Bird Identifier

Bird Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.

Striated Heron

Striated Heron

A small, stocky, dark greenish heron found on tropical shorelines worldwide, notable for occasionally using bait to lure fish.

wading-bird
Striated Pardalote

Striated Pardalote

Australia's most widespread pardalote, a tiny streak-headed canopy bird with a distinctive repeated 'pick-it-up' call.

songbird
Grey Heron

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

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
Cocoi Heron

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
Agami Heron

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
Purple Heron

Purple Heron

A slender, reddish-necked relative of the Grey Heron that hides among reedbeds across Africa, Europe, and Asia.

wading-bird
Tricolored Heron

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

Squacco Heron

A small, buffy heron that looks surprisingly plain at rest but reveals striking white wings the instant it takes flight.

wading-bird
Green Heron

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
Capped Heron

Capped Heron

A pale, elegant heron with a black cap, blue facial skin, and creamy-buff plumage found around South American wetlands.

wading-bird
White-faced Heron

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
Western Reef-Heron

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
Boat-billed Heron

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

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
Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

North America's largest and most widespread heron, a tall blue-grey wading bird often seen standing motionless at the water's edge waiting to strike prey.

wading-bird
Chinese Pond-Heron

Chinese Pond-Heron

A small East Asian heron that transforms from a plain streaky brown bird into a maroon-and-slate breeding beauty each spring.

wading-bird
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

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
Black-crowned Night-Heron

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
Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret

A small, brilliant white egret of the Americas known for its black bill and legs paired with striking bright yellow feet, nicknamed its 'golden slippers.'

wading-bird
Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

A stocky, short-necked white egret closely associated with grazing livestock, whose remarkable natural range expansion made it one of the most successful bird colonizations in modern history.

wading-bird
Five-striped Sparrow

Five-striped Sparrow

A boldly patterned, black-throated sparrow found in the US only in a handful of remote southeastern Arizona canyons.

songbird
Great Egret

Great Egret

A tall, elegant, all-white heron with a long yellow bill and black legs, found on wetlands across nearly every continent.

wading-bird
Eurasian Bittern

Eurasian Bittern

A famously secretive reedbed heron known across Europe for the male's deep, foghorn-like booming call rather than for being seen.

wading-bird