Library

Bird Library: 30 US Birds

Each entry covers identification, habitat, range, seasonal presence, diet, behavior, voice, look-alikes, observation tips and conservation status. More species are added in batches.

American Goldfinch

Spinus tristis

A small seed-eating finch. Breeding males are bright yellow with a black cap; winter birds turn a muted tan-olive.

Tiny
Grasslands
Backyards

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

A gray-brown thrush with a rusty-orange breast, often seen sprinting and pausing across lawns while hunting worms.

Medium
Backyards
Cities

Anna’s Hummingbird

Calypte anna

A stocky Pacific Coast hummingbird with a rose-red head, now a year-round presence in many western yards and feeders.

Tiny
Backyards
Cities

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

America’s national bird, a huge dark-brown raptor with a white head and tail that fishes along coasts, rivers and large lakes.

Very large
Wetlands
Coastlines

Barn Swallow

Hirundo rustica

A graceful, blue-backed swallow with a rusty throat and a deeply forked tail, often seen skimming over fields and nesting under bridges.

Small
Grasslands
Wetlands

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

A shaggy-crested, blue-gray waterside bird that rattles along rivers and plunges headfirst for fish.

Medium
Wetlands
Coastlines

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

A tiny, curious songbird with a black cap and bib, white cheeks and a clear fee-bee song. A resident across the northern states.

Small
Forests
Backyards

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

A loud, crested jay in blue, white and black. Common in eastern woods and yards, with some birds migrating in fall.

Medium
Forests
Backyards

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

A big, dark coastal seabird that plunges headfirst for fish and glides low over the waves. Its recovery from pesticide losses is a conservation success.

Very large
Coastlines

Canada Goose

Branta canadensis

A big brown goose with a black head and neck and a white chinstrap, now common on lakes, golf courses and fields across the US.

Very large
Wetlands
Cities

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

The smallest woodpecker in North America, a black-and-white bird with a short bill that visits suet feeders and tiny branches.

Small
Forests
Backyards

Eastern Bluebird

Sialia sialis

A small thrush of open country: the male is bright blue above with a rusty throat and chest, and a white belly.

Small
Grasslands
Backyards

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

North America’s largest heron, a tall gray-blue wader that stands motionless in shallows and strikes with a spear-like bill.

Very large
Wetlands
Coastlines

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

A big, heavy-bodied owl with feather tufts like horns and a deep, steady hoot. It lives in almost every kind of wooded or semi-open country.

Large
Forests
Deserts

Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus

A long-tailed, ground-running cuckoo of the dry Southwest that hunts lizards, snakes, and big insects on foot.

Large
Deserts
Grasslands

House Finch

Haemorhous mexicanus

A streaky brown finch. Males have a red head and chest. Native to the Southwest and now widespread in cities across the US.

Small
Cities
Backyards

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

The familiar dabbling duck of ponds and park lakes. Males have a glossy green head; females are mottled brown with an orange bill.

Large
Wetlands
Cities

Mourning Dove

Zenaida macroura

A slim, soft gray-tan dove with a long pointed tail and a low, owl-like coo, common on wires, lawns and under feeders.

Medium
Backyards
Grasslands

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

A crested, year-round songbird. The male is brilliant red with a black face; the female is warm tan with red accents.

Medium
Backyards
Forests

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

A slim gray songbird that sings from rooftops and wires, repeats borrowed phrases, and flashes white wing patches when it hops across a lawn.

Medium
Backyards
Cities

Osprey

Pandion haliaetus

A large fish-eating raptor that hovers over water and plunges feet-first for its catch. Look for its stick nests on poles and platforms.

Large
Wetlands
Coastlines

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

A medium woodpecker with a zebra-striped back and a red cap, familiar in eastern woods, suburbs and at suet feeders.

Medium
Forests
Backyards

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

The most common large hawk in North America, often seen soaring over fields or perched on roadside poles, with a brick-red tail as an adult.

Large
Grasslands
Forests

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

A marsh-edge blackbird: males are glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder patches, females are heavily streaked brown.

Small
Wetlands
Grasslands

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

The only hummingbird that breeds across eastern North America, a tiny summer visitor that migrates to Mexico and Central America.

Tiny
Backyards
Forests

Sandhill Crane

Antigone canadensis

A tall gray crane with a red forehead, a bugling rattle, and migrations that fill Great Plains skies with hundreds of thousands of birds.

Very large
Wetlands
Grasslands

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

A streaky, medium-sized sparrow with a central breast spot and a loud, varied song. It turns up in thickets, marsh edges and yards across the continent.

Small
Wetlands
Backyards

Steller’s Jay

Cyanocitta stelleri

A crested, sooty-black and deep-blue jay of western evergreen forests, and a noisy regular at mountain campgrounds and feeders.

Medium
Forests
Backyards

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

A streaky brown grassland bird with a bright yellow chest and black V, best known for its flute-like, gurgling song from a fence post.

Medium
Grasslands

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

A compact, blue-gray bird that creeps headfirst down tree trunks and gives a nasal yank-yank. A regular at feeders with sunflower seeds and suet.

Small
Forests
Backyards

Not sure what you saw? Try the Bird Finder. Bird presence and timing change with location, weather, habitat and migration. Treat this page as a starting point, then check recent local sightings (for example on eBird) before you go.