Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
A small desert woodpecker with a finely barred black-and-white 'ladder' back pattern, well adapted to arid scrub, mesquite, and cactus habitat.
woodpecker
Eurasian Treecreeper
A small, superbly camouflaged woodland bird that spirals upward around tree trunks probing bark crevices with its thin, downcurved bill.
songbird
Blue Dacnis
A small, brilliant turquoise-blue tanager relative with a black throat and back, whose olive-green female shows a contrasting blue head.
songbird
Curlew Sandpiper
A graceful sandpiper with a long, evenly curved bill and, in breeding plumage, a rich brick-red body unlike any other small sandpiper.
shorebird
Common Ground Dove
A tiny, scaly-breasted dove of the southeastern and southern US, small enough to be mistaken for a sparrow until it flushes and shows rufous flashes in the wings.
other
Wood Sandpiper
A slim, spotted Eurasian sandpiper with a bright pale eyebrow, often found in small groups around shallow freshwater marshes and flooded grassland.
shorebird
Magpie-lark
A common black-and-white Australian bird, smaller than a magpie, known for its distinctive 'pee-wee' call and mud-bowl nest.
songbird
Lesser Nighthawk
A desert-dwelling nighthawk, smaller and buffier than the Common Nighthawk, with a low, soft trilling call and lower flight.
other
Fish Crow
A smaller, coastal cousin of the American Crow best told apart by its distinctive nasal, two-note call.
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
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
Great Kiskadee
A big, boldly patterned flycatcher named for its loud 'kis-ka-dee' call, often seen near water snatching insects, small fish, and fruit.
songbird
Tundra Swan
A medium-sized white swan of the Arctic tundra, often showing a small yellow spot near the bill, that winters in large flocks on coastal wetlands.
waterfowl
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
Green Heron
A small, stocky, secretive heron with a dark greenish back, chestnut neck, and a reputation as one of the few birds known to use tools to catch fish.
wading-bird
Double-barred Finch
A small, round, white-faced finch marked with two bold black breast bars, often called the 'owl finch' for its facial pattern.
songbird
Dark-eyed Junco
A small, highly variable sparrow-relative often called a "snowbird," typically dark gray or brown above with a contrasting white belly and pink bill.
songbird
Black-throated Gray Warbler
A crisply patterned gray, black, and white warbler of dry western woodlands, with a small yellow spot in front of the eye as its only splash of color.
songbird
Common Chiffchaff
A small, drab leaf warbler that announces itself with its own name: a simple, repetitive 'chiff-chaff' song that is one of the earliest signs of spring.
songbird
Turquoise Cotinga
A dazzling, range-restricted cotinga whose male glows turquoise-blue with a rich purple throat and breast patch, found only in a small area of southern Central America.
songbird
Hooded Crane
A small, dark East Asian crane with a white head and neck resembling a hood, a red crown patch, and one of the most geographically concentrated wintering populations of any crane.
wading-bird
Morepork
New Zealand's only surviving native owl, a small, compact brown owl named for its distinctive, far-carrying "more-pork" call heard after dark.
owl
Franklin's Gull
A small, dapper prairie-nesting gull, sometimes called the 'prairie dove,' that undertakes one of the longest migrations of any gull, wintering along the Pacific coast of South America.
seabird