Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
European Starling
A stocky, iridescent black songbird introduced to North America in the 1890s, known for its speckled winter plumage, versatile mimicry, and massive flocks.
songbird
Mandarin Duck
An exquisitely beautiful perching duck native to East Asia, famous for the male's spectacular, multi-colored ornamental plumage.
waterfowl
Ruddy Shelduck
A large, warm orange-brown duck with a paler head, often seen in pairs on open lakes and rivers across Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe.
waterfowl
Phainopepla
A slim, crested desert songbird; glossy jet-black males and soft gray females that depend heavily on mistletoe berries.
songbird
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
White-headed Woodpecker
An unmistakable pine-forest woodpecker with an all-white head set against a glossy black body.
woodpecker
Brown-headed Cowbird
A brood-parasitic blackbird whose glossy brown head contrasts with the male's black body, famous for laying eggs in other birds' nests.
songbird
Green Kingfisher
A small, quiet kingfisher of South Texas and Latin America, easily recognized by its glossy green plumage and low-profile hunting style.
other
Boat-tailed Grackle
A large, glossy coastal grackle with a distinctive keel-shaped tail and dramatic size difference between the sexes.
songbird
Muscovy Duck
A large, heavy-bodied duck with bare red or black facial skin around the eyes and bill, wild birds are glossy black with white wing patches.
waterfowl
Great-tailed Grackle
A large, glossy, long-tailed blackbird with a loud, varied voice that has rapidly expanded across urban and agricultural North America.
songbird
Red-winged Blackbird
A glossy black marsh bird whose males display bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches while perched and singing atop cattails.
songbird
Common Merganser
A large, sleek fish-eating duck with a slender hooked, serrated bill; breeding males have a glossy dark green head and clean white body.
waterfowl
Purple Martin
North America's largest swallow, a glossy blue-black aerial insectivore whose eastern population now nests almost entirely in birdhouses provided by people.
songbird
Common Shelduck
A large, goose-like duck with a bold white body crossed by a broad chestnut breast band and a glossy dark green head, common along Eurasian coasts.
waterfowl
Black-capped Vireo
A small vireo of Texas oak scrub with a glossy black cap, bold white spectacles, and a red eye, a conservation success story after habitat restoration and cowbird control.
songbird
Eastern Screech-Owl
A tiny, tufted owl of eastern woodlands and suburbs, occurring in both gray and reddish-brown color forms, with a whinnying call rather than a screech.
owl
Short-eared Owl
A pale, ground-nesting owl of open country that hunts by day in low, buoyant, moth-like flight over fields and marshes.
owl
Long-eared Owl
A slender, secretive woodland owl with long, close-set ear tufts and a strikingly thin, upright roosting posture.
owl
Burrowing Owl
A small, long-legged owl that nests underground in abandoned burrows and is often seen standing bolt upright by day.
owl