Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Lewis's Woodpecker
An unusually crow-like woodpecker with iridescent greenish-black plumage, a pink belly, and a habit of catching insects on the wing.
woodpecker
Swallow Tanager
A short-billed, swallow-shaped tanager, with turquoise-blue males and grass-green females, that hawks insects on the wing and nests in burrows.
songbird
Black-and-white Warbler
A strikingly striped black-and-white warbler that creeps along tree trunks and branches like a nuthatch, gleaning insects from bark.
songbird
Swallow-winged Puffbird
A distinctive puffbird with long, pointed swallow-like wings and a chestnut rump, often seen perched on riverside snags sallying for insects like a swallow.
other
Rainbow Bee-eater
A slender, jewel-colored bird with a rainbow of green, blue, and chestnut plumage that hawks bees and other insects on the wing.
other
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
A slender, blue-gray songbird with a long, expressive black-and-white tail, constantly flicking as it hunts tiny insects.
songbird
American Kestrel
North America's smallest and most colorful falcon, often seen perched on wires hunting insects and small rodents.
raptor
Gull-billed Tern
A stocky, gull-billed tern with a stout black bill, pale plumage, and an unusual habit of hawking insects over dry land far from water.
seabird
Clay-colored Sparrow
A pale, delicately patterned sparrow with a gray nape and brown-streaked crown, giving its distinctive buzzy insect-like song from prairie shrubs.
songbird
Grasshopper Sparrow
A small, flat-headed, short-tailed sparrow of grasslands whose thin insect-like song resembles a grasshopper's buzz.
songbird
European Bee-eater
One of Europe's most vividly colored birds, a swallow-shaped hunter of flying insects with chestnut, yellow, and turquoise plumage.
other
Dickcissel
A grassland songbird resembling a small meadowlark, with breeding males showing a yellow breast, black bib, and a name derived from its buzzy, insect-like song.
songbird
Grasshopper Warbler
An extremely secretive, streaked warbler best known for its bizarre, mechanical, insect-like reeling song, often compared to the sound of a fishing reel being cast.
songbird
Spotted Antbird
A small, boldly spotted antbird of Central American and Chocó forests that habitually follows army ant swarms to catch fleeing insects.
songbird
Rufous-tailed Jacamar
A slender, iridescent green bird with a needle-thin bill and rufous underparts that hawks insects from perches along forest edges.
other
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
New Zealand Fantail
A tiny, energetic New Zealand bird best known for its wide, fan-shaped tail and its habit of following walkers through the bush to snap up disturbed insects.
songbird
Bee Hummingbird
The world's smallest bird, a Cuban hummingbird barely larger than a large insect, with the breeding male sporting an iridescent rose-pink head and throat.
hummingbird
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
American Redstart
An acrobatic warbler often called 'the butterfly bird' for its habit of fanning bold orange or yellow tail and wing patches while flushing insects.
songbird
Tomtit
A small, big-headed New Zealand forest bird, the male boldly black-and-white or black-and-yellow depending on region, often seen perched quietly before darting after insects.
songbird
Western Yellow Wagtail
A slender, bright yellow-bellied wagtail of wet grasslands and farmland, often seen darting around the feet of grazing cattle to snap up disturbed insects.
songbird
Spotted Flycatcher
An unassuming grey-brown songbird best known for its habit of darting from an exposed perch to snap up flying insects and returning to the same spot.
songbird
Grey Fantail
A small, restless grey-brown bird known for constantly fanning and flicking its long, white-edged tail while chasing insects through the foliage.
songbird