Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Black-collared Barbet
A stocky African barbet with a vivid red face and throat bordered by a black collar, famous for its synchronized duet calls.
other
Cape Weaver
The Cape Weaver is a bright yellow South African endemic songbird renowned for the male's intricately woven, hanging nest colonies.
songbird
Greater Flamingo
The largest and palest flamingo species, widespread across Africa, southern Europe, and Asia.
wading-bird
Variable Sunbird
A small, widespread East African sunbird whose male plumage pattern shifts noticeably from one region to the next, giving the species its name.
songbird
Speckled Mousebird
The Speckled Mousebird is a common African bird with a long tail and soft grey-brown plumage that scurries through foliage in acrobatic little flocks, mouse-like.
other
D'Arnaud's Barbet
An East African ground barbet with black-and-white speckled plumage, a yellow face, and a bubbling duet call, often seen bobbing near termite mounds.
other
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
A spectacular pink-and-turquoise bee-eater of southern Africa that forms enormous cliffside breeding colonies along major rivers.
other
Hooded Vulture
A small, drab, bare-faced vulture of Africa that scavenges close to towns and villages and has suffered catastrophic population declines.
raptor
Red-billed Quelea
A small, sparrow-like African weaver famous for forming the largest flocks of any wild bird species, sometimes numbering in the millions.
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
Peach-faced Lovebird
A small, stocky African parrot with a bright peach-pink face and vivid green body, one of the most familiar lovebird species.
parrot
Pink-backed Pelican
A relatively small, drab greyish pelican of African wetlands, named for a subtle pink tinge on the back that is often difficult to see in the field.
seabird
Marabou Stork
A huge African scavenger stork with a bald pink head, massive bill, and one of the largest wingspans of any living land bird.
wading-bird
Hartlaub's Turaco
A green, forest-dwelling turaco of the East African highlands, marked by bold white facial markings and a glossy blue-black crest.
other
Goliath Heron
The world's largest heron, a towering African giant with a massive chestnut head and dagger-like bill built for spearing big fish.
wading-bird
Crested Barbet
A boldly spotted yellow, red, and black African barbet with a shaggy crest, best known for its long, monotonous trilling call.
other
Red-headed Weaver
A distinctive African weaver with a bright red head, throat, and bill on breeding males, set off against pale grey underparts and a mixed red-and-black back.
songbird
Ringneck Dove
A pale, gentle dove marked by a narrow black half-collar on its nape, long domesticated from wild African collared-dove stock and popular in aviculture.
other
Hadada Ibis
A loud, grey-brown African ibis famous for its raucous 'ha-ha-ha-hadada' call, often heard echoing over gardens and cities at dawn.
wading-bird
Palm-nut Vulture
An unusual, mostly fruit-eating vulture with black-and-white plumage that lives near oil palms and waterways in West and Central Africa.
raptor
Red-faced Mousebird
The Red-faced Mousebird is a southern African species distinguished by its crimson face patch and sleek grey plumage, often seen scurrying through shrubs in small flocks.
other
Green Wood Hoopoe
A glossy, iridescent African bird with a long curved red bill and tail, known for its raucous cackling calls and tight-knit family groups.
other
Helmeted Guineafowl
A gregarious, ground-dwelling African gamebird instantly recognizable by its bare bluish head, red facial wattles, and bony helmet-like casque.
gamebird
Crowned Lapwing
The Crowned Lapwing is a common African grassland plover easily recognized by the black-and-white ring encircling its head and its loud, repetitive calls.
shorebird