Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Hudsonian Godwit
A dark, elegant godwit famed for one of the longest nonstop migratory flights of any bird, connecting subarctic breeding grounds with wintering areas in southern South America.
shorebird
Greater Rhea
South America's largest bird, a flightless grassland species with shaggy gray-brown plumage resembling a smaller relative of the Ostrich.
other
Wood Duck
Widely considered one of the most strikingly colorful ducks in North America, the male wears an iridescent green-and-purple crest, chestnut breast, and bold white facial markings.
waterfowl
Cooper's Hawk
A medium-sized woodland hawk that has become a common backyard predator at bird feeders, agile enough to chase prey through dense cover.
raptor
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
Redhead
A round-headed diving duck whose drake has a rounded rusty-red head, gray body, and black breast, and which often nests parasitically in other ducks' nests.
waterfowl
Australian White Ibis
A large white ibis with a bare black head, once a rural wetland bird, now an iconic and highly adaptable scavenger in Australian cities.
wading-bird
Barred Owl
A large, dark-eyed forest owl known for its distinctive 'who-cooks-for-you' call and vertically streaked belly.
owl
Dickcissel
A grassland songbird resembling a small meadowlark, with breeding males showing a yellow breast, black bib, and a name derived from its buzzy, insect-like song.
songbird
Egyptian Vulture
A small, distinctive Old World vulture with dirty-white plumage and a bare yellow face, notable for using tools to crack open eggs.
raptor
Black Scoter
An all-black sea duck whose males show a bright orange-yellow knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
A slender, secretive woodland bird nicknamed the 'rain crow' for its habit of calling before summer storms, marked by a downcurved yellow lower bill and rufous flight feathers.
other
Northern Parula
A small, compact, blue-gray and yellow warbler with a distinctive bicolored bill, closely tied to hanging Spanish moss or Usnea lichen for nesting.
songbird
Long-billed Curlew
North America's largest shorebird, unmistakable for its extremely long, dramatically downcurved bill and warm cinnamon-buff plumage.
shorebird
Red Junglefowl
The wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, sporting a fiery orange-red neck, glossy dark tail, and bold red comb.
gamebird
Corn Crake
A secretive, chicken-like grassland bird best known for its rasping, far-carrying 'crex-crex' call given at night.
other
Sharp-shinned Hawk
North America's smallest accipiter, a compact, forest-dwelling hawk built for quick, agile pursuit of small songbirds.
raptor
Trumpeter Swan
North America's largest native waterfowl, an all-white swan with a solid black bill and a deep, resonant trumpeting call.
waterfowl
Harris's Sparrow
North America's largest sparrow, with a black hood and bib framing a pink bill, breeding only in Canada and wintering on the Great Plains.
songbird
Wild Turkey
North America's largest gamebird, a bronze-iridescent forest turkey famous for the male's fanned tail and booming spring gobble.
gamebird
Downy Woodpecker
North America's smallest woodpecker, a friendly black-and-white bird with a small bill, common at backyard feeders across the continent.
woodpecker
Northern Saw-whet Owl
One of North America's smallest owls, a secretive forest dweller named for a call once likened to a saw blade being sharpened.
owl
Grey Heron
A tall, pale grey wading bird widespread across the Old World, closely resembling North America's Great Blue Heron in shape and habits.
wading-bird
Bufflehead
North America's smallest diving duck, the compact drake striking with a large white patch wrapping around an iridescent black-and-purple head.
waterfowl