Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ birds — with size, habitat, diet, voice, behavior, and the field marks that tell them apart.
Apostlebird
A dusty grey, ground-foraging Australian bird famous for moving through open woodland in noisy, cooperative family groups traditionally said to number around twelve.
songbird
Cockatoo
A family of large, crested parrots native to Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, distinguished by their erectile crests and mostly white, black, pink, or grey plumage.
parrot
Mexican Jay
A plain blue-and-gray jay of southwestern mountain oak woodlands that lives in cooperative family flocks year-round.
songbird
Greater Coucal
A large, crow-sized cuckoo-family bird with glossy black body, chestnut wings, and a deep, resonant booming call.
other
Harris's Hawk
A dark chocolate-brown desert hawk famous for hunting cooperatively in family groups, unlike almost any other raptor.
raptor
Blue-winged Kookaburra
A large, pale-eyed kingfisher of northern Australia known for its harsh, cackling calls given by family groups at dawn and dusk.
other
Green Wood Hoopoe
A glossy, iridescent African bird with a long curved red bill and tail, known for its raucous cackling calls and tight-knit family groups.
other
Olive Warbler
A pine-forest specialist with a tawny-orange head and black mask, now classified in its own unique family separate from true warblers.
songbird
Southern Ground Hornbill
A large, mostly ground-dwelling African hornbill with black plumage, vivid red facial skin, and deep, booming dawn calls, walking savannas in tight-knit family groups.
other
African Skimmer
A slender riverine skimmer of sub-Saharan Africa with an orange-yellow, black-tipped bill, sharing the family's unique lower-mandible-skimming feeding technique.
seabird
Superb Fairywren
A tiny, cooperatively breeding songbird whose breeding males flash brilliant iridescent blue against black, a familiar sight in southeastern Australian gardens.
songbird
White Tern
An entirely white, ethereal tern with large dark eyes that famously balances its single egg on a bare tree branch without building any nest at all.
seabird
Variegated Fairywren
A small, colorful fairywren whose breeding males combine blue, black, and a bright chestnut shoulder patch, found widely across mainland Australia's scrub and woodland.
songbird
Little Blue Penguin
The world's smallest penguin, with slate-blue upperparts, found nesting in burrows along the coasts of southern Australia and New Zealand.
seabird
Splendid Fairywren
A small songbird of Australia's dry interior whose breeding males turn an almost impossibly vivid all-over cobalt and violet blue.
songbird
Red-backed Fairywren
The smallest fairywren, with breeding males a striking combination of jet black plumage and a vivid scarlet back patch.
songbird
Little Penguin
The world's smallest penguin species, with slate-blue upperparts and white underparts, that comes ashore only after dark to avoid predators.
seabird
Purple-backed Fairywren
A close relative of the Variegated Fairywren adapted to Australia's arid interior, with breeding males showing purplish-blue tones and a small chestnut shoulder patch.
songbird