Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Greater Scaup
A robust diving duck of northern waters, best recognized by its rounded head, pale grey back, and preference for gathering in large, dense flocks on coastal bays and vast lakes.
waterfowl
Lesser Scaup
A small to medium-sized diving duck with a distinctive peaked crown, commonly seen in massive wintering rafts on inland lakes and bays.
waterfowl
Ringed Kingfisher
The largest kingfisher in the Americas, recognizable by its massive bill, bushy crest, and rich rufous belly.
other
Harlequin Duck
A small, compact sea duck of turbulent waters, breeding males show an intricate pattern of slate blue, chestnut, and bold white markings.
waterfowl
Barn Swallow
The most widespread swallow in the world, easily known by its deeply forked tail, steel-blue back, and rufous throat.
songbird
Ruddy Duck
A small, compact diving duck with a stiff, often cocked-up tail; breeding males show a rich chestnut body and a striking bright blue bill.
waterfowl
Tree Swallow
A gleaming blue-green and white cavity-nesting swallow, one of the earliest swallows to arrive each spring and among the most cold-hardy.
songbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
A vibrant southwestern hummingbird famed for the male's striking blue-violet throat and brilliant red, black-tipped bill.
hummingbird
King Eider
A striking Arctic sea duck; breeding males have a colorful orange, blue-gray, and green head crowned with a large orange frontal shield.
waterfowl
Lazuli Bunting
The western counterpart of the Indigo Bunting, with males showing a sky-blue head and back, a warm orange breast band, and a white belly.
songbird
White-breasted Nuthatch
A compact, short-tailed bird with blue-gray upperparts and white underparts, famous for creeping headfirst down tree trunks.
songbird
Painted Bunting
Often called the most colorful bird in North America, the male Painted Bunting displays an almost impossibly vivid patchwork of blue, green, and red.
songbird
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
A pale, crestless blue jay of the interior West's pinyon-juniper woodlands, closely tied to pine nut crops.
songbird
White-crowned Sparrow
A crisply marked sparrow with bold black-and-white crown stripes, a plain gray breast, and a pink or yellowish bill.
songbird
Tufted Duck
A small diving duck of Eurasia, easily recognized by the male's striking black-and-white plumage, bright yellow eyes, and distinct hanging crest or 'tuft'.
waterfowl
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
White-eyed Vireo
A skulking thicket-dweller with a pale eye, yellow spectacles, and a sharp, variable song, more often heard than seen.
songbird
Island Scrub-Jay
A large, deep-blue scrub-jay found only on Santa Cruz Island off the California coast, the most range-restricted bird in the continental United States.
songbird
Varied Bunting
A desert bunting whose male appears deep purple-blue with a rosy nape patch in good light, but nearly black in shade, found in thorny borderland scrub.
songbird
Ash-throated Flycatcher
A pale, dry-country flycatcher with a whitish-gray throat, soft yellow belly, and rufous tail, common in western deserts and scrub.
songbird
Redhead
A medium-sized diving duck easily recognized by the male's striking cinnamon-red head, steep forehead, and bright yellow eyes.
waterfowl
Purple Martin
North America's largest swallow, a glossy blue-black aerial insectivore whose eastern population now nests almost entirely in birdhouses provided by people.
songbird
Mallard
The Mallard is an abundant and highly recognizable dabbling duck, famous for the breeding male's iridescent green head and bright yellow bill.
waterfowl
Red-naped Sapsucker
A western sapsucker closely resembling the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, distinguished by a red patch extending onto the nape, and closely tied to mountain aspen groves.
woodpecker