Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Chimney Swift
A dark, cigar-shaped aerial bird that nests almost exclusively in chimneys across eastern North America, spending nearly its entire life on the wing.
other
Brown-headed Nuthatch
A tiny brown-capped nuthatch of southeastern pine forests, notable as one of the few birds known to use tools.
songbird
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
Peregrine Falcon
The fastest animal on Earth, this powerful falcon stoops on other birds at speeds exceeding 300 km/h (200 mph).
raptor
Lapland Longspur
A circumpolar Arctic breeder that winters in large flocks across open fields, with striking black-faced breeding males and rusty-naped winter birds.
songbird
Northern Mockingbird
A slender gray songbird famous for endlessly mimicking the songs and calls of other birds, with bold white wing patches visible in flight.
songbird
Merlin
A compact, fast-flying falcon that chases down small birds with relentless, low-level pursuit rather than a high stoop.
raptor
California Condor
North America's largest flying land bird, an enormous black scavenger with a naked orange-pink head, brought back from the brink of extinction through intensive captive breeding.
raptor
Brown-headed Cowbird
A brood-parasitic blackbird whose glossy brown head contrasts with the male's black body, famous for laying eggs in other birds' nests.
songbird
Muscovy Duck
A large, heavy-bodied duck with bare red or black facial skin around the eyes and bill, wild birds are glossy black with white wing patches.
waterfowl
Rock Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, descended from wild cliff-dwelling birds of Eurasia and North Africa, now found in urban centers worldwide in a huge range of colors and patterns.
other
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
Carolina Chickadee
A small southeastern chickadee nearly identical to the Black-capped Chickadee, best told apart by its faster four-note song.
songbird
Golden-crowned Sparrow
A large sparrow with a bold black-and-yellow crown stripe, best known for its mournful three-note whistled song, 'oh-dear-me'.
songbird
Oak Titmouse
A plain gray-brown, crested songbird tightly tied to oak woodlands of California, notable for its lack of bold field marks.
songbird
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
A small, reddish, day-active owl of arid borderland scrub, distinguished from its close relative by a streaked (not spotted) crown and rusty tail.
owl
Fish Crow
A smaller, coastal cousin of the American Crow best told apart by its distinctive nasal, two-note call.
songbird
Western Bluebird
A vivid blue thrush of the West with a blue (not orange) throat, chestnut breast and shoulders, and often a chestnut patch on the back.
songbird
Connecticut Warbler
A large, chunky, notoriously secretive warbler with a bold white eyering, long legs, and a walking gait, breeding in remote boreal bogs and rarely seen well.
songbird
Northern Pygmy-Owl
A tiny, fierce diurnal owl of western mountain forests, notable for the false 'eyespots' on the back of its head.
owl
Sedge Wren
A tiny, secretive wren of wet sedge meadows, notable for its erratic breeding movements and finely streaked crown.
songbird
Cackling Goose
A small goose nearly identical in plumage to the Canada Goose but noticeably smaller, with a shorter neck and a stubby, often steep-fronted bill.
waterfowl
Canada Warbler
A slate-gray and yellow warbler notable for the bold necklace of black streaking across its breast and the yellow "spectacles" framing its eyes.
songbird
Veery
A uniformly tawny thrush of moist woodlands, named for its breezy, downward-spiraling song of repeated "veer" notes.
songbird