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
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
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
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
Varied Bunting
A desert bunting whose male appears deep purple-blue with a rosy nape patch in good light, but nearly black in shade, found in thorny borderland scrub.
songbird
Painted Bunting
Often called the most colorful bird in North America, the male Painted Bunting displays an almost impossibly vivid patchwork of blue, green, and red.
songbird
Lazuli Bunting
The western counterpart of the Indigo Bunting, with males showing a sky-blue head and back, a warm orange breast band, and a white belly.
songbird
Indigo Bunting
A small finch-like songbird whose breeding male appears brilliant all-over blue, produced entirely by feather structure rather than blue pigment.
songbird
Blue Grosbeak
A stocky, deep-blue finch-like bird with rich chestnut wingbars and a heavy silver bill, favoring brushy fields across the southern and central United States.
songbird
Chipping Sparrow
A small, slender sparrow with a bright rufous cap, black eye-line, and clean gray underparts, common in yards with conifers.
songbird