Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Laysan Albatross
A gull-like white albatross of the North Pacific, best known for its enormous breeding colonies on Midway Atoll and other low-lying Hawaiian islands.
seabird
Great Hornbill
One of the largest hornbills, instantly recognizable by its massive yellow-and-black casque and deep, whooshing wingbeats audible from a distance.
other
McCown's Longspur
A thick-billed prairie longspur historically named for a 19th-century army officer; in 2020 the American Ornithological Society officially renamed the species Thick-billed Longspur.
songbird
Little Bunting
A diminutive, chestnut-faced bunting of the far northern taiga, a scarce but regular vagrant to western Europe outside its core Siberian and Asian range.
songbird
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
Grasshopper Warbler
An extremely secretive, streaked warbler best known for its bizarre, mechanical, insect-like reeling song, often compared to the sound of a fishing reel being cast.
songbird
Dunlin
A medium-small sandpiper with a distinctive drooped bill tip and, in breeding plumage, a bold black belly patch, often seen in large swirling flocks over mudflats.
shorebird
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
Bicknell's Thrush
A rare, high-elevation thrush of northeastern mountaintop spruce forests, nearly identical to Gray-cheeked Thrush but with a much smaller, more threatened range.
songbird
Acorn Woodpecker
A boldly patterned, clown-faced woodpecker famous for its highly social behavior and its habit of stockpiling thousands of acorns in communal granary trees.
woodpecker
Curl-crested Aracari
An unmistakable toucan relative with a crown of glossy, curled black feathers resembling patent-leather curls, plus a vividly patterned yellow-and-black bill.
other
Western Plantain-eater
A large, grey-brown turaco relative of West African savanna, easily spotted by its heavy yellow-tipped bill and bold white wing patches in flight.
other
Western Rosella
The smallest of the rosellas, found only in southwestern Australia, with a red head and underparts, green back, and bright yellow cheek patches.
parrot
Violet Sabrewing
One of the largest hummingbirds in its Central American range, with males glowing deep violet-blue overall and a heavy, slightly curved black bill.
hummingbird
Yellow-eyed Penguin
A large, solitary-nesting New Zealand penguin named for its pale yellow eyes and the yellow band that sweeps across its head, considered one of the rarest penguin species.
seabird
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
The brightest and most yellow of the eastern Empidonax flycatchers, breeding in boggy boreal forest and giving a soft, plaintive whistled call.
songbird
Willow Warbler
A delicate, greenish leaf warbler best known for its sweet, descending, cascading song, one of the clearest signs of spring across much of Europe.
songbird
Wilson's Warbler
A small, bright yellow warbler with an olive back and, in males, a neat round black cap, often seen flicking its tail as it forages actively in low shrubs.
songbird
Vermilion Flycatcher
A tiny, brilliant scarlet-red flycatcher of southwestern deserts and riverbanks, among the most vividly colored songbirds in North America.
songbird
Yellow-legged Gull
A large gull of the Mediterranean and western Europe, similar to the Herring Gull but with yellow legs and a darker mantle, and a rare vagrant to eastern North America.
seabird
Screaming Piha
A plain gray Amazonian cotinga famous for one of the loudest, most far-carrying calls in the rainforest despite its unremarkable appearance.
songbird
Pale Chanting Goshawk
A pale gray hawk of southern Africa's arid regions, known for its melodious whistled call and habit of hunting alongside mammals that flush prey.
raptor
Red-and-yellow Barbet
A vividly patterned East African barbet with a scarlet head, black-spotted yellow underparts, and a habit of nesting in termite mounds.
other
Spangled Cotinga
A glittering turquoise-blue cotinga of the Amazonian canopy, males marked with a dark purple throat patch and a scattering of spangled blue feather edges.
songbird