Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Eastern Kingbird
A bold, crisp black-and-white flycatcher known for fearlessly attacking hawks and crows that stray near its nest.
songbird
Lewis's Woodpecker
An unusually crow-like woodpecker with iridescent greenish-black plumage, a pink belly, and a habit of catching insects on the wing.
woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
North America's largest common woodpecker, a crow-sized, mostly black bird with a flaming red crest, famous for excavating large rectangular holes in dead trees.
woodpecker
Eurasian Wigeon
A Eurasian dabbling duck with a rich chestnut head and creamy forehead, an uncommon but regular visitor to North American coasts among flocks of American Wigeon.
waterfowl
Hooded Merganser
The smallest North American merganser, with males sporting a dramatic fan-shaped black-and-white crest.
waterfowl
King Rail
The largest North American rail, richly colored with a rufous breast and boldly barred flanks in freshwater marshes.
wading-bird
Ferruginous Hawk
The largest North American buteo, a pale, rusty-shouldered hawk of the open western prairie and shrub-steppe.
raptor
Kentish Plover
A small, pale plover of Old World coasts and salt pans, the Eurasian and African counterpart of the American Snowy Plover.
shorebird
Belted Kingfisher
A large, shaggy-crested, rattling-voiced kingfisher of North American waterways, in which the female is more colorful than the male.
other
Cactus Wren
The largest North American wren, a bold, heavily spotted desert bird that nests within the spiny protection of cholla and cactus.
songbird
Bachman's Sparrow
A secretive southeastern sparrow of open pine savanna, celebrated for one of the most beautiful songs of any North American sparrow.
songbird
Piping Plover
A tiny, pale, sand-colored plover of North American beaches, named for its plaintive piping whistle.
shorebird
Lesser Goldfinch
The smallest North American goldfinch, a bright yellow-and-black finch of western gardens, scrub, and open woods.
songbird
Scarlet Ibis
A brilliant, all-scarlet wading bird of South American mangroves, its vivid color built directly from the crustaceans it eats.
wading-bird
Maguari Stork
A South American stork closely resembling the White Stork, with white plumage, black flight feathers, and pale blue-grey bill.
wading-bird
White-throated Swift
A fast, boldly black-and-white patterned swift of western cliffs and canyons, among the fastest fliers of any North American bird.
other
Sandhill Crane
A tall grey North American crane with a bare red crown, best known for the spectacular mass migration gatherings along the Platte River.
wading-bird
Black-necked Swan
A striking South American swan with a snow-white body, jet-black head and neck, and a bright red knob at the base of its bill.
waterfowl
Blue-throated Mountain-gem
One of the largest North American hummingbirds, identified by its bold white facial stripes and broad white-cornered tail.
hummingbird
Spotted Sandpiper
A small, constantly bobbing sandpiper of North American shorelines, easily recognized in breeding plumage by the bold dark spots covering its white underparts.
shorebird
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
Greater Sage-Grouse
The largest North American grouse, famous for males' spectacular strutting display with inflated air sacs on communal leks scattered across the sagebrush sea.
gamebird
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
Bobolink
A grassland songbird famous for the breeding male's striking black-and-white "backward tuxedo" plumage and one of the longest migrations of any North American songbird.
songbird