Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
African Penguin
The only penguin species breeding on the African continent, named for its loud, donkey-like braying call and identified by a black facial mask and unique belly-spot pattern.
seabird
Humboldt Penguin
A banded penguin of the cold Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile, recognized by a single black chest band and a patch of bare pink skin at the base of its bill.
seabird
Emperor Penguin
The tallest and heaviest of all penguin species, famous for breeding through the brutal Antarctic winter on open sea ice.
seabird
Gentoo Penguin
The fastest-swimming penguin species, recognized by its bright orange-red bill and a white patch stretching above each eye.
seabird
Adelie Penguin
A classic tuxedo-patterned penguin of Antarctica, easily told by the bold white ring encircling each eye.
seabird
Rockhopper Penguin
A small, feisty crested penguin known for hopping between boulders rather than waddling, with spiky yellow head plumes and red eyes.
seabird
Macaroni Penguin
A crested penguin with flamboyant golden-yellow plumes sweeping back from the forehead, once among the most abundant penguins on Earth.
seabird
Magellanic Penguin
A medium-sized South American banded penguin, marked by a single black band across the chest, that nests in burrows along the coasts of Argentina, Chile, and the Falklands.
seabird
Little Penguin
The world's smallest penguin species, with slate-blue upperparts and white underparts, that comes ashore only after dark to avoid predators.
seabird
King Penguin
The second-largest penguin species, sporting bold, sharply defined orange ear patches and a slender, elegant build.
seabird
Galapagos Penguin
The smallest banded penguin and the only penguin species found north of the equator, confined entirely to the volcanic shores of the Galapagos Islands.
seabird
Fiordland Penguin
A rare crested penguin, known as tawaki, that breeds uniquely among rainforest and rocky coastline of remote Fiordland, distinguished by its broad yellow eyebrow-stripe crest.
seabird
Chinstrap Penguin
A small, feisty Antarctic penguin named for the thin black line running under its chin, giving it a helmet-strap appearance.
seabird
Yellow-eyed Penguin
A large, solitary-nesting New Zealand penguin named for its pale yellow eyes and the yellow band that sweeps across its head, considered one of the rarest penguin species.
seabird
Little Blue Penguin
The world's smallest penguin, with slate-blue upperparts, found nesting in burrows along the coasts of southern Australia and New Zealand.
seabird
African Jacana
The African Jacana is a striking wetland bird famed for its enormous toes that let it walk across floating lily pads, earning it the nickname "lily-trotter."
shorebird
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
African Openbill
A dark, glossy African stork whose uniquely gapped bill is specially shaped for extracting freshwater snails from their shells.
wading-bird
African Hoopoe
A distinctive cinnamon-colored African bird with a fan-shaped crest, boldly barred black-and-white wings, and a long curved bill.
other
African Skimmer
A slender riverine skimmer of sub-Saharan Africa with an orange-yellow, black-tipped bill, sharing the family's unique lower-mandible-skimming feeding technique.
seabird
African Grey Hornbill
A widespread African hornbill with understated grey-brown plumage, a pale eyebrow stripe, and a dark bill topped by a bony casque ridge in males.
other
African Crowned Eagle
One of Africa's most powerful forest raptors, capable of overpowering prey heavier than itself, earning it the nickname "leopard of the air."
raptor
African Pygmy Falcon
Africa's smallest raptor, a tiny falcon of dry savanna that nests almost exclusively in the communal nests of sociable weavers.
raptor
African Grey Parrot
A medium-sized, ash-grey parrot with a striking bright red tail, a white facial patch, and a reputation as one of the most cognitively advanced birds known.
parrot