Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
California Towhee
A plain, uniformly brown towhee with a rusty undertail, common in California backyards and known for its sharp metallic chip call.
songbird
Bank Swallow
The smallest North American swallow, brown above and white below with a crisp brown breast band, nesting colonially in burrows dug into sandy banks.
songbird
Cape May Warbler
A boldly patterned boreal warbler with a chestnut cheek patch and tiger-striped breast, whose populations boom and bust with spruce budworm outbreaks.
songbird
Cape Petrel
A striking black-and-white checkered petrel of the Southern Ocean, often called the Pintado Petrel, well known for following ships far from land.
seabird
Common Quail
Europe's smallest gamebird, a secretive, migratory quail far more often heard than seen, giving a distinctive "wet-my-lips" call.
gamebird
Black-collared Hawk
A rufous wetland raptor with a pale head and a distinctive black band across the upper breast, specialized for hunting fish over open water.
raptor
Blue-winged Teal
A small, long-distance migrant dabbling duck whose drake shows a bold white crescent before the eye and a powder-blue wing patch in flight.
waterfowl
Crissal Thrasher
A secretive, unstreaked desert thrasher named for its chestnut undertail patch, usually detected by voice rather than sight.
songbird
Common Pigeon
The familiar city pigeon, a highly adaptable descendant of the wild Rock Dove, seen worldwide in an enormous variety of plumage colors.
other
Black Grouse
A dramatic grouse famous for its communal spring "lek" displays, males glossy blue-black with a lyre-shaped tail, females mottled brown.
gamebird
Common Eider
A large, bulky sea duck of northern coasts, males boldly patterned black-and-white with a pale green nape and famous for their soft down.
waterfowl
Brewer's Blackbird
A glossy, pale-eyed blackbird of open western habitats, common in parking lots, parks, and farmland, with a purple-and-green iridescent sheen.
songbird
Black Oystercatcher
An all-black shorebird of rocky Pacific coastlines, with a long orange bill perfectly suited to prying limpets and mussels from rocks.
shorebird
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
Western Sandpiper
A tiny, abundant sandpiper with a longer, slightly drooped bill than its similar peep relatives, forming vast flocks at key coastal stopover sites.
shorebird
Vinous-throated Parrotbill
A tiny, cinnamon-brown, long-tailed songbird with a stubby parrot-like bill, usually seen moving through scrub in noisy, gregarious flocks.
songbird
Whimbrel
A medium-sized curlew with a boldly striped crown and long decurved bill, found on nearly every coastline in the world outside the breeding season.
shorebird
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
White-fronted Bee-eater
A colorful, colonially nesting African bee-eater with a white forehead, crimson throat patch, and green body, best known for its cooperative breeding system.
other
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