Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Black-crowned Night-Heron
A stocky, thick-necked heron active mainly at dusk and night, with a glossy black crown and back, pale grey wings, and striking red eyes.
wading-bird
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
A stocky grey heron with a bold black-and-white striped face and a pale yellowish crown, specialized for hunting crabs and crayfish.
wading-bird
Cocoi Heron
South America's largest heron, a tall grey-and-white bird with a black cap that fills the same niche as the Grey Heron.
wading-bird
Crowned Lapwing
The Crowned Lapwing is a common African grassland plover easily recognized by the black-and-white ring encircling its head and its loud, repetitive calls.
shorebird
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
Goliath Heron
The world's largest heron, a towering African giant with a massive chestnut head and dagger-like bill built for spearing big fish.
wading-bird
Crowned Eagle
A powerful African forest eagle with short, rounded wings for maneuvering below the canopy, the Crowned Eagle is considered pound-for-pound one of the continent's most formidable raptors and a leading predator of monkeys.
raptor
Agami Heron
One of the most vividly colored herons in the world, a shy forest-swamp specialist with an iridescent green back and deep chestnut underparts.
wading-bird
Black Crowned-Crane
A striking West and Central African crane with a golden crown of bristle feathers, a black neck, and bold red and white facial patches.
wading-bird
Capped Heron
A pale, elegant heron with a black cap, blue facial skin, and creamy-buff plumage found around South American wetlands.
wading-bird
Purple Heron
A slender, reddish-necked relative of the Grey Heron that hides among reedbeds across Africa, Europe, and Asia.
wading-bird
Tricolored Heron
A slender, dark-bodied heron of American coastal marshes with a bright white belly and neck stripe that sets it apart from all other herons.
wading-bird
Squacco Heron
A small, buffy heron that looks surprisingly plain at rest but reveals striking white wings the instant it takes flight.
wading-bird
Striated Heron
A small, stocky, dark greenish heron found on tropical shorelines worldwide, notable for occasionally using bait to lure fish.
wading-bird
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
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
A chunky, non-migratory sparrow of rocky hillsides marked by a rusty cap and a black-and-white striped face.
songbird
White-crowned Sparrow
A crisply marked sparrow with bold black-and-white crown stripes, a plain gray breast, and a pink or yellowish bill.
songbird
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
Western Reef-Heron
A coastal heron that comes in two color forms, slate-grey and pure white, both stalking crabs and fish along mangroves and reefs.
wading-bird
White-faced Heron
The most common and widespread heron across Australia and New Zealand, easily told by its pale grey body and clean white face.
wading-bird
Orange-crowned Warbler
A plain, drab olive warbler with a faint eyeline and blurry streaking below, whose namesake orange crown patch is usually hidden from view.
songbird
Blue-crowned Conure
A large, mostly green South American parakeet named for the pale blue wash across its forehead and crown.
parrot
Boat-billed Heron
A bizarre, wide-eyed nocturnal heron of Latin American swamps, instantly recognizable by its enormous broad, boat-shaped bill.
wading-bird
Little Blue Heron
A small heron of American wetlands, slate-blue as an adult but confusingly all-white as a juvenile, undergoing a mottled transition in its second year.
wading-bird