Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Brown Pelican
A familiar coastal seabird known for its dramatic head-first plunge-dives from height into the ocean to catch fish, once endangered by DDT but now fully recovered.
seabird
Brown Thrasher
A large, rich reddish-brown songbird with heavy dark streaking below and bright yellow eyes, known for an extensive repertoire of paired song phrases.
songbird
Brown Booby
A widespread tropical seabird with dark chocolate-brown upperparts sharply set off from a clean white belly and underwings.
seabird
Brown Shrike
A migratory rufous-brown shrike with a black mask, commonly seen perched on low bushes and wires during the non-breeding season.
songbird
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
Brown-headed Nuthatch
A tiny brown-capped nuthatch of southeastern pine forests, notable as one of the few birds known to use tools.
songbird
Brown-crested Flycatcher
The largest of the North American Myiarchus flycatchers, a bushy-crested, cavity-nesting bird of desert washes and saguaro country with a rolling 'whit-will-do' call.
songbird
Brown-eared Bulbul
A large, noisy grey bulbul with a distinctive chestnut-brown ear patch and a loud, far-carrying call.
songbird
Asian Brown Flycatcher
A plain, understated grey-brown flycatcher best identified by its upright posture, white eye-ring, and habit of sallying out after insects.
songbird
Southern Brown Kiwi
A shaggy, flightless, nocturnal New Zealand kiwi of the South Island and Stewart Island, known locally as tokoeka, that finds food entirely by smell.
other
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
A stocky pink-tinged finch of the highest Rocky Mountain peaks, found nowhere else on Earth.
songbird
North Island Brown Kiwi
The most numerous kiwi species and an enduring national symbol of New Zealand, a flightless, nocturnal, shaggy brown bird that hunts invertebrates by smell.
other
Red-browed Finch
An olive-grey finch with a bright red rump, bill, and eyebrow stripe, often seen in small flocks along forest edges.
songbird
Black-browed Albatross
The most abundant and widespread albatross species, easily identified by the bold dark stripe through its eye and its yellow-orange bill.
seabird
Turquoise-browed Motmot
A brilliantly colored motmot of dry Central American forest, with a turquoise brow stripe, cinnamon underparts, and a long tail ending in distinctive bare-shafted racket tips.
other
White-browed Robin-Chat
A large, richly colored African robin-chat prized for its loud, beautiful dawn song and bold white eyebrow stripe.
songbird
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
A cooperatively breeding savanna bird known for its conspicuous white eyebrow and untidy grass nests built in acacia trees.
songbirdKiwi
A small, flightless, nocturnal bird endemic to New Zealand, famed for its long probing bill, hair-like feathers, and keen sense of smell.
other
Arizona Woodpecker
The only brown-backed woodpecker found in the United States, restricted to oak canyons of southeastern Arizona and New Mexico.
woodpecker
Boreal Chickadee
A brown-capped chickadee of the northern boreal forest, quieter and less familiar than its black-capped relative.
songbird
Meyer's Parrot
A widespread African savanna parrot with mostly brown-grey plumage set off by turquoise underparts and yellow shoulder patches.
parrot
Tawny Owl
A stocky, big-headed nocturnal owl of European woodlands, best known for its familiar hooting duet.
owl
Hooded Vulture
A small, drab, bare-faced vulture of Africa that scavenges close to towns and villages and has suffered catastrophic population declines.
raptor
Bank Swallow
The smallest North American swallow, brown above and white below with a crisp brown breast band, nesting colonially in burrows dug into sandy banks.
songbird