The Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a large cosmopolitan raptor in the family Falconidae. It is renowned for its speed during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the fastest...
The Barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds. It is found almost everywhere in the world except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the...
The Common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the coucals. It is a brood parasite, which means it lays eggs in the nests of other bird species, particularly...
The Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it has the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometers globally. In Anglophone Europe...
The Great egret (Ardea alba) is a large, widely distributed wading bird. Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family, Ardeidae, and its close relatieves are pelicans. The Great egret is sometimes confused with the Great white heron of the...
The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. With its characteristic call, this species of quail is more often heard than seen. It is widespread in Europe and North Africa, and should...
The Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a large long-legged wading bird of the heron native to Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It lives in wetland areas and feeds on various aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or...
Common swifts (Apus apus) are medium-sized aerial birds known for their superb flying ability. These birds never settle voluntarily on the ground, where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up...
The Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. The Greater flamingo was previously thought to be the same species as the American...
The Black kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae. Unlike others in the group, Black kites...
The Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron named for its association with cattle. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western cattle...
The Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world. These birds have a stocky appearance as if hunched over, the head tucked down into the shoulders, and they are usually seen...
The White wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small insectivorous bird of the open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. In urban areas, it has adapted to foraging on paved areas...
Pied crows (Corvus albus) are widely distributed African birds. Extremely intelligent and opportunistic, they share the jackdaw’s love of shiny things. They also have a special flying ability, with broad wings that enable great powers of flight....
The African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus ) is a wading bird native to Africa and the Middle East. It is especially known for its role in the religion of the Ancient Egyptians, where it was linked to the god Thoth; despite this, the species...
The Eurasian golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus) is the only member of the Old World oriole family of passerine birds breeding in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. The name "oriole" was first used in the 18th century and is an adaptation of the...
The Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae) found across many parts of the Old World. These birds live around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands. The word 'moor' as a part of their...
The Brown booby (Sula leucogaster) is a large seabird. It is perhaps the most common and widespread species of the booby family Sulidae. They are gregarious birds that only nest on the ground and roost on solid objects rather than the water surface.
The Red-footed booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. It is the smallest member of the booby and gannet family.
The Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) is a large wader. The migration of its subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey...
The Lesser flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is a species of flamingo occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and western India. It is the smallest of all flamingos but has the largest number of population.
The White-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) is a beautiful pelagic tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and the smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. In Bermuda, it is locally called a...
The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis ), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhus "fast" and bapto "to sink under". The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus "red" and...
The sanderling (Calidris alba ) is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling, "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds....
The south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki ) is a large seabird in the skua family, Stercorariidae. An older name for the bird is MacCormick's skua, after explorer and naval surgeon Robert McCormick, who first collected the type specimen. This...
The masked booby (Sula dactylatra ), also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. First described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, the masked booby is one...
The European roller (Coracias garrulus ) is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and Morocco.The European roller is found in a wide variety of habitats,...
The sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus ) is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone.
The sand martin (Riparia riparia ), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of...
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (Numenius arquata ) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as...
The lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus ) is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common along the...
The common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos ) is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (A. macularia ), make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray...
The ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres ) is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria.It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It...
The great frigatebird (Fregata minor ) is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific (including the Galapagos Islands) and Indian Oceans, as well as a tiny population in the South...
The striated heron (Butorides striata ) also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding...
The Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia ) is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek hudros,...
The white tern or common white tern (Gygis alba ) is a small seabird found across the tropical oceans of the world. It is sometimes known as the fairy tern although this name is potentially confusing as it is also the common name of Sternula nereis....
The Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva ) is a migratory shorebird that breeds during Alaska and Siberia summers. During nonbreeding season, this medium-sized plover migrates widely across the Pacific.
Eleonora's falcon (Falco eleonorae ) is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but...
The red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda ) is a seabird native to tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One of three closely related species of tropicbird (Phaethontidae), it was described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783. Superficially...
The Eurasian whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus ) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This species and the Hudsonian...
The common ringed plover or ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula ) is a small plover that breeds in Arctic Eurasia. The genus name Charadrius is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient...
