Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Pinyon Jay
A uniformly blue, crestless, highly social jay of pinyon-juniper woodlands that lives in large, noisy flocks year-round.
songbird
Sooty Grouse
A large, dark Pacific-coast mountain grouse, the coastal counterpart of the Dusky Grouse, known for the male's deep hooting display from tall conifers.
gamebird
Red-throated Loon
The smallest and most lightly built loon, distinguished in summer by a wine-red throat patch and a habit of holding its bill tilted upward.
seabird
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
A common southern African savanna hornbill instantly recognizable by its black-and-white plumage and oversized curved yellow bill.
other
Purple-throated Fruitcrow
A social, all-black cotinga whose males flash a glossy magenta-purple throat patch, usually seen moving through the forest canopy in small groups.
songbird
Semipalmated Plover
A small, compact plover with a single black breast band and orange legs, common on beaches and mudflats throughout the Americas during migration.
shorebird
Rufous Motmot
The largest motmot species, with rich rufous-orange underparts and head, a green back, and a long tail ending in bare-shafted racket tips.
other
Red-tailed Hawk
North America's most familiar large hawk, often seen soaring over highways or perched on poles, named for the adult's brick-red tail.
raptor
Osprey
A large, fish-eating hawk found near water nearly worldwide, easily known by its white underparts, dark eye-stripe, and dramatic feet-first dive for fish.
raptor
Rock Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, a highly variable dove descended from wild cliff-dwelling stock, now found in cities and towns worldwide.
other
Rockhopper Penguin
A small, feisty crested penguin known for hopping between boulders rather than waddling, with spiky yellow head plumes and red eyes.
seabird
Red Grouse
A reddish-brown grouse of British and Irish heather moorland, a distinctive subspecies of the Willow Ptarmigan found nowhere else.
gamebird
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
Rufous Whistler
A grey-backed, rufous-breasted songbird whose loud, cheerful, far-carrying whistled song is a signature sound of Australian woodlands.
songbird
Red-billed Leiothrix
A vividly colored, red-billed songbird nicknamed the Pekin Robin, olive-green above with orange-yellow throat and colorful wing patches.
songbird
Superb Fruit Dove
A small, jewel-colored fruit dove; the male combines a purple crown, orange nape, grey chest band, and green back into a dazzling patchwork of color.
other
Sage Grouse
A large, sagebrush-dependent grouse known for the male's spectacular strutting display with inflated yellow air sacs on a lek.
gamebird
Ring-billed Gull
A medium-sized, highly adaptable gull common far from the coast, easily told from larger gulls by its yellow legs and the black ring encircling its bill.
seabird
Rhinoceros Hornbill
A striking Southeast Asian rainforest hornbill named for its large, upward-curving red-and-yellow casque resembling a rhinoceros horn.
other
Marsh Tit
A small, plain brown-gray tit with a glossy black cap and neat black bib, closely resembling the Willow Tit but favoring drier, more mature woodland.
songbird
Iceland Gull
A pale, gentle-looking Arctic gull, smaller and more delicate than the similar Glaucous Gull, that winters along the North Atlantic coast and Great Lakes.
seabird
Magpie Tanager
A large, boldly black-and-white tanager with an unusually long tail, resembling a small magpie as it moves through forest edge and clearings.
songbird
Mew Gull
A small, gentle-faced gull of the Pacific Northwest, recently split from the Eurasian Common Gull and now officially known as the Short-billed Gull.
seabird
Macaroni Penguin
A crested penguin with flamboyant golden-yellow plumes sweeping back from the forehead, once among the most abundant penguins on Earth.
seabird