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Birds

Every bird we've written about, newest first.

Bald Eagle with wings half raised on a weathered perch, snowy Alaskan mountains behind

Bald Eagle

The Voice Hollywood Replaced

Brolga wading at the edge of a reed bed, head raised and grey neck extended

Brolga

The Dancer With Three Names

Eastern Whipbird calling from a mossy branch, beak open and crest raised

Eastern Whipbird

Two Birds, One Whipcrack

Male Satin Bowerbird standing in his bower, surrounded by collected blue objects

Satin Bowerbird

The Blue Collector's Long Game

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo perched in a banksia tree against blue sky, showing its yellow cheek patch and pale bill

Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

The Rainbird in the Funeral Suit

Superb Lyrebird

The Understory's Master Forger

White-faced Heron standing in grassland, Taveuni, Fiji

White-faced Heron

Neither Blue, Nor a Crane

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) in breeding plumage perched on a log

White Wagtail

The Tail Nobody Can Explain

Australasian gannet in flight over the sea, showing its buff-yellow head and blue-rimmed eye

Australasian Gannet

The Sea's Golden Javelin

Male Eurasian Wigeon with chestnut head and creamy crown standing on grass

Eurasian Wigeon

The Duck Named for a Greek Queen

Eurasian Hoopoe with its crest fully fanned into a crown, perched on a branch

Hoopoe

From Solomon's Throne to Rotting Meat

Red Grouse male with red eye-comb on a heather moor

Red Grouse

The Moor's Stubborn Redcoat

Royal Spoonbill in breeding plumage wading in a wetland, sweeping its black spoon-shaped bill

Royal Spoonbill

A Silent Crown in the Shallows

A tūī perched on a branch, its white throat tuft and iridescent blue-green plumage catching the light

Tui

The Parson With Two Voices

Australian Brushturkey with bare scarlet head and bright yellow wattle on a rainforest floor

Australian Brushturkey

The Thermostat in the Leaf Litter

Bar-shouldered Dove on pale gravel against a warm golden background

Bar-shouldered Dove

The Kookawook at First Light

Crested Pigeon perched on a chain-link fence, crest raised

Crested Pigeon

The Whistle in Its Wings

Male Eastern Spinebill perched on a branch, its long downcurved bill raised

Eastern Spinebill

The Cobbler's Awl With Wings

Eastern Yellow Robin perched on a branch, grey above and bright yellow below, facing into soft morning light

Eastern Yellow Robin

The Bird Named for the Dawn

Male Goldcrest perched on a thin lichen-covered branch, head turned toward the camera with the orange crest erected on top of the yellow crown.

Goldcrest

The Five-Gram King of the Pines

A kea perched on a snow mound in the New Zealand Southern Alps

Kea

Genius With a Criminal Record

Pied Stilt wading, showing its long pink legs and black-and-white plumage

Pied Stilt

All Legs, All Noise

A Pine Warbler with yellow throat and breast and two white wing bars perched on a black wrought-iron garden hoop.

Pine Warbler

From Moth-Eater to Seed-Eater

Powerful Owl perched on a branch at night with glowing yellow eyes

Powerful Owl

The Possum Assassin's New Address

A male Splendid Fairywren in bright blue breeding plumage perched on a branch

Splendid Fairywren

The Petal-Bearer's Scary Romance

Spotted Pardalote perched on a branch, its spotted plumage and yellow-flecked crown visible

Spotted Pardalote

The Diamond in the Riverbank

Tawny Frogmouth perched at night, head tipped up in its broken-branch camouflage pose

Tawny Frogmouth

Instagram's Favorite Broken Branch

Welcome swallow perched on a wire against a soft green background

Welcome Swallow

From New Stranger to Welcome Guest

Willie Wagtail perched on a branch, showing its black-and-white plumage and white eyebrow

Willie Wagtail

The Backyard's Fearless Tattletale

Sacred Kingfisher perched on a branch against a dark background

Sacred Kingfisher

The Holy Bird's Hard Head

Whistling Kite in flight against a clear sky, wings spread

Whistling Kite

Australia's Arsonist on Wings

Bohemian Waxwing perched on a snowy fir branch in winter

Bohemian Waxwing

The Plague Bird's Berry Bender

a black bird sitting on top of a wooden post

Common Raven

The Bird Odin Sent at Dawn

Male Scarlet Tanager perched on a branch in a Brooklyn cemetery, brilliant red body with black wings against green leaves

Scarlet Tanager

The Forest's Quick-Change Artist

Male Chestnut-sided Warbler perched front-on on a slender branch, showing the yellow crown, white face with black mask, and chestnut-red flank stripes.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

From Audubon's Ghost to Common Bird

Nashville Warbler perched on a sassafras branch with autumn red leaves below.

Nashville Warbler

The Bird Named for a Town It Skips

Common Wood Pigeon in flight against a pale sky, with the diagnostic white wing patches and white neck collar visible.

Common Wood Pigeon

Father's Milk, Whip-Crack Wing

Eurasian Nuthatch perched head-down on a beech trunk in winter

Eurasian Nuthatch

The Treetop's Upside-Down Plasterer

Adult male Eastern Bluebird perched on a steel utility line against a clean blue sky

Eastern Bluebird

An Inch and a Half From Extinction

Eurasian Treecreeper climbing a moss-covered tree trunk with snow in the background

Eurasian Treecreeper

The Sequoia's Smallest Tenant

A male Varied Thrush perched on a snow mound, with dark forest behind.

Varied Thrush

The Forest's One-Note Minor Chord

Adult Common Loon in breeding plumage on its nest at the edge of a Maine lake. Head-on pose, bill pointing toward the camera, against green shoreline vegetation.

Common Loon

The Lake's Long-Drawn Howl

A jay bird perched on a tree branch.

Eurasian Jay

The Forest's Forgetful Gardener

Male Eurasian siskin (Spinus spinus) perched on lichen-covered alder branches against soft golden bokeh, showing the black cap, yellow throat and olive-green back.

Eurasian Siskin

The Bronze Bird on the Fontanka

Long-tailed tit calling against a clean blue sky, perched on a thin diagonal twig

Long-tailed Tit

A Family Stitched in Spider Silk

Male Eurasian Bullfinch perched on a moss-covered branch, Scotland

Eurasian Bullfinch

The Bird Worth a Penny Dead

European Greenfinch

European Greenfinch

Wordsworth's Vanishing Linnet

Adult male Northern Lapwing in breeding plumage standing in shallow water at Elmpter Schwalmbruch nature reserve, Germany. Long upturned black crest, iridescent green-purple back, white belly, pink legs.

Northern Lapwing

A Deceit of Crested Tumblers

A flock of Sand Martins (Bank Swallows) perched on an arched reed above water at El Rocio, Spain

Bank Swallow

The Sand Bank's Smallest Tunneler

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) in breeding plumage at the edge of a tidal pool, Great Bay Wildlife Management Area, New Jersey.

Black-bellied Plover

The Mudflat's Watchful Whistler

Male Brambling foraging on the winter forest floor, orange chest and black-and-white head

Brambling

The Forest's Million-Bird Wave

Common Goldeneye

The Sound Before the Silhouette

Female Common Merganser standing in shallow water on the Yenisei river, Siberia, with russet head and gray body, recropped so the bill tip falls inside the mobile center-crop window.

Common Merganser

The Sawbill's Borrowed Brood

Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra) singing from a juniper bush, Zaghouan, Tunisia

Corn Bunting

The Fat Bird's Local Accent

Eurasian Collared-Dove perched on the seed-head of an amaranth plant, soft tan-pink background.

Eurasian Collared-Dove

The Dove That Says Eighteen

Female Northern Harrier in flight, head tilted toward the ground, set in the lower third of the frame against blurred treeline and water.

Northern Harrier

The Grey Ghost of the Marsh

A pair of Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus) on calm grey-blue water; the focal swan on the right shows the diagnostic yellow-and-black bill with head raised.

Whooper Swan

The Singing Swan of Tuonela

Black-and-white Warbler perched at the edge of mossy bark at Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, looking up — small in frame with full body, legs, and striped crown visible

Black-and-white Warbler

A Striped Wheelbarrow With Wings

A Mountain Chickadee perched on a conifer branch, showing the species' clean white eyebrow stripe between the black cap and black eye-line.

Mountain Chickadee

The Mountain's Memory Champion

Male Eurasian chaffinch singing from an irrigation post against a blue sky

Eurasian Chaffinch

Linnaeus's Mistake, Belgium's Champion

Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) singing on a branch against a soft blue sky.

Common Nightingale

The Insomniac Bachelor's Aria

Prothonotary Warbler climbing a tree trunk head-down at Magee Marsh, Ohio.

Prothonotary Warbler

The Warbler That Made a President

Short-eared Owl in flight against a clean blue sky over Spiekeroog saltmarsh, Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.

Short-eared Owl

The Daylight Owl's Wing-Clap

Eurasian Magpie

The Bird-Brain's Vindication

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched on a wire, brilliant red gorget visible

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The Aztec Sun God's Three-Gram Heir

Male Black Redstart perched on a rooftop edge at Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire

Black Redstart

The Blitz's Unlikely Tenant

Adult Common Cuckoo standing in grass, gray plumage with barred underparts and yellow eye-ring

Common Cuckoo

The Vaccine Doctor's Other Paper

Male Common Linnet in breeding plumage perched on a budding branch against a clear blue sky

Common Linnet

The Flax-Named, Hemp-Fed Songbird

Common Starling in breeding plumage perched on a branch against blue sky, photographed in Central Park, New York

Common Starling

The Composer's Plagiarist

Eurasian Jackdaw perched on a stone, the pale silver iris visible against the dark grey plumage.

Eurasian Jackdaw

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) perched on a branch at College Lake, Buckinghamshire, England

Dunnock

The Vicar's Favorite Hypocrite

Eurasian blue tit perched on a lichen-covered branch in Poland

Eurasian Blue Tit

The Billy Biter's Invisible Crown

a small bird sitting on top of a metal bar

Brown Thrasher

The Thicket’s Two-Tone Terror

Western Screech-Owl

Western Screech-Owl

American Woodcock

American Woodcock

two birds are perched on a tree branch

Hermit Thrush

a painting of two birds perched on a tree branch

Loggerhead Shrike

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove

Purple Finch

Purple Finch

A bird on a branch with a spider

Red-eyed Vireo

Winter Wren

Winter Wren

two birds sitting on top of a tree branch

Wood Thrush

a bird flying over water

Common Eider

Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Common Grackle

Common Grackle

a painting of birds flying in the sky

Northern House Wren

a group of birds sitting on top of a tree

American Goldfinch

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe

a small bird perched on top of a tree branch

European Goldfinch

The Thistle-Tweaker’s Morning Call

a small red bird perched on a tree branch

House Finch

A bird sitting on a branch with a blurry background

Mockingbird

black and white bird on brown tree branch during daytime

Pileated Woodpecker

brown bird on gray rock

Song Sparrow

white and gray bird on brown tree branch

Tufted Titmouse

white and brown bird on brown tree branch

House Sparrow

bird, animal, wildlife, robin, nature, birding

Rufous-bellied Thrush

Asian Koel

Asian Koel

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Eurasian Blackbird

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Eurasian Skylark

white and black bird on brown tree trunk during daytime

Northern Flicker

Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet perched on a bare branch, a patch of red crown showing on top of its head

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

The Crown It Rarely Shows

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White-breasted Nuthatch

A small blue and red bird sitting on top of a tree branch

White-throated Kingfisher

brown and white bird on green metal fence covered with snow during daytime

White-throated Sparrow

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American Robin

Australian Magpie

Australian Magpie

a small bird perched on a branch of a tree

Black-capped Chickadee

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal

Red-winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

Song Thrush

Song Thrush

Great Tit

Great Tit