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The Whimbrel is a large shorebird, about the size of an American Crow. Like many members of its family, this bird has drab-looking brownish plumage; its most distinctive features are a long, down-curved bill, reminiscent of the closely-related Long-billed Curlew, and a brown-striped crown.

The Seaside Sparrow is a large, long-billed, dark sparrow, well-named for its preferred habitats of salt and brackish marshes. Although it shares habitat with other shoreline-loving sparrows such as the Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows, it is noticeably bigger and darker.

The Red-faced Parrot is a colorful conglomeration of colors, mainly green with red touches on its face, crown, and wings, yellow ear coverts, and dark blue wing and tail feathers.

The handsome “Hudwit” — the smallest of the world’s four godwit species — is an uncommon sight, spending most of its life at the extreme ends of the Americas. Its English name is a reference to this bird’s remote breeding grounds in Alaska and the Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada.

The handsome Red-crested Cardinal is well-named, with a bright red crest that the bird can raise and lower and a red head and chest. It’s white underneath, with a gray back, wings, and tail and a conical, light-colored bill.

The handsome male Phainopepla is clad in sleek black plumage that inspired its name, a composite of the Greek words phainos (shining) and peplos (robe). The male also has striking white wing patches that are visible as he flies.

The male Violet-tailed Sylph is a symphony of shimmering greens, blues, and purples, with long, iridescent violet and blue tail feathers. This colorful train makes up more than half of the bird’s 7-8” length…

One of the smallest wrens in North America, the inconspicuous Winter Wren is easy to mistake for a mouse as it creeps about its favored forest and riparian habitats.

At roughly three inches long, the tiny White-bellied Woodstar is about the size of a large insect. It’s part of a group of similarly small-sized hummingbirds that includes the Chilean Woodstar and the vulnerable Esmeraldas Woodstar, a species found only in Ecuador.

The Shining Sunbeam is a large, conspicuous hummingbird found at higher altitudes along both slopes of the Andes. It often perches in open areas and is fairly easy to spot. At first glance it appears to be rather plain, feathered in shades of brown and cinnamon.

Like many of its relatives, the Plain Chachalaca is highly social, living in flocks of up to 15 birds. However, this wary bird can be hard to spot amid its preferred habitat of thick, thorny scrub.

The American Pipit, an inconspicuous bird roughly the size of a Vesper Sparrow, was once lumped with a larger group of similar birds spread across the Northern Hemisphere, known collectively as the Water Pipit.

The Lapland Longspur is one of four species of longspur in North America. However, the Lapland Longspur is the only member of its genus distributed across both the New and Old Worlds.

The formidable American Goshawk is the largest of North America’s “forest hawks,” a subset of raptors which includes the closely-related, but smaller, Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks. It was split from the Northern Goshawk in 2024…

In this species account, we highlight the Black Vulture found throughout the Americas, not the Black, or Cinereous, Vulture (Aegypius monachus), a different species native to Europe and Asia. “Our” Black Vulture is also known as the American Black Vulture and Mexican Vulture…

The Common Poorwill is the smallest North American nightjar, with short, rounded wings and a short tail with small white outer tips. In the same family as the Eastern Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow, the Common Poorwill shares their nocturnal habits, and is rarely spotted during the day.

The Zone-tailed Hawk is a large, dark raptor with a wide, but disjunct, range that barely reaches into the southwestern United States. It’s about the size of a Red-tailed Hawk, but noticeably slimmer.

The LeConte’s Sparrow behaves more like a mouse than a bird, foraging on the ground amidst thick vegetation, and scuttling away, rather than flying, when it feels threatened.

The Southern Lapwing is a big, noisy shorebird in the plover family, related to the Killdeer and American Golden-Plover. It has an eye-catching color pattern with black breast, white belly, and bronze-shaded shoulders.

The beautiful Upland Sandpiper, like the Mountain Plover, is technically a shorebird, but is almost always found far from any coast, a habitat preference reflected in folk names such as Grass Plover and Upland Plover.

The Parkinson’s Petrel is named for Scottish natural history artist Sydney Parkinson, who accompanied Captain Cook on his first voyages to the Pacific in the mid-1700s. This species is also known as the tāiko by the Māori people of New Zealand, where it breeds.

The Black-vented Shearwater, found nesting only along the sweeping Baja California Peninsula of Mexico, sticks closer to the coast than other seabirds – usually within 15 miles of shore.

The Rhinoceros Auklet is the largest of North America’s auklet species, the size of (and closely related to) Tufted and Atlantic Puffins. This stout seabird has a dark gray back shading to white on the belly and a large, yellow-orange bill.

The shy and secretive Bachman’s Sparrow is a specialty of southeastern pine forests and one of the only sparrow species endemic to the United States. Also known as the Pine-woods or Oak-woods Sparrow, this skulking species is far more often heard than seen.

The charming Dovekie is one of the smallest and most abundant members of the alcid family, sturdy, short-winged seabirds that come to land only to nest, and “fly” underwater in pursuit of their prey.

The Crested Eagle is a large forest raptor of Central and South America, nearly the size of the mighty Harpy Eagle, but slimmer and longer-tailed. It is found in similar forest habitats and is equally as scarce across its wide range.

The Brown Noddy is a type of tern that ranges widely across the tropical oceans of the world. It’s the largest and most widespread of five noddy species, with all deriving their common name from the head-nodding displays they perform while on their nesting grounds.

The Bonin Petrel is a small seabird that spends most of its life in flight over the open ocean, stealing into remote nesting islands by night to breed. Seen in flight, this species shows pale grey upperparts with contrasting darker wing feathers that create a diagnostic “M” mark across its back.

The Arctic Tern is a dainty-looking tern, with long, narrow wings and a deeply forked tail. It’s a medium-sized member of its family: smaller than a Royal Tern, but larger than the Black and Least Terns.

This little auk, only the size of the American Robin (but more than twice as heavy) can be told from its close relatives by the larger amount of white on its face, which extends above and behind the eye.

The rarest of the three tropicbird species occurring in U.S. waters, the Red-tailed Tropicbird nests in the Hawaiian Islands and disperses widely across the Pacific Ocean during its nonbreeding season.

The Black-crowned Night Heron is a small and sturdy waterbird, with relatively short legs, neck, and bill – somewhat similar to the Green Heron in its proportions.

The dainty Eared Grebe is the most abundant and widespread grebe species in the world. Although officially classified as the Black-necked Grebe by the International Ornithological Committee, it’s still known as the Eared Grebe in North America.

The chunky, colorful Yellow-throated Vireo is one of the most eye-catching of North America’s breeding vireos. It’s most notable for its bright yellow throat and breast, set off by broad yellow “spectacles” around the eyes.

The Black-throated Gray Warbler is a distinctive songbird of dry, forested and brushy habitats in the western United States. Its bold black and white head stripes and gray back, streaked with black in adult males, are handy clues to its identification.

Named after a blue gemstone, lapis lazuli, the male Lazuli Bunting glows as brightly as its eponymous jewel. Its species name, amoena, which means “lovely” in Latin, is another nod to this bright little bird’s appearance.

The American White Pelican is an impressive bird in more ways than one. Its nine-foot wingspan is one of the largest of any North American bird, second only to the mighty California Condor.

Along with its cousin the Louisiana Waterthrush and the forest-living Ovenbird, the Northern Waterthrush is one of the only warblers colored like a sparrow or thrush, with a plain brown back and dark-streaked white underparts.

The Painted Redstart often flashes its wings and splays its tail feathers while foraging. This behavior often draws the attention of admiring birders, but its real function is likely to startle and flush invertebrate prey.

Persistent scratching noises coming from near the ground within thick undergrowth may lead to the quick glimpse of a reddish-brown bird with streaky underside, large bill, and bright, lemon-yellow eyes. This skulking species is a Brown Thrasher…

This is the smallest North American oriole species and is often overlooked in favor of its flashier cousin, the Baltimore Oriole. However, it’s an interesting bird in its own right.

This large warbler breeds in remote areas, winters in Amazonia, and always keeps under thick, low cover, quietly walking on the ground or over low branches.

The Field Sparrow’s trilling song is a common summer sound, and this pretty little bird is often heard before it is seen. Patient observers can track the song to its source: a small, pink-billed sparrow with a bold white eye ring, often skulking in a thick shrub or small tree.

The stocky Fox Sparrow is one of the largest members of the sparrow family, closer to the size of a Blue Grosbeak than other sparrow species.

A mango is more than a delicious fruit! It’s also a group of neotropical hummingbird species, exemplified this week by the striking Green-breasted Mango.

Smaller and less conspicuous than its noisy relative, the Belted Kingfisher, the Green Kingfisher is a quick-flying sprite of small streams, channels and ponds. At about 8 1/2” long, the Green Kingfisher is roughly the same length as a Northern Cardinal but lighter.

The Green Parakeet, also known as Green Conure or Mexican Green Conure, is a long, slim parrot, just a bit smaller than an American Crow. This aptly-named species is mainly green, shading to a paler yellowish-green on its underparts.

The Red Crossbill is an intriguing, somewhat mysterious bird found in conifer forests around the world. This medium-sized finch, slightly larger than a Purple Finch, has a unique, strongly curved beak that crosses in an X at the tips.

The male Vermilion Flycatcher is a stunning standout within a family of rather drab relatives such as the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Eastern Phoebe.

Birders visiting the arid deserts of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico could easily dismiss the Pyrrhuloxia as just a dull version of its close relative, the Northern Cardinal.

The Northern Emerald-Toucanet, true to its name, has striking green plumage and occurs further north than any other toucan species, with a range extending into east-central Mexico. It belongs to a genus of multiple other small, green toucanets, but can be distinguished by its chestnut undertail and tail tips.

Even among a colorful cadre of birds such as the Royal Sunangel and Glittering Starfrontlet, the Velvet-purple Coronet is a stunning standout. Easy to miss in shady conditions, where it looks black, this hummingbird’s plumage explodes into a shimmering symphony of purples, blues, and greens when seen in just the right light.

The male Fiery Topaz shines like a jewel as it zips around the canopy of lowland South American forests. This stunning large hummingbird has a lime-green gorget (throat patch) set off by an extensive coal-black hood and shimmering coppery-orange body plumage.

The common but cryptic Collared Forest-Falcon is the largest, most wide-ranging member of its genus (Micrastur), a group of raptors found only in the Neotropics.

Both the genus and species names for the Sword-billed Hummingbird derive from the Latin words for “sword bearer” – a fitting description for the only bird in the world with a bill longer than its body.

The Grasshopper Sparrow is named for the insect-like quality of its songs. The Grasshopper Sparrow appears big-headed and large-billed when compared to more familiar species like the Savannah Sparrow.

The Northern Bobwhite, also known as Virginia quail or partridge, is a New World quail species in the same family as the Montezuma and Scaled Quails. Like its relatives, the bobwhite has a short, curved bill; a chunky, roundish body; and a short tail.

With a population estimated at just 16 birds, the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove is one of the rarest birds in a country that’s home to many rare species found nowhere else.

One of the first scientific descriptions of the Thick-billed Longspur, made in 1851 by amateur ornithologist George Newbold Lawrence, named this bird the “rufous-winged lark bunting.”

The male Western Tanager’s glowing yellow and red plumage lights up the coniferous and mixed forests of western North America each spring. The female, a drabber mix of olive-green, gray, and light yellow, virtually disappears into this habitat.

The robust, long-legged Wood Thrush is closely related to the American Robin and thrushes of the genus Catharus, such as the Bicknell’s Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush.

Often hunkered down in the grasses, the Eastern Meadowlark may surprise a casual observer: This stout-bodied bird sports a cryptic, streaky brown back, but when facing you, you see its shocking yellow breast, emblazoned with a bold, black “V.”

The Red-faced Warbler is one of only two North American warblers with red plumage; the other is the Painted Redstart, another species of the Mexican border. The Red-faced Warbler keeps its vivid red facial plumage year-round…

The Yellow Oriole, like the Yellow Warbler, is aptly named, with plumage of largely that color. Although patterned like other orioles in its family, such as the Audubon’s Oriole (with black wings, tail, and head), the Yellow Oriole has minimal amounts of this contrasting color.

The elusive Bicknell’s Thrush was once considered an isolated population of the Gray-cheeked Thrush. Then in 1995, ornithologists decided that differences in plumage, size, song, and range warranted splitting the two into distinct species.

The Horned Lark is the only lark species native to North America. It is also found across much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, at one season or another. This bird’s namesake “horns” are actually curled tufts of black feathers that can be erected and are usually visible only at close range.

The predatory Loggerhead Shrike is a distinctive songbird found only in North America. The word “loggerhead” refers to the large size of this shrike’s head in relation to its body, which gives it a bull-headed look.

The Common Nighthawk’s erratic, acrobatic flight style gives the bird its folk name “bullbat.” But the nighthawk is a bird, not a mammal. On long, pointed wings, this dusky hunter jerks and weaves through the air, flashing distinctive white wing patches.

The male Dickcissel resembles a big sparrow or miniature meadowlark, with a black, V-shaped throat patch contrasting its bright yellow breast. The female is duller overall, lacking the throat patch and having only a faint hint of yellow on the chest.

The handsome Kirtland’s Warbler is one of North America’s larger warblers. At a glance, it could be mistaken for a Yellow-rumped Warbler, but it has an entirely lemon-yellow underside, a distinctive tail-bobbing habit like a Prairie Warbler, and a gray, rather than yellow, rump.

The Savannah Sparrow is one of North America’s most numerous songbirds, yet it is not as well-known as other common birds such as the American Robin and Red-winged Blackbird and its cousins the Song Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow.

The Gray-breasted Parakeet is a rainbow of colors, its bright-green plumage punctuated by a reddish belly, rump, tail, and shoulders; a light gray, scaly breast; and white ear patches.

The diminutive Broad-billed Tody is only about the size of a Northern Parula warbler — but this tropical bird has a vibe all its own. Although tiny, the tody has a proportionately large head and long bill, resembling a mini-kingfisher.

The Common Yellowthroat is a warbler that behaves more like a Carolina Wren: It bounces through thick, low vegetation and reeds, rarely far above the ground, and it is heard more often than seen.

The furtive, beautiful Kentucky Warbler is a sought-after springtime sighting throughout the eastern U.S. Like the Wood Thrush and Ovenbird, this inhabitant of deep, damp forests is more often heard than seen.

The furtive, beautiful Kentucky Warbler is a sought-after springtime sighting throughout the eastern U.S. Like the Wood Thrush and Ovenbird, this inhabitant of deep, damp forests is more often heard than seen.

To a casual observer, the vivacious Blue-winged Warbler may resemble a Prothonotary Warbler at first glance, but it differs in several crucial aspects, both in appearance and in preferred habitat.

The Critically Endangered Gorgeted Puffleg is as rare as it is beautiful; only the most dedicated birders make the trek to seek it in its rugged Andean habitat in southwestern Colombia.

The size of an American Robin, the Golden-backed Mountain-tanager is one of the largest tanager species. It’s also one of the least known. Like the Seven-colored Tanager and Green-headed Tanager, this species has a restricted range.

Nesting above where most people live, the Black Rosy-Finch is one of North America’s least-familiar yet most striking songbirds.

For many, the eye-popping Scarlet Macaw is a bird of theme parks, zoos, and cages. In the wild, though, this three-foot-long, social, long-tailed parrot is a winged symbol of remaining wilderness, like its cousin the Great Green Macaw and the mighty Harpy Eagle.

The dapper Red-cockaded Woodpecker was once a common sight throughout the mighty longleaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States. Today, only about 15,000 individuals remain.

The leggy Cundinamarca Antpitta inhabits misty highland cloud forest, lush habitat it shares with many other birds, including the Grass-green Tanager, Blackburnian Warbler (in winter), and the Chestnut-crowned Antpitta.

The Turkey Vulture is North America’s most frequently seen soaring bird. One of the best ways to start learning raptors in flight is to first peg identification of this species.

Only an inch longer than a Downy Woodpecker, the dainty-looking Red-necked Phalarope is a tough bird that opens our eyes in many ways, even if many of us rarely if ever see it. During the breeding season, this species is more colorful than many other sandpipers such as the Sanderling or Semipalmated Sandpiper.

The Prairie Falcon hunts unsuspecting prey via low-level flights and angular stoops conducted in expansive arid and semi-arid landscapes.

The Carolina Chickadee is endemic to the southeastern United States, where it is a common backyard visitor, along with the Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, and Downy Woodpecker.

The Baudo Guan belongs the family Cracidae, a group of turkey-like, fruit-eating birds that includes 56 species found from the southern tip of Texas to northern Argentina.

The agile Wedge-tailed Shearwater, or ’Ua’u Kani in native Hawaiian, cruises warm waters, watching for feeding opportunities at and near the water’s surface. Its tapered tail and long, slender wings allow this large seabird to maneuver nimbly…

From late spring through summer, this handsome western buteo is a familiar sight over open country in many parts of the West, soaring overhead on long, bicolored wings.

One of Hawai‘i’s endemic honeycreepers, the Palila lives in dry, open māmane forests high on the slopes of Mauna Kea. This species is a standout in an already unique group of island birds.

Named for its dark breeding plumage, scalloped with white, this stub-tailed, quail-sized seabird frequents ocean waters off rocky Pacific coasts. This bird’s nesting habits remained one of North America’s greatest bird mysteries until 1974. That year, a tree surgeon working 147 feet up in a 200-foot-tall Douglas Fir found an active nest.

The salmon-pink American Flamingo is one of the best-known and most beloved birds. The most colorful of the world’s six flamingo species, it is popular in zoos, and people see its likeness on everything from toys to casinos to lawn ornaments.

As its name implies, the Least Tern is the tiniest of North American terns, and one of the continent’s smallest fishing birds. Everything about this bird is small scale…

The Blackpoll Warbler, named for the male’s black forehead and crown, has the longest migration of any North American warbler. Each fall, most Blackpolls migrate more than 2,000 miles across open water without stopping…

“A wonderful bird is the pelican; his bill can hold more than his belly can,” begins the limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt. And it’s true — a pelican’s pouch can hold up to three times more than its stomach.

Like the male Painted Bunting, this eye-catching species’ plumage seems an unimaginably gaudy patchwork of colors overlaying a familiar songbird form.

The bright crimson ‘Apapane is part of a group of native Hawaiian birds, reminiscent of – but even more diverse than – the famed Galápagos finches. Known as the Hawaiian honeycreepers, these birds evolved into a varied group of dozens of species that originated from a few wayward ancestors.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse is closely related to Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chickens, but has several characteristics that set it apart: The “Sharptail” has a white-edged, wedge-shaped tail with two long central feathers that give it an elongated, spiky appearance.

The elegant American Avocet is a striking sight at any time of the year. The avocet’s long, pastel-blue legs (very different from the stilt’s bright-pink striders) earned it the folk name “blue shanks.”

One Evening Grosbeak is a spectacular sight, but a flock of these big finches is unforgettable — an ever-shifting symphony of rich yellows, browns, and grays, set off by bright black-and-white accents.

Although related to other grouse-like birds such as the Northern Bobwhite and Greater Prairie-Chicken, the three tundra-dwelling ptarmigan species are in a genus all their own. The Willow Ptarmigan is the largest.

The male Lark Bunting completely changes in appearance for the breeding season, molting from streaky brown-and-gray plumage (resembling a female or juvenile) to jet-black with bold white wing patches.

Since the Pine Grosbeak often lives far from humans, it tends to be rather tame, often allowing observers to approach closely. This lack of fear, coupled with its slow-moving, almost sluggish ways, led the residents of Newfoundland to nickname this bird the “mope.”

The Baird’s Sparrow and its close relative the Henslow’s Sparrow are the only two species in the genus Centronyx (meaning spurred claw).

The Sprague’s Pipit is a grassland songbird native to North America, with buffy, striped plumage that blends in seamlessly with its preferred habitat.

The elegant Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is an unforgettable sight, with a forked black-and-white tail that can reach twice the length of its body. While both sexes have long tails, the male’s is noticeably longer.

The handsome Northern Pintail is one of North America’s most widespread ducks, especially in the West, though it is not nearly as abundant as the more familiar Mallard. This species is distinctive both on the water and in flight.

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is an iconic species of mixed-grass prairie — the zone of prairie grasslands lying between the tallgrass in the east and shortgrass to the west — and favors sites grazed by bison or disturbed by fire.

Many birders visiting the southwestern United States yearn to catch a glimpse of the striking little Montezuma Quail. This plump bird was once called the Harlequin Quail, for the male’s pied head pattern.

Although the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a perennial punchline in jokes about birders and the funny names of their quarry, this interesting, boldly patterned woodpecker is quite real.

The dainty Buff-breasted Sandpiper is most often found far from water, away from the usual haunts of most other shorebirds such as the Sanderling and Piping Plover.

The colorful Blue-headed Vireo is a standout among more plain-plumaged relatives such as the Red-eyed Vireo. This handsome Neotropical migrant is easy to identify, with a blue-gray head set off by bold white “spectacles,” bright yellow flanks, olive-green back, and white wingbars.

The Black Rail is the smallest of its family in North America. It measures just three-quarters of an inch longer than the Saltmarsh Sparrow, with which it shares Atlantic Coast marshland, and weighs about as much as a Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Despite its name, the sand-colored Mountain Plover is a species of open plains. It’s roughly the size of a Killdeer, but is much more of a habitat specialist than its more familiar relative.

The Northern Harrier, also known as the “Marsh Hawk” for one of its favorite habitats, is a slim raptor with long wings, legs, and tail.

A common and conspicuous bird across much of North America west of the Mississippi River, the Western Meadowlark was first officially described in 1805 by the famed explorer Meriwether Lewis.

In some parts of the American West, the long-legged Burrowing Owl is known as the “howdy owl” because it seems to nod in greeting at passers-by. This up-and-down action, however, is really just the owl sizing up potential danger.

The Allen’s Hummingbird has one of the most restricted ranges of any U.S. hummingbird, breeding solely along the West Coast from southern Oregon down to southern California; many winter in a small area of central Mexico.

The tiny and enigmatic Yellow Rail is only slightly larger than the Black Rail and is perhaps even more difficult to detect in its marshy haunts.

Among the largest in its family, the Great Gray Owl holds the title as North America’s longest owl species. This majestic bird’s size, coloration, and range have inspired a host of nicknames, including Spectral Owl, Lapland Owl, Spruce Owl, and Sooty Owl.

The small, sand-colored Piping Plover is named for its melodic, plaintive whistle. It’s a beautifully camouflaged shorebird of beaches and barrier islands — habitats also favored by species such as the Snowy Plover and Least Tern.

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is slightly smaller than the closely related Greater Prairie-Chicken, but it’s no mere pale imitation! This species is found only on the high plains of the U.S. southwest and has distinctive courtship displays, vocalizations, and habitat preferences.

In the right light, a male Royal Sunangel is a striking sight, with deep, shimmering violet-blue plumage and a long, forked tail. Like the Rainbow-bearded Thornbill and Glittering Starfrontlet, this bird really shines when its feathers reflect just the right angle of direct light, although in low light and at many other angles, this avian gem looks dark and dull.

The ‘Akikiki is a five-inch-long songbird that creeps quietly over thick tree branches and slender trunks in its montane forest habitat. It’s a striking bird, grayish brown above and whitish below.

The ‘Akikiki is a five-inch-long songbird that creeps quietly over thick tree branches and slender trunks in its montane forest habitat. It’s a striking bird, grayish brown above and whitish below.

The Kiwikiu, also known as the Maui Parrotbill, is so rare that it had no Hawaiian name, or that name was lost over time. This hook-billed, olive-green and yellow native honeycreeper was considered extinct during the first half of the 1900s, until it was rediscovered in 1950.

The ‘Ākohekohe (pronounced “ah ko-hay ko-hay”) is the largest living Hawaiian honeycreeper, with striking black, silver, and crimson-orange plumage and a forward-sweeping white tuft of feathers atop its head that gives the bird its English name “Crested Honeycreeper.”

As implied by its common name, the small, active House Wren is often found near people’s homes. This bird’s genus name Troglodytes means “hole dweller.”

As implied by its common name, the small, active House Wren is often found near people’s homes. This bird’s genus name Troglodytes means “hole dweller.”

As implied by its common name, the small, active House Wren is often found near people’s homes. This bird’s genus name Troglodytes means “hole dweller.”

As implied by its common name, the small, active House Wren is often found near people’s homes. This bird’s genus name Troglodytes means “hole dweller.”

In the Dominican Republic, the handsome Bay-breasted Cuckoo is a rare and sought-after sighting. Endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, this large cuckoo was once also found in Haiti.

The Carolina Wren is a familiar backyard bird, like the Northern Cardinal and Downy Woodpecker, although it is more often heard than seen. For those interested in learning how to identify birds by voice, the Carolina Wren provides interesting lessons.

Although the male Blue Grosbeak is colorful, this chunky, finch-like bird of brushy habitats is often first detected by voice. Once seen, a male Blue Grosbeak is distinctive, with deep-blue plumage set off by two rust-colored wingbars.

The Henslow’s Sparrow and its close relative, the Baird’s Sparrow, are the only two sparrows in the genus Centronyx (meaning spurred claw).

The King Rail was first described in 1834 by the preeminent ornithologist and artist John James Audubon. This largest North American rail species is about the size of a chicken and is sometimes locally called the “Marsh Hen.”

The furtive, beautiful Kentucky Warbler is a sought-after springtime sighting throughout the eastern U.S. Like the Wood Thrush and Ovenbird, this inhabitant of deep, damp forests is more often heard than seen.

The rufous-breasted Red Knot, once known as the “Robin Snipe,” is a champion long-distance migrant, flying more than 9,000 miles from south to north every spring, then reversing the trip every autumn.

The lively little Canada Warbler is a bird of thick forest undergrowth, where, like a Swainson’s or Kentucky Warbler, it is more often heard than seen.

The striking plumage and sweet, downward-lilting song of the Yellow-throated Warbler are welcome signs of early spring in many parts of the southeastern United States.

Large, common, and widespread, the Great Blue Heron is perhaps the most familiar wading bird in North America.

The olive-backed, ground-dwelling Ovenbird can be mistaken for a Wood Thrush at first glance, but it is actually a warbler. A closer look at this bird reveals black stripes beneath, rather than the spots of a thrush.

The zebra-striped Black-and-white is one of the first warblers to arrive on its breeding grounds, along with other “early bird” species such as the Louisiana Waterthrush and Yellow Warbler.

The Elegant Trogon brings a touch of the tropics to its riparian haunts in the southwestern United States, where it is sought by many birders.

White-throated Sparrows are a familiar sight in backyards and around bird feeders across the eastern United States from late fall to mid-spring. Adults have yellow lores, striped crowns, and, as you’d expect, whitish or white throats.

An inspiring flyer, the Laysan Albatross (known as Mōlī in Hawaiian) can glide over the open ocean for hours at a time without a single flap of its long, narrow wings, sailing hundreds of miles a day on an impressive six-foot span.

The Hooded Merganser is the only member of its genus, Lophodytes. This genus name derives from the Greek words lophos meaning crest and dutes meaning diver — an apt description of this small diving duck with the conspicuous fan-shaped crest.

The song of the Black-and-white Warbler — reminiscent of a rusty wheel turning — is an early sign of spring. The zebra-striped Black-and-white is one of the first warblers to arrive on its breeding grounds.

The lovely Long-billed Starthroat is rather large for a hummingbird; at four inches long, it’s about the same size as a Violet-crowned Hummingbird or Royal Sunangel.

At six inches tall, the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is only about the size of an Eastern Bluebird. But this stocky little owl is a formidable predator, with outsized feet and talons that allow it to attack prey up to twice its size.

The Red Phalarope, like the American Woodcock and Long-billed Curlew, is a most unusual shorebird. Its genus name Phalaropus derives from the Ancient Greek words phalaris, “coot,” and pous, “foot.”

For years, the long-winged and distinctive Black-capped Petrel was believed to be extinct. Although rediscovered in 1963, this bird remains an enigma.

While the Waved Albatross spends plenty of time riding air currents over the waves, its name actually derives from the wave-like pattern on this bird’s brown body plumage.

The small, sand-colored Piping Plover, named for its melodic, plaintive whistle, is a bird of beaches and barrier islands, sharing this habitat with Least Terns, Black Skimmers, and Wilson’s Plovers.

The male Banded Cotinga is a strikingly beautiful bird, decked out in shimmering shades of blue and purple. This scarce species is found only in the endangered Atlantic Forest ecosystem.

The distinctive Jocotoco Antpitta was unknown to science until 1997, when it was discovered in the wet, bamboo-choked mountain forests of southeastern Ecuador by Dr. Robert S. Ridgely and other researchers during an expedition to record bird songs.

Like the Snowy Owl and Snow Bunting, the Snow Goose nests at the “top of the world” on tundra, much of it above the Arctic Circle. This means that from about late March to late October, this is a wilderness bird.

The male Surf Scoter is a striking sight: black, with white patches on its forehead and nape, an oddly shaped and multicolored bill, white eyes, and deep-orange legs and feet.

The striking Snowcap, like the Honduran Emerald and Mangrove Hummingbird, is found only in Central America. It is uncommon across its range, but when seen, it is unforgettable.

The Purple Martin, North America’s largest swallow, is a swift and skilled flyer: The birds eat, drink, and even bathe on the wing.

One of North America’s 12 native grouse species — a group that includes the Greater Sage-Grouse, Dusky Grouse, and Greater Prairie-Chicken — the bantam-sized Ruffed Grouse is one of the most familiar, particularly to game hunters.

The King Vulture is a clownish-looking bird with a serious mission: In most of its extensive tropical range, this species is the largest scavenging bird.

A formidable bird-hunter about the same length as the related American Kestrel, the Merlin is more powerfully built and seems far larger — more like a miniature Peregrine Falcon.

Once known as the Canada Nuthatch or Red-bellied Nuthatch, the active, compact Red-breasted Nuthatch is a common resident of northern and western coniferous and mixed forests in the United States and Canada.

The American Crow is widespread in North America and, like the Blue Jay, is often maligned and misunderstood. In folklore, the crow is sometimes associated with witchcraft and evil, or is thought to signify misfortune and even death.

The shy Swainson’s Thrush is a bird of deep coniferous woods and dense thickets, more often heard than seen. A quick glimpse reveals a plain-backed, medium-sized thrush, most distinctive for its buffy “spectacles” and the warm, buffy tones of its face and upper chest.

Each spring heralds a unique spectacle on brushy western plains of North America. Year after year, male Greater Sage-Grouse congregate on ancestral display grounds known as leks.

The Great Crested Flycatcher lives in the upper forest canopy like a Scarlet Tanager or Red-eyed Vireo, but its repetitive calls make it easy to spot.

The Broad-winged Hawk is a small and secretive hawk of eastern forests, about the size of an American Crow.

The Red-eyed Vireo is one of the most common songbirds of eastern and central U.S. forests during the summer months. Like the Ovenbird and Scarlet Tanager, it is more often heard than seen.

In his 1942 monograph The Roseate Spoonbill, conservationist Robert Porter Allen wrote: “The Spoonbill exhibits paradoxical glamour and drollery.” Decades later, modern field guide author Kenn Kaufman had a similar take: “Roseate Spoonbills are gorgeous at a distance and bizarre up close.”

The dainty little Chipping Sparrow, like the Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal, is a familiar sight in suburbs and backyards across North America.

The distinctive White-headed Woodpecker is the only bird species in North America with a black body and all-white head. Both sexes look almost identical except that the male White-headed Woodpecker has a red spot on the back of the head.

The small, spritely Tennessee Warbler, like the Cape May Warbler, is poorly named. Although both species pass through their namesake locales, neither is “typical” of those places.

The Ashy Storm-Petrel is a small, sooty-colored seabird, slightly larger than an Eastern Bluebird. An adult can fit nicely into the palm of one’s hand and weighs just a bit more than one ounce.

The eye-catching Northern Gannet is the largest seabird found in northern Atlantic waters — about the size of a Black-footed or Laysan Albatross — and belongs to the same family as Brown and Red-footed Boobies.

The Laughing Gull is perfectly named; its continuous, raucous “ha-ha-ha” calls are a part of the summer soundtrack along Gulf and Atlantic Coast beaches.

While the Waved Albatross spends plenty of time riding air currents over the waves, its name actually derives from the wave-like pattern on this bird’s brown body plumage.

The rose-red male Summer Tanager is the only completely red bird in North America — the male Northern Cardinal has a black mask; the closely related Scarlet Tanager has black wings and tail; and the duller-red Hepatic Tanager has grayish flanks and cheek patches.

The ringing song of the Louisiana Waterthrush is a welcome sign of early spring throughout the eastern United States.

The majestic Bald Eagle is the only eagle species found solely in North America. It is well-known, even to non-birders, as the national symbol of the United States, an honor it was granted in 1782.

The Mallard is a familiar sight on ponds and lakes in many parts of the world, and many people readily recognize this bird.

The pretty little Black-throated Green Warbler is aptly named, with a green crown, back, and rump; black throat, upper breast, and wings; and lemon-yellow face.

The elusive Long-eared Owl, also known as the Lesser Horned Owl or Cat Owl, superficially resembles the Great Horned Owl but is much smaller and slimmer — in fact, it’s North America’s most slender owl.

A group of Black Skimmers in flight resembles an aerial ballet, circling, banking, and gracefully alighting as one.

The graceful, all-white Great Egret stands over 3 feet tall, with a lissome, S-curved neck, dagger-like yellow bill, and long black legs.

The aptly named Canyon Wren is a bird of steep, rocky places, where it creeps along sheer rock walls like a mouse, disappearing from view into crevices, then popping back out for a quick look around.

The Eastern Phoebe may lack the visual appeal of a Northern Cardinal or Scarlet Tanager, but this drab little flycatcher is just as popular among birdwatchers.

The Red-shouldered Hawk is named for its reddish upper wing coverts, or shoulders. The lineatus in its name means “striped” in Latin, referring to its black-and-white-banded tail and finely barred reddish breast.

The Resplendent Quetzal is an unforgettable sight, with shimmering plumage of metallic blues, greens, and reds.

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is slightly smaller than its close relative, the Greater Prairie-Chicken. Like that species, males perform elaborate courtship dances each spring at group display sites known as leks.

The elegant, eye-catching Tree Swallow is a welcome sign of spring in much of North America. This swallow is most often seen in open spaces such as wetlands or farm fields.

The Atlantic Puffin is a small seabird, only a bit larger than a Mourning Dove, but it’s heavy for its size, weighing just over a pound — about the same weight as a full beverage can.

The Marvelous Spatuletail, like many hummingbird species including the Black-eared Fairy and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, has a name that is both charming and descriptive.

The Galapagos Penguin is the smallest South American penguin, and the only one to live near the equator.

The Northern Mockingbird is well-known for its powers of mimicry. Its scientific name, which means “many-tongued mimic,” reflects this vocal prowess.

A shy wetland denizen, the chunky, mid-sized American Bittern is more often heard than seen. If spotted and approached, this marsh bird prefers to freeze in place, not fly away as a Green Heron or Great Egret might.

True to its name, the Glistening-green Tanager is almost entirely clad in vivid emerald green plumage, save for small tufts of grayish and orange feathers behind its eyes.

The enigmatic Blue-billed Curassow, locally known as Paujil, is a member of the family Cracidae, which includes large, ground-dwelling tropical birds such as the Great Curassow, guans, and chachalacas.

Of North America’s seven chickadee species, the Chestnut-backed and the Carolina are the smallest. But for the title of most colorful, the Chestnut-backed wins hands down.

The bubbling song of the Bobolink, which has inspired poets from Emily Dickinson to William Cullen Bryant, ushers in spring across grasslands of the northern United States and southern Canada.

The beautiful Juan Fernández Firecrown is surely one of the world’s most isolated hummingbird species. This hummingbird is found on just one far-flung Pacific island in Chile’s remote Juan Fernández Archipelago.

The dapper White-crowned Sparrow is easily recognized by its boldly striped head, colorful pink or yellow bill, and unmarked gray breast.

The elusive Long-eared Owl, also known as the Lesser Horned Owl or Cat Owl, superficially resembles the Great Horned Owl but is much smaller and slimmer — in fact, it’s North America’s most slender owl.

Described by American ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson as “a finch dipped in raspberry juice,” the male Purple Finch is a treat for any birder to see.

This olive-green and yellow, large-billed native honeycreeper was considered extinct during the first half of the 1900s, until it was rediscovered in 1950.

A formidable bird-hunter about the same length as the related American Kestrel, the Merlin is more powerfully built and seems far larger — more like a miniature Peregrine Falcon.

In North America, the majestic, snow-white Tundra Swan was once known as the Whistling Swan. This widespread, powerful bird was named by explorer Meriwether Lewis for its whistle-like calls.

The handsome Mourning Dove is a familiar sight to most people — beige-brown above and pinkish-brown below, with black spots on its wings and an iridescent pink-and-blue flash on its neck.

The Swallow-tailed Kite is unmistakable in flight, with its long, pointed wings, deeply forked tail, and contrasting black-and-white plumage. This largest of American kites is a graceful, buoyant flier, so lightweight and maneuverable that it can capture a dragonfly mid-air.

Dark-eyed, with a scaled breast and striped belly, the Barred Owl is nearly as large as the Great Horned Owl but with different markings and no ear-tufts.

The Wood Stork has many folk names, including Wood Ibis (due to its downcurved, ibis-like bill) and flinthead (for its scaly-looking bare head). The word “wood” probably refers to the bird’s favored nesting habitat in lowland wetlands.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird weighs less than a nickel, and like all hummingbird species including the Calliope and Rufous, it is a master of flight. Beating its wings 60 to 80 times a second, this tiny sprite creates a blur of motion and a whirring, insect-like sound.

The feisty Black-capped Chickadee is the most common and widespread of the seven chickadee species found in North America.

The flashy American Oystercatcher was once known as the “sea pie,” but it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the bird eating oysters. This is one of the few bird species that specializes in feeding on saltwater mollusks.

The Common Loon is the most widespread of the five loon species found in North America. A formidable swimmer and diver like the King Penguin or Red-breasted Merganser, this handsome waterbird is a veritable avian submarine, beautifully adapted to a life in and on the water.

Prominent ornithologist John James Audubon described the colorful Violet-green Swallow as “the most beautiful of all the genus hitherto discovered.”

The American Robin is one of North America’s most widespread, familiar, and well-loved songbirds.

One of North America’s smallest songbirds, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is tinier than a Black-capped Chickadee and only a bit larger than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Unremarkable at first glance, this diminutive bird is a drab olive-green and gray, with a white eye ring and wing bars.

The steel-gray, red-capped Sandhill Crane is the most abundant of the world’s cranes. Widely distributed throughout North America, this stately bird is one of only two North American endemic crane species.

The Osprey is a large black-and-white hawk with long narrow wings, long legs, and a distinctive M-shaped flight profile.

The Northern Flicker is a standout, even in an unusual family of birds that includes the pink-and-green, flycatching Lewis’s Woodpecker and the clown-faced, nut-hoarding Acorn Woodpecker.

The active and agile Tufted Titmouse is easily recognized by its jaunty crest of gray feathers, big black eyes, and rust-colored flanks.

A burned-over forest may look lifeless and dreary to the human eye, but to the Black-backed Woodpecker, it’s a veritable welcome mat.

The Killdeer is the largest and most familiar of the “ringed” plovers, a group that includes the Piping and Wilson’s Plovers. Although classified as a shorebird, this conspicuous, double-banded species is most often found in areas far from water.

The small, sprightly Wilson’s Warbler is seemingly always in motion, flicking its wings and waggling its tail up and down and in circles.

A male Indigo Bunting in breeding plumage is a glorious symphony of shimmering blues, turquoises, and purples. But these beautiful colors are illusory: The male Indigo Bunting owes its glorious appearance to an optical trick — the diffraction of light through its feathers.

“A wonderful bird is the pelican; his bill can hold more than his belly can,” goes the limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt. And it’s true: A pelican’s pouch can hold up to three times more than its stomach.

The Green Heron is the second smallest of the dozen heron species — including egrets and bitterns — nesting in the United States. (The Least Bittern is the smallest.) It is also one of the most widespread.

The regal-looking Canvasback is the largest North American diving duck. Its name was inspired by the male’s white back and sides, which reminded English settlers of canvas fabric.

The eye-catching Acorn Woodpecker’s head is boldly patterned in black, white, and red, punctuated with wild-looking white eyes that give it a clownish look. It’s a medium-sized bird, bigger than a Downy Woodpecker and a bit smaller than its close, but more easterly, relative the Red-headed Woodpecker.

The regal Ferruginous Hawk ranks as the biggest North American member of the genus Buteo. This species is named for the ferruginous, or rusty, color on the wings, back, and legs of light-morph individuals.

The plump, long-legged American Dipper is colored like a Gray Catbird, about the size of a Cactus Wren, and cocks its short tail like a Common Yellowthroat. But the American Dipper is unique — it’s the only North American songbird that routinely swims!

The eye-catching Long-billed Curlew is North America’s largest shorebird, but like the Mountain Plover and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, it’s very often found away from the shore.

The Barn Owl’s species name, Tyto alba, literally means “white owl.” But behind this unremarkable name is an extraordinary predator with long legs and a distinctive heart-shaped face.

The liquid, burbling “conk-a-ree!” of a male Red-winged Blackbird on territory is a sure sign of spring, or at least its pending arrival.

The confiding, acrobatic White-breasted Nuthatch delights many a backyard birder with its head-down antics and nasal calls.

The aristocratic Royal Tern is one of the largest terns in the Americas, a noticeable step up in size from the Roseate Tern or Least Tern, for example.

The handsome Red-breasted Merganser is a welcome sight along coastlines during the winter. This sea-going duck is notable for its long, red, serrated bill, which gives it the species name serrator.

Early naturalists called the Great Horned Owl the “winged tiger” or “tiger of the air” because of its ferocity and hunting skills. This big owl (the second heaviest in North America after the Snowy Owl) is also called the “hoot owl” after its deep, booming call, which sounds like: “Who’s a-wake? Me too!”

A chattering, rattling call along the river or lakeside announces the presence of a Belted Kingfisher. Often heard before seen, this dagger-billed, shaggy-crested bird is usually spotted next to a river or lake, or hovering over the water before plunging headfirst to snag a fish.

The Ruddy Turnstone is a stocky shorebird named for its habit of flipping over stones, shells, and seaweed with a slightly upturned, wedge-shaped bill.

The colorful drake Wood Duck is one of North America’s most beautiful waterfowl – an aquatic counterpart of the male Painted Bunting.

With flashing black-and-white wings and a bright red crest, when a crow-sized Pileated Woodpecker swoops by, even the most experienced birders stop in their tracks. This is the largest of North American woodpeckers. In the United States, only the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, likely extinct, was bigger.

“Everybody who notices birds at all knows, admires, and loves the graceful, friendly barn swallow,” wrote ornithologist Arthur C. Bent in the early 20th century, in his Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds.

The Peregrine Falcon has long, pointed wings, which give it a distinctive flight silhouette, even in poor lighting conditions.

Like other sparrows such as the Saltmarsh and Sagebrush, the Spotted Towhee, found from southwestern Canada through the western United States and in the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala, is the result of a taxonomic ‘split.’

About the size of a Blue Jay, the American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America.

The Song Sparrow lives up to its name, singing persistently throughout the year.

“The goldfinch is an active little bird, always in the best of spirits,” observed noted naturalist Arthur Cleveland Bent early in the 20th century.

Endangered California condor chick has successfully fledged from a cliff-side nest near the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County, California.