Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Black-crowned Night-Heron
A stocky, thick-necked heron active mainly at dusk and night, with a glossy black crown and back, pale grey wings, and striking red eyes.
wading-bird
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
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
Purple Martin
North America's largest swallow, a glossy blue-black aerial insectivore whose eastern population now nests almost entirely in birdhouses provided by people.
songbird
White-faced Ibis
A dark, iridescent ibis of western wetlands, closely resembling the Glossy Ibis but marked by a thin band of white feathering around its red eye and face during breeding.
wading-bird
Common Goldeneye
A hardy cavity-nesting diving duck named for its brilliant golden-yellow eye, the drake bearing a round white cheek spot on a glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
Common Crane
A tall grey crane widespread across Europe and Asia, known for its bold black-and-white head pattern, red crown patch, and loud bugling calls given during migration.
wading-bird
Northern Bald Ibis
A dramatic, bald-headed ibis with glossy black plumage and a shaggy neck ruff, once widespread but now one of the world's rarest birds outside a handful of strongholds.
wading-bird
Great Cormorant
A large, widespread cormorant with glossy black-and-bronze plumage, a white throat patch, and a white breeding-season thigh patch, found across much of the Old World.
seabird
Greater Scaup
A rounded-headed diving duck of large open waters, the drake showing a glossy greenish-black head and pale gray back, closely resembling the smaller Lesser Scaup.
waterfowl
Satin Bowerbird
A songbird best known for the male's glossy, satiny blue-black plumage, violet eyes, and elaborate stick bower decorated almost exclusively with blue objects to attract a mate.
songbird
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
Crested Oropendola
A large, glossy black icterid with a chestnut rump, yellow outer tail feathers, and pale blue eyes, famous for its colonial hanging nests and gurgling display song.
songbird
Saddleback
A glossy black New Zealand forest bird with a bold chestnut "saddle" across its back and bright orange-red wattles, now surviving mainly on predator-free islands after near extinction on the mainland.
songbird
Screech Owl
A small, well-camouflaged, tufted owl of the Americas known for its distinctive quavering trills rather than an actual screech.
owl
Short-eared Owl
A pale, ground-nesting owl of open country that hunts by day in low, buoyant, moth-like flight over fields and marshes.
owl
Long-eared Owl
A slender, secretive woodland owl with long, close-set ear tufts and a strikingly thin, upright roosting posture.
owl
Eastern Screech-Owl
A tiny, tufted owl of eastern woodlands and suburbs, occurring in both gray and reddish-brown color forms, with a whinnying call rather than a screech.
owl
Eurasian Jackdaw
A small, sociable crow with a silvery-grey nape and pale, staring eyes that nests in cavities and cliffs.
songbird
Little Owl
A small, flat-headed owl of open farmland that is often active by day, bobbing and staring with piercing yellow eyes.
owl
Burrowing Owl
A small, long-legged owl that nests underground in abandoned burrows and is often seen standing bolt upright by day.
owl
Great Blue Heron
North America's largest and most widespread heron, a tall blue-grey wading bird often seen standing motionless at the water's edge waiting to strike prey.
wading-bird
Semipalmated Sandpiper
A small, gray-brown sandpiper with a short, straight bill and partially webbed toes, famous for forming massive migratory flocks at coastal staging sites.
shorebird
Eared Grebe
The most numerous grebe in the world, known for its fan-shaped golden ear plumes and mass staging at hypersaline lakes.
waterfowl