Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
New Zealand Pigeon
A large, iridescent New Zealand forest pigeon with a metallic green-bronze head and back and a pure white breast, an important disperser of seeds from large native fruiting trees.
other
Spot-billed Pelican
A greyish Asian pelican named for the dark spots that appear on its bill during the breeding season, with strongholds in protected wetlands of India, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.
seabird
Southern Ground Hornbill
A large, mostly ground-dwelling African hornbill with black plumage, vivid red facial skin, and deep, booming dawn calls, walking savannas in tight-knit family groups.
other
Neotropic Cormorant
The smallest and most widespread cormorant in the Americas outside North America's temperate zone, slender and long-tailed with a thin white border at the base of the bill in breeding plumage.
seabird
Purple-backed Fairywren
A close relative of the Variegated Fairywren adapted to Australia's arid interior, with breeding males showing purplish-blue tones and a small chestnut shoulder patch.
songbird
Philadelphia Vireo
The smallest eastern vireo, with a yellow-washed underside and dark eye line, breeding in northern second-growth woodlands and often confused with Warbling Vireo and Tennessee Warbler.
songbird
Southern Masked Weaver
A common, widespread southern African weaver whose breeding males are bright yellow with a black face mask and red eyes, known for its intricately woven grass nests.
songbird
Greater Roadrunner
A large, fast-running ground cuckoo of the desert Southwest, made famous in cartoons, that sprints after prey with its shaggy crest raised and long tail trailing behind.
other
Montezuma Oropendola
A large Central American icterid with a chestnut body, black head, orange-tipped bill, and bare blue-and-pink facial skin, known for colonial hanging nests and loud gurgling calls.
songbird
Great White Pelican
A massive white pelican of Old World wetlands with a wingspan among the largest of any bird, tinged pink in breeding season and prone to spectacular coordinated group fishing.
seabird
Golden-winged Warbler
A gray-and-white warbler with a bold golden wing patch and yellow crown, once common in shrubby eastern habitat but now steeply declining and prone to hybridizing with Blue-winged Warbler.
songbird
Cockatoo
A family of large, crested parrots native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, distinguished by their erectile crests and mostly white, black, pink, or grey plumage.
parrot
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
Booted Eagle
A small, buzzard-sized eagle occurring in pale and dark color morphs, the Booted Eagle is a long-distance migrant that hunts small birds and reptiles over open country near woodland.
raptor
American White Pelican
One of North America's largest birds, an enormous white waterbird with a huge orange bill and pouch that fishes cooperatively by herding fish into shallow water rather than diving.
seabird
Albert's Lyrebird
A rare, secretive lyrebird confined to a tiny pocket of rainforest on the New South Wales-Queensland border, known for its rich mimicry and warm reddish-brown plumage.
songbird
African Penguin
The only penguin species breeding on the African continent, named for its loud, donkey-like braying call and identified by a black facial mask and unique belly-spot pattern.
seabirdCongo Peafowl
A secretive rainforest pheasant endemic to the Congo Basin, notable as the only peafowl species native to Africa and for lacking the elaborate train of its Asian relatives.
gamebird
Tufted Duck
A compact Eurasian diving duck with a drooping head tuft, the drake strikingly patterned in black and white and occasionally found among scaup flocks in North America.
waterfowl
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
A tiny, swallow-sized seabird, sooty-black with a white rump band, famous for pattering its feet across the water's surface as it feeds, and considered one of the most abundant birds on Earth.
seabird
Western Tanager
A vivid yellow-and-black tanager of western coniferous forests, with breeding males showing a striking orange-red head produced from a diet-derived pigment.
songbird
Yellow-throated Warbler
A gray-backed warbler with a bright yellow throat and bold black-and-white face pattern, well adapted for creeping along bark and probing pine needle clusters and Spanish moss.
songbird
Wood Duck
Widely considered one of the most strikingly colorful ducks in North America, the male wears an iridescent green-and-purple crest, chestnut breast, and bold white facial markings.
waterfowl
Tomtit
A small, big-headed New Zealand forest bird, the male boldly black-and-white or black-and-yellow depending on region, often seen perched quietly before darting after insects.
songbird