Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Swainson's Thrush
A buffy-faced forest thrush known for its upward-spiraling flute-like song and heavy nocturnal migration through much of North America.
songbird
Lapland Longspur
A circumpolar Arctic breeder that winters in large flocks across open fields, with striking black-faced breeding males and rusty-naped winter birds.
songbird
Little Bunting
A diminutive, chestnut-faced bunting of the far northern taiga, a scarce but regular vagrant to western Europe outside its core Siberian and Asian range.
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
Little Grebe
A tiny, round, chestnut-faced grebe of the Old World, often heard giving a whinnying trill from dense waterside vegetation before it is seen.
waterfowl
Black Scoter
An all-black sea duck whose males show a bright orange-yellow knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Nene
Hawaii's state bird and the world's rarest goose, a buff-necked, black-faced goose descended from Canada Geese that adapted to life on volcanic terrain.
waterfowl
Daurian Redstart
A striking small thrush relative; the male shows a grey crown, black face, and vivid orange underparts and rump set off by a white wing patch.
songbird
African Spoonbill
An all-white African wading bird with a bare red face and a distinctive grey spoon-shaped bill, common on lakes and rivers across the continent.
wading-bird
Common Rosefinch
A sparrow-shaped finch whose adult males glow raspberry-red on the head and breast, best known for its cheerful, whistled song.
songbird
Hermit Warbler
A plain-faced, bright yellow-headed warbler of Pacific mountain conifer forests, with a black throat and gray, unstreaked back, that hybridizes with the closely related Townsend's Warbler.
songbird
Common Teal
The smallest common dabbling duck of Eurasia, with breeding males showing a chestnut head and an iridescent green eye patch.
waterfowl
D'Arnaud's Barbet
An East African ground barbet with black-and-white speckled plumage, a yellow face, and a bubbling duet call, often seen bobbing near termite mounds.
other
Pale Chanting Goshawk
A pale gray hawk of southern Africa's arid regions, known for its melodious whistled call and habit of hunting alongside mammals that flush prey.
raptor
Golden-crowned Sparrow
A large sparrow with a bold black-and-yellow crown stripe, best known for its mournful three-note whistled song, 'oh-dear-me'.
songbird
Red-and-green Macaw
One of the largest macaws, with a mostly crimson-red body, broad green wing band, and a bare white face crossed by fine lines of tiny red feathers.
parrot
Great Crested Flycatcher
A large canopy flycatcher of eastern woodlands with a lemon-yellow belly, rufous tail, and a loud, whistled call, famous for weaving shed snakeskin into its nest.
songbird
Gray Partridge
A round, orange-faced European partridge introduced to North American farm country, best known as the 'Hun' among upland game hunters, with a chestnut horseshoe mark on the male's belly.
gamebird
King Eider
An Arctic sea duck whose males sport a bulbous orange bill knob and a colorful blue-gray and mint-green head.
waterfowl
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
Wonga Pigeon
A large, plump ground-dwelling pigeon with grey upperparts, a white face and underside marked by bold black V-shaped bars, usually seen walking quietly on the forest floor.
other
Common Pochard
A diving duck with a rounded chestnut head, red eye, and pale grey body in the male, often seen in large rafts on open lakes.
waterfowl
Lesser Scaup
North America's most abundant diving duck, closely resembling the Greater Scaup but with a peaked crown and a purplish (rather than greenish) head gloss.
waterfowl
Eurasian Wigeon
A Eurasian dabbling duck with a rich chestnut head and creamy forehead, an uncommon but regular visitor to North American coasts among flocks of American Wigeon.
waterfowl