe-winged aerial specialist that spends nearly its entire life airborne, screaming past rooftops in fast, wheeling parties.
other
Crested Oropendola
A large, glossy black icterid with a chestnut rump, yellow outer tail feathers, and pale blue eyes, famous for its colonial hanging nests and gurgling display song.
songbird
Clapper Rail
A large, drab gray-brown rail of Atlantic and Gulf Coast salt marshes, best known for its harsh clattering call.
wading-bird
Blue Grosbeak
A stocky, deep-blue finch-like bird with rich chestnut wingbars and a heavy silver bill, favoring brushy fields across the southern and central United States.
songbird
Belted Kingfisher
A large, shaggy-crested, rattling-voiced kingfisher of North American waterways, in which the female is more colorful than the male.
other
Crimson-backed Tanager
A striking black tanager with a fiery crimson back and lower underparts, common in gardens and edge habitats of northern South America.
songbird
Common Whitethroat
An animated scrubland warbler with a grey head, bright white throat, and chestnut-fringed wings, often seen bursting into a brief song-flight above the hedgerow.
songbird
Buff-banded Rail
A boldly barred, secretive rail with a chestnut nape and buff breast band, found skulking in wetland vegetation across Australia and the Pacific.
wading-bird
Cape Petrel
A striking black-and-white checkered petrel of the Southern Ocean, often called the Pintado Petrel, well known for following ships far from land.
seabird
Common Grackle
A large, iridescent blackbird with a long keel-shaped tail and pale yellow eyes, common across eastern and central North America.
songbird
Black-necked Stork
A tall, striking black-and-white stork with an iridescent black head and neck, found from South Asia to northern Australia, where it is sometimes locally called 'Jabiru.'
wading-bird
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
Bay-breasted Warbler
A boreal-forest warbler whose breeding males show rich chestnut on the crown, throat, and flanks, while fall birds turn plain greenish and are easily confused with Blackpoll Warbler.
songbird
Cockatiel
A small, crested Australian parrot recognized by its expressive head crest and bright orange cheek patches.
parrot
Black Swift
The largest North American swift, an all-dark bird that nests almost exclusively on cliff ledges behind or near waterfalls and in coastal sea caves.
other
Blue Rock Thrush
A stocky, solitary thrush of rocky habitats; the male is an overall slate-blue, while the female is grey-brown with fine scaly barring.
songbird
Brambling
A striking orange, black, and white finch of the northern taiga that winters in flocks, often alongside chaffinches, feasting on beech mast.
songbird
Australian Raven
A large, all-black Australian corvid best distinguished from similar crows and ravens by its long, wailing call and shaggy throat feathers.
songbird
Boat-tailed Grackle
A large, glossy coastal grackle with a distinctive keel-shaped tail and dramatic size difference between the sexes.
songbird
Common Cuckoo
A slender, hawk-like grey bird famous for its far-carrying call and its habit of laying eggs in the nests of other species.
other
Calliope Hummingbird
The smallest breeding bird in the United States and Canada, best known for the male's streaked magenta throat rays.
hummingbird
Bell Miner
A small, olive-green colonial honeyeater famous for its incessant, high-pitched, bell-like tinkling call, usually heard before it is seen.
songbird
Apostlebird
A dusty grey, ground-foraging Australian bird famous for moving through open woodland in noisy, cooperative family groups traditionally said to number around twelve.
songbird