Birds of World

Gila woodpecker Declined seriously in California portion of range during 20th century. Still abundant in southern Arizona.

Great egret Populations were decimated by plume hunters in late 1800s, recovered rapidly with protection early in 20th century. In recent decades, breeding range has been expanding gradually northward, while there is some evidence that southern populations have declined.

Lesser scaup Two scaup species live in North America: the Greater Scaup prefers salt water and is found in America and Eurasia, while the Lesser Scaup prefers freshwater and is found only in North America. The Lesser Scaup is one of the most abundant and widespread of the diving ducks in North America

Lava heron The lava heron, also known as the Galapagos heron, is a wading bird, endemic to the Galapagos Islands. These small herons live and nest along the lava rock coastlines, saltwater lagoons, and mangrove forests. They appear to be common on the Galapagos Islands, but population sizes are currently unknown.

House finch The House Finch is a recent introduction from western into eastern North America (and Hawaii), but it has received a warmer reception than other arrivals like the European Starling and House Sparrow. That’s partly due to the cheerful red head and breast of males, and to the bird’s long, twittering song, which can now be heard in most of the neighborhoods of the continent. If you haven’t seen one recently, chances are you can find one at the next bird feeder you come across.

Red-billed tropicbird The only tropicbird likely to be seen off the California coast, but rare even there; sometimes seen on boat trips to the southern Channel Islands. Common in parts of the Caribbean, the Red-billed Tropicbird very rarely strays to waters off Florida or elsewhere in the east.

Ring-necked duck The male Ring-necked Duck is a sharply marked bird of gleaming black, gray, and white. Females are rich brown with a delicate face pattern. At distance, look for this species’ distinctive, peaked head to help you identify it. Even though this species dives for its food, you can find it in shallow wetlands such as beaver swamps, ponds, and bays. Of all the diving duck species, the Ring-necked Duck is most likely to drop into small ponds during migration.

Whimbrel The most widespread of the curlews, nesting in the Arctic across North America and Eurasia, wintering on the coasts of six continents. Whimbrels tend to concentrate in flocks at a few favored spots in migration, so that the observer sees either many of them or else very small numbers. The name "Whimbrel," originating in England, apparently began as a loose interpretation of the bird's call.

Gambel's quail Gambel’s Quail are gregarious birds of the desert Southwest, where coveys gather along brushy washes and cactus-studded arroyos to feed. Males and females both sport a bobbing black topknot of feathers. The male’s prominent black belly patch distinguishes it from the similar California Quail (the two species' ranges don't overlap). This ground-hugging desert dweller would rather run than fly—look for these tubby birds running between cover or posting a lookout on low shrubs.

Burrowing owl Owls are unmistakable birds, and that goes double for a long-legged owl that hunts on the ground during the day. Burrowing Owls are small, sandy colored owls with bright-yellow eyes. They live underground in burrows they’ve dug themselves or taken over from a prairie dog, ground squirrel, or tortoise. They live in grasslands, deserts, and other open habitats, where they hunt mainly insects and rodents. Their numbers have declined sharply with human alteration of their habitat and the decline of prairie dogs and ground squirrels.

Northern cardinal The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They’re a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.

Black-headed grosbeak Black-headed Grosbeaks are hefty songbirds with very large bills that are conical and thick at the base. They have large heads and short, thick necks. A short tail imparts a compact, chunky look.

Amphispiza bilineata The striking Black-throated Sparrow is a denizen of open deserts of the western United States and Mexico.

Actitis macularius Tringa macularia   Linnaeus ,  1766 ,  Pennsylvania, USA . Formerly considered conspecific with  A. hypoleucos . Some authors have recognized two subspecies,  rava  in W of range and nominate in E, but differences generally considered minimal. Monotypic. Distribution: Much of North America, from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, S to SC California, E Arizona and W New Mexico, thence E to North Carolina. Winters from S USA through Central America and West Indies to South America S to N Argentina and C Chile; in most years, also Galapagos Is. Spotted sandpipers ( Actitis macularius ) are found throughout North and Central America, including the western Caribbean islands. Their breeding range extends from the northern Arctic to the southern United States. Their wintering grounds range from the extreme southern United States to southern South America, along with all the Caribbean islands. Spotted sandpipers live year-ro...

Upland goose Upland Geese are very common throughout southern grasslands and steppe in southern South America.  Most wet areas in the overwhelmingly dry landscape of Patagonia host this species, occasionally in numbers. The species is startlingly sexually dimorphic; males are gray and white with black barring on the belly and upper back (some males are totally white-bellied), while females are darker below and have chestnut heads.  These geese form large flocks, and occasionally mix with other species of sheldgeese; however, they almost always outnumber other species.

Imperial shag The Imperial Shag is a species of sub Antarctic and Antarctic waters, often seen foraging around islands or along the coast.  Unlike the cormorants of temperate and tropical areas, the Imperial Shag does not dry its wings by spreading them after diving. This is an adaptation to the extremely cold climate, in order to avoid the heat loss that this posture implies. 

Pyrrhuloxia Dapper in looks and cheerful in song, the Pyrrhuloxia is a tough-as-nails songbird of baking hot deserts in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. They’re closely related to Northern Cardinals, but they are a crisp gray and red, with a longer, elegant crest and a stubby, parrotlike yellow bill. During breeding season Pyrrhuloxias are fiercely and vocally territorial, but in the winter they forget their disputes and join together in large foraging flocks.

Bridled titmouse The most strikingly marked of the American titmice and chickadees, the Bridled Titmouse has a black bib and a white-and-black patterned face. Primarily a Mexican species, its range reaches the United States only in the southern mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.

Canada goose The big, black-necked Canada Goose with its signature white chinstrap mark is a familiar and widespread bird of fields and parks. Thousands of “honkers” migrate north and south each year, filling the sky with long V-formations. But as lawns have proliferated, more and more of these grassland-adapted birds are staying put in urban and suburban areas year-round, where some people regard them as pests.

Kelp goose The Kelp Goose is a striking species of coastal areas of southern Chile and Argentina.  They are strikingly sexually dimorphic - adult males are all white while females are fancier, with brown backs and white bars on black underparts and an iridescent green wing bar.  Both sexes show intensely yellow legs.  The species forages on kelp along rocky shores in pairs and rarely forms larger flocks like other species of South American sheldgeese.

Aptenodytes patagonicus King penguins breed on  subantarctic islands  between 45 and 55°S, at the northern reaches of  Antarctica , as well as  Tierra del Fuego , the  Falkland Islands , and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.  The largest breeding populations are on  Crozet Island , with around 455,000 pairs, 228,000 pairs on the  Prince Edward Islands , 240,000–280,000 on the  Kerguelen Islands  and over 100,000 in the  South Georgia  archipelago.  Macquarie Island  has around 70,000 pairs. The non-breeding range is poorly known due to  vagrant  birds having been recorded from the Antarctic peninsula as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Aptenodytes patagonicus  (king penguins) colonies are mainly located on islands surrounding Antarctica. Islands include Crozet, Falkland, Heard, Kerguelen, Macqua...

Golden eagle The Golden Eagle is one of the largest, fastest, nimblest raptors in North America. Lustrous gold feathers gleam on the back of its head and neck; a powerful beak and talons advertise its hunting prowess. You're most likely to see this eagle in western North America, soaring on steady wings or diving in pursuit of the jackrabbits and other small mammals that are its main prey. Sometimes seen attacking large mammals, or fighting off coyotes or bears in defense of its prey and young, the Golden Eagle has long inspired both reverence and fear.

Cactus wren No bird exemplifies Southwestern deserts better than the noisy Cactus Wren. At all hours of the day they utter a raw scratchy noise that sounds like they are trying to start a car. Cactus Wrens are always up to something, whether hopping around on the ground, fanning their tails, scolding their neighbors, or singing from the tops of cacti. They build nests the size and shape of footballs which they use during the breeding and nonbreeding season. Cactus Wrens are true desert dwellers; they can survive without needing to drink freestanding water.

Aphelocoma ultramarina The Mexican jay is a medium-large (~120 g) passerine similar in size to most other  jays , with a blue head, blue-gray mantle, blue wings and tail, and pale gray breast and underparts. The sexes are morphologically similar, and juveniles differ only in having less blue coloration and, in some populations, a pink/pale (instead of black) bill that progressively becomes more black with age (Brown and Horvath 1989). Some field guides misreport this color as yellow because the pale bill becomes yellow in museum study skins. The iris is brown and legs are black. Mexican Jays range from the north in central Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and west-central Texas through the eastern central mountain chain south to Puebla, Guerrero and central Veracruz and went to Jalisco and Colima. Mexican Jays range from the north in central Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and west-central Texas through the eastern central mountain chain south to Puebla, Guerrero and cent...

Aix sponsa The Wood Duck is one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.

Magnificent frigatebird A long-winged, fork-tailed bird of tropical oceans, the Magnificent Frigatebird is an agile flier that snatches food off the surface of the ocean and steals food from other birds. It breeds mostly south of the United States, but wanders northward along the coasts during nonbreeding season.

Greater roadrunner A bird born to run, the Greater Roadrunner can outrace a human, kill a rattlesnake, and thrive in the harsh landscapes of the Desert Southwest. Roadrunners reach two feet from sturdy bill to white tail tip, with a bushy blue-black crest and mottled plumage that blends well with dusty shrubs. As they run, they hold their lean frames nearly parallel to the ground and rudder with their long tails. They have recently extended their range eastward into Missouri and Louisiana.

Greater flamingo These famous pink birds can be found in warm, watery regions on many continents. They favor environments like estuaries and saline or alkaline lakes. Considering their appearance, flamingos are surprisingly fluid swimmers, but really thrive on the extensive mud flats where they breed and feed.

Bufflehead A buoyant, large-headed duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds, the tiny Bufflehead spends winters bobbing in bays, estuaries, reservoirs, and lakes. Males are striking black-and white from a distance. A closer look at the head shows glossy green and purple setting off the striking white patch. Females are a subdued gray-brown with a neat white patch on the cheek. Bufflehead nest in old woodpecker holes, particularly those made by Northern Flickers, in the forests of northern North America.

Sandhill crane Whether stepping singly across a wet meadow or filling the sky by the hundreds and thousands, Sandhill Cranes have an elegance that draws attention. These tall, gray-bodied, crimson-capped birds breed in open wetlands, fields, and prairies across North America. They group together in great numbers, filling the air with distinctive rolling cries. Mates display to each other with exuberant dances that retain a gangly grace. Sandhill Crane populations are generally strong, but isolated populations in Mississippi and Cuba are endangered.

Wild turkey Most North American kids learn turkey identification early, by tracing outlines of their hands to make Thanksgiving cards. These big, spectacular birds are an increasingly common sight the rest of the year, too, as flocks stride around woods and clearings like miniature dinosaurs. Courting males puff themselves into feathery balls and fill the air with exuberant gobbling. The Wild Turkey’s popularity at the table led to a drastic decline in numbers, but they have recovered and now occur in every state except Alaska.

Bullock's oriole Nimble canopy-gleaners of open woodlands in the western U.S., Bullock's Orioles dangle upside down from branches while foraging and weaving their remarkable hanging nests. Adult males are flame-orange with a neat line through the eye and a white wing patch; females are washed in gray and orange. In addition to insects, they eat fruit and nectar—a trait some bird watchers capitalize on by offering nectar, jelly, and orange halves in summer backyards. Listen for their whistling, chuckling song in tall trees along rivers and streams.

Black-headed grosbeak   In western North America, the sweet song of the Black-headed Grosbeak caroling down from the treetops sounds like a tipsy robin welcoming spring. The flashy black, white, and cinnamon males and the less flamboyant females sing from perches in suburbs, desert thickets, and mountain forests. At feeders they effortlessly shuck sunflower seeds with their heavy bills. The showy male puts in equal time on the domestic front: both sexes sit on the eggs, feed the young, and feistily defend their nesting territory.

Bald eagle The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and a spiritual symbol for native people for far longer than that. These regal birds aren’t really bald, but their white-feathered heads gleam in contrast to their chocolate-brown body and wings. Look for them soaring in solitude, chasing other birds for their food, or gathering by the hundreds in winter. Once endangered by hunting and pesticides, Bald Eagles have flourished under protection.