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 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...
Described as "The bird which made the breeze to blow" the wingspan of a Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the longest of any bird. It lives up to its name when it takes fishing trips that last 10-20 days and can cover 10,000 km while using...
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...
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...
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 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 glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus ) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring...
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 Common tern (Sterna hirundo) is a seabird that has a circumpolar distribution. it has four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Its large population and huge breeding range mean that this...
The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is a medium-sized wading bird which closest relatives are thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill. The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, which has given this...
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.
Black-winged stilts (Himantopus himantopus) are very long-legged wading birds. They are found in both warm and hot climates, feed on small aquatic creatures, and nest on the ground surface in small colonies.
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 black heron (Egretta ardesiaca ), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It is well known for its habit of using its wings to form a canopy when fishing.
The purple heron (Ardea purpurea ) is a wide-ranging species of wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. The scientific name comes from Latin ardea "heron", and purpureus, "coloured purple". It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and...
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 alpine swift (Tachymarptis melba ) formerly Apus melba, is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalaya. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the southern European...
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 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 black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris ), also known as the black-browed mollymawk, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.
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 red owl (Tyto soumagnei ) is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar red owl, Madagascar grass-owl and Soumagne's owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1876...
The southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus ), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel,...
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.
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (Porphyrio porphyrio ) is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name talève sultane, it is also known as the sultana bird. This...
