Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
American Avocet
An elegant black-and-white shorebird with a slender upturned bill and, in breeding season, a warm cinnamon-orange head and neck.
shorebird
Amazon Kingfisher
A large green-backed kingfisher of Central and South American waterways, with a shaggy crest and a chestnut breast band in males.
other
Black Redstart
A dusky, rock-loving chat that has adapted well to towns and industrial sites, the male dark sooty-grey with a constantly quivering rust-red tail.
songbirdKiwi
A small, flightless, nocturnal bird endemic to New Zealand, famed for its long probing bill, hair-like feathers, and keen sense of smell.
other
Townsend's Solitaire
A slim, gray, upright thrush relative famous for defending juniper berry territories in winter and singing a long, warbling song.
songbird
Sword-billed Hummingbird
A high-Andean hummingbird with an extraordinarily long, straight bill, longer than its own body, specialized for feeding on long-tubed flowers.
hummingbird
Superb Lyrebird
Australia's celebrated rainforest songbird, famous for its extravagant tail and uncanny ability to mimic almost any sound it hears.
songbird
Violet-green Swallow
A shimmering western swallow with an iridescent green back, violet rump, and white patches that nearly wrap around the face and flanks.
songbird
Sharp-tailed Grouse
A pale, prairie-and-brushland grouse with a short pointed tail, best known for the male's foot-stamping dance and popping purple neck sacs on the lek.
gamebird
Red-whiskered Bulbul
A perky, crested bulbul with white cheeks, a small red "whisker" patch behind the eye, and a red vent, popular in gardens across South and Southeast Asia.
songbird
Northern Cardinal
A brilliant all-red songbird with a prominent crest and thick orange-red bill, common at backyard feeders across the eastern and central U.S.
songbird
Purple-crested Turaco
A glossy green forest bird of southeastern Africa with a rounded purple crest and crimson flight feathers that flash brilliantly in flight.
other
Royal Tern
A large, orange-billed tern of sandy beaches and estuaries, second in size only to the Caspian Tern, often seen with a shaggy black crest streaming in the wind.
seabird
Orchard Oriole
The smallest North American oriole, with adult males showing a deep chestnut-and-black plumage rather than the bright orange of most other orioles.
songbird
Rainbow Pitta
A jewel-toned, ground-dwelling rainforest bird of tropical northern Australia with a black head, emerald back, and scarlet belly.
songbird
Spotted Antbird
A small, boldly spotted antbird of Central American and Chocó forests that habitually follows army ant swarms to catch fleeing insects.
songbird
Red-billed Oxpecker
A specialized African bird that clings to buffalo, giraffe, and other large mammals, picking off ticks with its slender red bill.
songbird
Red-throated Loon
The smallest and most lightly built loon, distinguished in summer by a wine-red throat patch and a habit of holding its bill tilted upward.
seabird
Semipalmated Plover
A small, compact plover with a single black breast band and orange legs, common on beaches and mudflats throughout the Americas during migration.
shorebird
Rufous Motmot
The largest motmot species, with rich rufous-orange underparts and head, a green back, and a long tail ending in bare-shafted racket tips.
other
Osprey
A large, fish-eating hawk found near water nearly worldwide, easily known by its white underparts, dark eye-stripe, and dramatic feet-first dive for fish.
raptor
Red Grouse
A reddish-brown grouse of British and Irish heather moorland, a distinctive subspecies of the Willow Ptarmigan found nowhere else.
gamebird
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
A slender, iridescent green bird with a needle-thin bill and rufous underparts that hawks insects from perches along forest edges.
other
Rock Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, a highly variable dove descended from wild cliff-dwelling stock, now found in cities and towns worldwide.
other