Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Common Kingfisher
A vivid jewel-toned kingfisher with electric-blue upperparts and orange underparts, often glimpsed as a flash of color over slow-moving rivers and ponds.
other
Ringed Kingfisher
The largest kingfisher in the Americas, easily recognized by its massive size, heavy bill, and entirely rufous-chestnut underparts.
other
Malachite Kingfisher
A tiny, jewel-like African kingfisher with a vivid blue-and-black barred crest and rufous underparts.
other
Amazon Kingfisher
A large green-backed kingfisher of Central and South American waterways, with a shaggy crest and a chestnut breast band in males.
other
Pied Kingfisher
A striking black-and-white kingfisher famed for hovering over water before plunge-diving for fish, common across Africa and Asia.
other
Woodland Kingfisher
A vividly colored, non-aquatic African kingfisher famous for its loud trilling call from open perches.
other
Green Kingfisher
The smallest kingfisher in the United States, a dark green, white-spotted bird of quiet streams along the southern borderlands.
other
Giant Kingfisher
Africa's largest kingfisher, a shaggy-crested, black-and-white speckled bird that hunts fish and crabs from streamside perches.
other
Belted Kingfisher
A large, shaggy-crested, rattling-voiced kingfisher of North American waterways, in which the female is more colorful than the male.
other
White-throated Kingfisher
A vividly colored kingfisher with turquoise-blue upperparts, a chocolate-brown head, and a bright white throat, often seen far from water.
other
Common Redstart
A brightly colored migratory chat of open woodland, the male showing a grey back, black face, and fiery orange breast and tail, constantly quivering its rufous tail.
songbird
Common Yellowthroat
A skulking marsh warbler with a bright yellow throat, best known for the male's bold black facial mask and witchety-witchety-witchety song.
songbird
Common Nighthawk
A cryptically patterned, long-winged aerial insect-hunter often seen at dusk with erratic, bat-like flight and a nasal "peent" call.
other
Common Sandpiper
The Old World counterpart of the Spotted Sandpiper, a small, constantly bobbing shorebird found along rivers, streams, and lakes across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
shorebird
Common Goldeneye
A hardy cavity-nesting diving duck named for its brilliant golden-yellow eye, the drake bearing a round white cheek spot on a glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
Common Redshank
A medium-sized, noisy sandpiper of European wetlands, nicknamed "the warden of the marshes" for its loud alarm calls, and easily told by its bright orange-red legs.
shorebird
Common Murre
A slender, penguin-like auk with a dark brown-black back and white underparts, breeding in dense, noisy cliff colonies.
seabird
Common Rosefinch
A sparrow-shaped finch whose adult males glow raspberry-red on the head and breast, best known for its cheerful, whistled song.
songbird
Common Pauraque
A resident Rio Grande Valley nightjar often spotted along roadsides at night by its reflective red eyeshine.
other
Common Redpoll
A tiny, hardy arctic finch with a red cap and black chin that irrupts south to feeders in some winters.
songbird
Common Loon
An iconic North American lake bird famed for its striking black-and-white checkered plumage and haunting, wavering calls.
seabird
Common Swift
A sooty-brown, scythe-winged aerial specialist that spends nearly its entire life airborne, screaming past rooftops in fast, wheeling parties.
other
Common Whitethroat
An animated scrubland warbler with a grey head, bright white throat, and chestnut-fringed wings, often seen bursting into a brief song-flight above the hedgerow.
songbird
Common Cuckoo
A slender, hawk-like grey bird famous for its far-carrying call and its habit of laying eggs in the nests of other species.
other