Aves › Accipitriformes › Accipitridae
Golden eagle
Wingspan 1.8 to 2.34 m
It can go up to a week without food, then gorge on up to 900 grams in one sitting.
Field Guide · Chapter 6 of 29
Birds
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Aves › Accipitriformes › Accipitridae
Bald eagle
Wingspan 178 to 229 cm
Its nest can weigh a metric ton, the largest built by any North American bird.
Aves › Falconiformes › Falconidae
Peregrine falcon
Up to 30% bigger
In its hunting dive it hits prey with one wing, so it does not hurt itself.
Aves › Strigiformes › Strigidae
Snowy owl
Over 12,000,000 km2
It is the only owl on Earth with mainly white plumage.
Aves › Strigiformes › Tytonidae
Barn owl
Most widespread owl
It hunts in complete darkness, relying on an acute sense of hearing.
Aves › Sphenisciformes › Spheniscidae
Emperor penguin
Up to 132 cm tall
Fathers hold the egg for a long time with no food and lose about 40 percent of their body mass.
Aves › Struthioniformes › Struthionidae
Common ostrich
Up to 2.75 m tall
Cornered, it can deliver a powerful blow with its legs.
Aves › Procellariiformes › Diomedeidae
Wandering albatross
Wingspan up to 3.7 m
Wandering albatrosses have a biennial breeding cycle, breeding only every other year.
Aves › Phoenicopteriformes › Phoenicopteridae
Greater flamingo
110 to 150 cm tall
Like every flamingo, it lays a single egg on a mud mound.
Aves › Galliformes › Phasianidae
Indian peafowl
Train up to 230 cm
Peafowl have been seen pecking and teasing a cobra, though they did not kill it.
Aves › Galliformes › Phasianidae
Red junglefowl
Up to 70 cm long
The chicken on your plate comes mainly from this wild bird of the Asian jungle.
Aves › Columbiformes › Columbidae
Rock dove
Up to 120 million
Feral pigeons around the world began as domestic pigeons that escaped.
Aves › Passeriformes › Corvidae
Common raven
Up to 2 kg
The common raven is the heaviest passerine bird there is.
Aves › Apodiformes › Trochilidae
Ruby-throated hummingbird
35 million birds
The most common hummingbird in eastern North America, with about 35 million in 2021.
Aves › Charadriiformes › Alcidae
Atlantic puffin
28 to 30 cm long
It hunts fish underwater by paddling with its wings, like a bird flying through the sea.
Aves › Anseriformes › Anatidae
Mute swan
140 to 160 cm long
One of the heaviest flying birds alive.
Aves › Anseriformes › Anatidae
Canada goose
Up to 10.9 kg
Goslings walk, swim and find their own food as soon as they hatch.
Aves › Anseriformes › Anatidae
Mallard
50–65 cm long
Mallards have benefited from human changes so much that some regions now count them as invasive.
Aves › Pelecaniformes › Ardeidae
Great blue heron
Up to 137 cm long
The largest heron native to North America, and a grey giant of wetlands.
Aves › Ciconiiformes › Ciconiidae
White stork
Wingspan 155 to 215 cm
Its nest is typically reused year after year, especially by older males.
Aves › Pelecaniformes › Pelecanidae
Great white pelican
Wingspan 226 to 360 cm
The pouch under its bill is only a scoop: it fills with water and fish, then the water is squeezed out.
Aves › Accipitriformes › Cathartidae
Andean condor
Wingspan up to 3.3 m
It flaps its wings only about 1% of the time in flight, soaring on thermals instead.
Aves › Psittaciformes › Psittacidae
Grey parrot
22.7 years in the wild
Most birds caught for the trade die before they reach the market, at rates of 60 to 66 percent.
Aves › Psittaciformes › Psittacidae
Scarlet macaw
40 to 50 years
Scarlet macaws keep one mate for life, and a bonded pair is rarely found apart.
Aves › Piciformes › Ramphastidae
Toco toucan
Its bill is a third of its length, the biggest beak for its body size of any bird.
Aves › Piciformes › Picidae
Pileated woodpecker
40 to 49 cm long
It pries off long slivers of wood to reach the ant tunnels inside a tree.
Aves › Passeriformes › Turdidae
American robin
370 million
It shares its name with the European robin, a bird it is not closely related to.
Aves › Passeriformes › Muscicapidae
European robin
Hundreds of millions
A robin will come close to a gardener to snap up freshly turned earthworms.
Aves › Passeriformes › Passeridae
House sparrow
Most spread wild bird
A small brown bird that has reached most of the world since the mid-19th century.
Aves › Passeriformes › Hirundinidae
Barn swallow
190 million birds
It is the most widespread swallow on Earth, and it lives on every continent.
Aves › Passeriformes › Menuridae
Superb lyrebird
Male up to 1 m long
The male can fan his tail over his entire body and head to court a female.
Aves › Apterygiformes › Apterygidae
North Island brown kiwi
Females up to 3.85 kg
Its eggs are among the largest relative to its body size.
1 of 32
On this page
- Golden eagle
- Bald eagle
- Peregrine falcon
- Snowy owl
- Barn owl
- Emperor penguin
- Common ostrich
- Wandering albatross
- Greater flamingo
- Indian peafowl
- Red junglefowl
- Rock dove
- Common raven
- Ruby-throated hummingbird
- Atlantic puffin
- Mute swan
- Canada goose
- Mallard
- Great blue heron
- White stork
- Great white pelican
- Andean condor
- Grey parrot
- Scarlet macaw
- Toco toucan
- Pileated woodpecker
- American robin
- European robin
- House sparrow
- Barn swallow
- Superb lyrebird
- North Island brown kiwi
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