Tips for using Browse:

Browsing is a valuable way to learn about birds, however it is a brute force approach and not designed for identification. A more sophisticated approach to finding a bird with specific field marks is to use the Step by Step Search. You can also try the Wizard to find a bird, which uses a question and answer approach, but again it does not give you the flexibility of the Step by Step Search.

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Ruddy Turnstone
Ruddy Turnstone: Medium sandpiper, red-brown upperparts, white rump and underparts. Face and breast are black-marked. Bill is short, dark, and slightly upturned. Wings have a unique brown, black, and white pattern visible in flight. Tail is white with black terminal band. Legs and feet are orange.
Ruff
Ruff: Large sandpiper with variably-colored frilly tufts on the neck that ranges from black to rufous to white to speckled and bared. Female lacks ruff. Head is orange-brown and the belly is white. Bill is orange with dark, drooped tip. Orange-yellow legs. Low, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
South Polar Skua
South Polar Skua Dark: Small, gull-like skua, occurs in two color phases. Dark phase adult has dark brown body, large white patch at base of primaries visible in flight. Dark bill, thick and heavy; short, broad tail. Light phase adult has pale gray-brown head and underparts. Strong direct flight.
Red Knot
Red Knot: Medium-sized sandpiper with black, brown and gray scaled upperparts, red-brown face, neck, breast and sides, and white lower belly. Wings show white bars in flight. Bill is black and slightly curved. Eats insects, larvae, mollusks and crabs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope: Medium sandpiper with brown-striped dark gray back, mottled gray breast, and white throat and belly. Head, nape, and flanks are gray. Neck and upper breast are rust-brown. Bill is thin and black. Flight is swift and swallowlike with rapid wing beats, quick movements, and turns.
Royal Tern
Royal Tern: Large tern, pale gray upperparts; white face, neck, and underparts. Head has spiky, black crest and cap, and heavy, bright orange bill. Wings are black-tipped above and black-edged below; tail is deeply forked. Legs and feet are black. Hovers before plunge diving for prey.
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail: Medium rail with brown-and-black mottled upperparts, white throat, rust-brown breast, and black-and-white barred belly. Head has black crown, gray face, and white eyebrows. Bill is long, red-brown, and curved down. Legs are orange-brown. Tail is short, black above, and white below.
Cerulean Warbler
Cerulean Warbler: Small warbler with sky-blue, faintly streaked upperparts, black-streaked white flanks. Black band separates white throat and belly. Wings have two bold white bars. Black bill, legs and feet. Prefers to stay high in the crowns of mature deciduous trees, making it difficult to see.
Great-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle: Large blackbird, iridescent black body and purple sheen. Yellow eyes. Long, keeled tail. Walks on ground, wades in water to forage. Eats snails, insects, frogs, shrimp, small fish and birds, eggs and young of other birds, fruits, berries, seeds and grains. Strong direct flight.
Laughing Gull
Laughing Gull: Medium gull, gray back, white underparts. Head has black hood, neck is white, and bill is red. Wings are gray and white-edged and black at tips; tail is white. Legs and feet are black. Slow flight with deep wing beats. Soars on updrafts. Named for its laughterlike call.
Wilson's Phalarope
Wilson's Phalarope: Medium sandpiper, gray-brown upperparts, red-brown streaks on back, shoulders. White underparts with red-brown markings on upper sides. Gray crown, white face, black eye-line that continues down neck. Black needle-like bill. Gray wings with dark flight feathers. White tail, rump.
Zone-tailed Hawk
Zone-tailed Hawk: Large hawk, mostly black except for barred flight feathers, black-and-white banded tail. Eye-rings are gray. Bill, legs are yellow. Circles like a turkey vulture. Eats small rodents, birds. Soars and glides on thermals with wings lifted slightly above back, tilts from side to side.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird: Medium-sized blackbird with black body, bright yellow hood and breast, and distinct white wing patches. Bill, legs and feet are black. Forages in low vegetation and on the ground. Feeds on insects, larvae, snails, seeds, and grains. Strong direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Heermann's Gull
Heermann's Gull: Medium-sized gull with gray underparts and dark gray upperparts. Head is white and bill is bright red with black tip. Tail is black and edged with white. Legs and feet are black. Dives into ocean to catch fish. Also steals and scavenges. Flight is bouyant and direct.
Herring Gull
Herring Gull: Large gull, pale gray back and wings with black tips, white head, neck breast. White tail and underparts. Bill is yellow with red spot near tip; legs are pink. Strong steady flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts. Most widespread North American Gull.
Hudsonian Godwit
Hudsonian Godwit: Large sandpiper with white-scaled, brown-black upperparts, black-barred chestnut-brown underparts. Long bill, slightly upcurved and pink with black tip. White rump, white wing-bar, black underwings visible in flight. Legs and feet are blue-gray. Swift, powerful undulating flight.
Franklin's Gull
Franklin's Gull: Medium gull, gray back, white underparts. Head is black, white eye-ring; bill is orange, black spot near tip. Wings are short with white-bordered or spotted black tips. The legs are red-orange. Strong direct flight with deep wing beats. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow: Medium sparrow with brown-streaked upperparts and white underparts. Face, flanks, and breast are plain buff-brown. Head is flat with central white stripe though dark crown. Upper mandible is gray, while lower mandible is yellow. Pink legs and feet. Named for its insectlike song.
Harris's Hawk
Harris's Hawk: Large hawk, dark brown head, neck, back, belly and rust-brown shoulders, underwing coverts and flanks. Tail is dark brown to almost black with white base and terminal band. Undertail coverts are white. Legs and feet are yellow. Flies close to ground or soars on thermals and updrafts.
Least Tern
Least Tern: Small tern, slate-gray upperparts, white underparts. Crown, nape are black and forehead is white. Black leading edge of outer wing conspicuous in flight. Tail is forked. Bill and feet are yellow. Fast smooth flight with rapid wing beats. Hovers briefly before dipping down to sieze prey.
Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, dark brown upperparts, heavily streaked brown breast, plain white belly. Crown, eyestripe are dark brown. Faint wing-bar and black rump with white edges are visible in flight. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats. Zigzag pattern when flushed.
Pomarine Jaeger
Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Large jaeger, dark brown except for white patches near underwing tips and sides of undertail. Light morph has white neck, pale yellow collar, white lower breast, mottled breast band, sides. Thick bill, pale at base. Tail has two long central feathers twisted vertically.
Purple Gallinule
Purple Gallinule: Medium, chicken-like marsh bird with purple-blue upperparts washed with iridescent green, deep blue underparts. Forehead is pale blue; bill is red and yellow-tipped. Undertail coverts are white. Legs are yellow with very long toes. The flight is labored and slow with dangling legs.
Lesser Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs: Large sandpiper with gray and black mottled upperparts, white underparts and streaked upper breast and sides. Bill is straight and uniformly dark gray. White lower rump and dark-barred tail are visible in flight. Legs are long and yellow. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Long-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher: Large, stocky sandpiper with dark, mottled upperparts, dark cap and eyestripe, short white eyebrow, and red-brown underparts with lightly barred flanks. Bill is long, dark, and dagger like. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Swift direct flight, rapid wing beats.
Parasitic Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger Dark Morph: Medium jaeger with brown body, darker cap, and pale underwing patches near tips. Pale form has white underparts with brown breast band; intermediates between dark and light morphs occur. Diamond-shaped tail has elongated, pointed central feathers. Black bill, legs, feet.
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird: Small thrush with brilliant blue back, head, and wings. Throat and breast are paler blue, and belly and undertail coverts are white. Hovers more than other bluebirds and drops on prey from above, also catches insects in flight. Eats mostly insects in the summer.
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark: Short ground-dwelling bird with buff- and black-streaked brown upperparts. Head has black-and-white striped crown, white face, black eyestripe and a pointed bill. Throat to belly is yellow, broad black V on breast. Brown tail has white edges and undertail coverts.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Wood-Pewee: Small flycatcher, gray-olive upperparts, pale gray underparts. Bill is dark except for yellow base of lower mandible. Wings are dark with two white bars. Black legs, feet. Feeds on insects, spiders and berries. Slow fluttering direct flight on shallow wing beats.
Summer Tanager
Summer Tanager: Large tanager, dark-red overall with a large, pale gray bill. Legs and feet are gray. It is the only entirely red bird in North America. It specializes in eating bees and wasps, which is why it is also known as the bee bird. Swift direct flight with quick wing strokes.
Scarlet Tanager
Scarlet Tanager: Medium tanager with brilliant red body, black wings, tail. The only bird in North America with this unique plumage. Heavy bill is yellow-gray. Gray legs and feet. Winter male has dull green upperparts, yellow-green underparts, often interspersed with red during molt.
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird: Small thrush with bright blue upperparts, rust-brown throat and breast, and white belly and vent. Forages in the open from low branches for insects, earthworms, and spiders. Eats mostly berries and seeds in winter. Slow, direct flight with shallow, jerky wing beats.
Hepatic Tanager
Hepatic Tanager: Large tanager, dark to orange-red overall, gray wash on back and flanks. Gray-red cheek patch. Heavy, dark bill is slightly hooked. Legs and feet are gray. Forages in upper foliage of trees, sometimes catches insects in midair. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
McCown's Longspur
McCown's Longspur: Medium-sized sparrow with streaked gray upperparts, plain gray underparts, and darker breast. The head has a black crown, white face and throat, and a stout, heavy bill. White tail has diagnostic black inverted T. Wings have chestnut-brown bars. Black legs and feet.
Blue-footed Booby
Blue-footed Booby: Large, gull-like seabird with white body, brown wings and brown-streaked head and back. The blue-gray bill is long and stout. Legs and feet are powder blue. Plunge dives for fish from 50 feet above shallow water. Alternates rapid, deep wing beats with sailing glides.
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Rufous-crowned Sparrow: Medium sparrow with gray-brown upperparts streaked with red-brown; underparts are gray. Head has rufous crown, gray face, rufous eye-line, and thick, black moustache stripe. Wings are brown and lack bars. Tail is long and rounded. Legs and feet are pink-gray.
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird: Large flycatcher, blue-black back, wings, black tail with white terminal band, white underparts. Head is black, has inconspicuous red crown feathers visible when bird is displaying. Black bill, legs, feet. Fluttering stiff-winged direct flight with shallow wing beats.
Sage Thrasher
Sage Thrasher: Small thrasher, gray upperparts, dark-streaked white underparts with pale brown wash. The head is gray, bill is short and slightly decurved. Wings are dark with thin,white bars. Tail is dark with white corners. Legs and feet are black. Fast flight on shallow wing beats.
Flame-colored Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager: Tropical tanager, flame red-orange body, black wings with white wing bars and spots, black-streaked back. Face has pale gray-tinged ear patch bordered with black. Bill is gray, legs, feet are black. Swift, direct flight. It is the national bird of Puerto Rico.
Lucy's Warbler
Lucy's Warbler: Small warbler with pale gray upperparts, rust-brown crown and rump, white underparts. Eye ring is white. Wings are solid gray. Bill, legs and feet are black. It was named for Lucy Hunter Baird, daughter of Spencer F. Baird, ornithologist and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Le Conte's Thrasher
Le Conte's Thrasher: Medium thrasher with plain gray or gray-brown body with paler throat and rufous undertail feathers. Eyes are dark. Bill is long, decurved, and black. Tail is long and dark. Legs and feet are black. Feeds on insects and their larvae, spiders, fruits and berries.
Gray Catbird
Gray Catbird: Small, shy, dark gray mockingbird with black cap and red-brown undertail coverts. The bill, legs, and feet are black. Forages on ground, shrubs and branches. Feeds mostly on insects and their larvae, spiders, berries and fruits. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull: Medium-sized gull with dark gray back and wings. Head, neck and underparts are white. Rump and tail are white. Bill is yellow with red spot near tip. The wings have dark tips with white spots; legs and feet are yellow. Eyes are yellow with red orbital rings.
Lesser Nighthawk
Lesser Nighthawk: Medium-sized nightjar with gray and white mottled upperparts, white throat, and brown and white mottled underparts with dark belly bars. Wings are dark with conspicuous pale patches visible in flight. Tail is dark brown and has thin white bars across top. Darting erratic flight.
Lincoln's Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow: Medium sparrow, dark-streaked pale brown upperparts, white underparts with dark streaks. Head has brown crown with gray central stripe, broad gray eyebrows and nape, pale eye-ring, and brown streak extending behind eye. Upper mandible is dark, lower mandible is pale orange-brown.
American Dipper
American Dipper: Small, wren-like bird, dark gray with short, cocked tail, white eyelids that flash when blinked. Straight black bill. Wades, swims and dives for food. Feeds on aquatic insects, larvae, clams, snails, crustaceans, and small fish. Strong direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Scott's Oriole
Scott's Oriole: Medium-sized oriole with black hood extending onto breast and back. Belly and rump are bright yellow. The wings are black with yellow shoulder patches and two white bars. Tail is yellow with thick black tip and central line. Strong direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo: Medium vireo with olive-brown upperparts and white underparts. Head has a gray cap, white eyebrow, black eyestripe, and red eyes. Blue-gray legs and feet. Alternates short glides with series of rapid wingbeats. May hover briefly to pick berries or insects from foliage.
Yellow-throated Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo: Large vireo, olive-gray upperparts, gray rump. Throat and breast are bright yellow, belly is white. Eyes are dark. Spectacles are yellow. Wings are dark with two white bars. Legs and feet are black. It is the most colorful member of its family in North America.
Orchard Oriole
Orchard Oriole: Small oriole, black head, back, tail, and chestnut-orange shoulder patches, underparts, rump. Wings are black with single broad white bar; flight feathers have white edges. Feeds on insects, fruits, berries, nectar and flowers. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Hooded Oriole
Hooded Oriole: Medium oriole with bright orange -yellow head and nape, and black back, face, throat, and upper breast. Bill is slightly decurved. Black wings have two white bars. Tail is black. Forages in trees and bushes. Eats insects, caterpillars, and nectar. Strong direct flight.
Bobolink
Bobolink: Small, lark-like blackbird, all-black except for buff nape, white rump, and white wing patches. Tertials and wing coverts are lined with buff. Tail feathers are sharply pointed. Legs and feet are gray. Eats caterpillars, insects, seeds and grains. Strong undulating flight.
Redhead
Redhead: Medium diving duck, gray back and sides, black upper back, breast, rump, and tail, and white belly. Head and neck are rufous-brown, and blue-gray bill is black-tipped; eyes are yellow. Feeds mostly on aquatic vegetation. Rapid direct flight with strong wing beats, flies in V formation.
Sprague's Pipit
Sprague's Pipit: Medium pipit with streaked, brown upperparts, buff breast with dark streaks, and white throat and belly. Eyebrows are white. Tail is brown with white edges. Thin, pale bill. Legs are yellow to pale brown. Its plumage blends well among prairie grasses, making it difficult to spot.
Thick-billed Kingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird: Large flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts, darker head, and seldom seen yellow crown patch. Throat and breast are gray-washed white, and belly and undertail coverts are pale yellow. Bill is large and black. Tail is gray-brown and slightly forked, edged with cinnamon-brown.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch: Medium nuthatch with blue-gray upperparts and pale rust-brown underparts. Head has a black cap, white eyebrow, black eyestripe; throat is white. Bill is slightly upturned. Legs and feet are black. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides.
Red Crossbill
Red Crossbill: Medium finch with red-orange body, brighter red rump, and dark brown wings. Bill is dark and crossed at tip. The tail is notched. Legs and feet are gray-black. Eats seeds, insects and caterpillars. Swift bounding flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled briefly to sides.
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover: Medium sandpiper with black face, underparts. Back is dark brown with yellow spots; has a white S-shaped mark along head and sides. Markings provide camouflage to blend in with tundra breeding grounds. Bill is black, thin, and short. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Common Poorwill
Common Poorwill: Small, stocky nightjar with pale brown mottled body and white collar separating black throat from narrowly barred underparts. Wings are rounded and tail is short and fan-shaped with outer tail feathers tipped white. Pink-brown legs and feet. Silent flight on quick shallow wing beats.
Say's Phoebe
Say's Phoebe: Medium-sized, active flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts and head, paler gray throat and upper breast, and pale rufous belly and undertail coverts. The wings and tail are dark gray. Feeds primarily on insects. Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats. Hawks from perch, hovers.
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher: Large flycatcher with boldly streaked olive-brown upperparts and pale yellow underparts with dark brown streaks. Eyestripes are thick and black with white borders. The wings are dark and edged with white. Tail is rust-brown. Slow fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Medium flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts, pale gray throat and breast, and gray-brown tail with rufous highlights. The pale yellow belly distinguishes this species from other Myiarchus flycatchers. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Strong flight with shallow wing beats.
Wood Duck
Wood Duck: Small tree duck with brown back, white throat, purple-brown breast with white flecks grading to white belly; buff-yellow flanks. Crested head is green and purple with white stripes; white throat has two bars, one extends as a partial collar, the other extends behind and below eyes.
Common Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk: Medium nightjar with white-speckled, dark upperparts, black-and-white barred underparts, mottled breast, white throat. Wings are long, dark gray with white bars, nearly covering tail when folded. Gray-brown legs and feet. Darting erratic flight with frequent changes of direction.
Mountain Plover
Mountain Plover: Medium-sized plover with pale brown upperparts, white underparts, and brown sides. Head has brown cap, white face, and dark eyestripe. The upperwings are brown with black edges and white bars; underwings are white. Tail is brown-black with white edges. Legs and feet are pale gray.
Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler: Small warbler, olive-green upperparts, yellow underparts, white lower belly. Small chestnut-brown cap, barely noticeable. Gray hood extends to back, eye-ring is white. Two breeding populations, a mid to northeastern one that doesn't wag its tail, and a Pacific Coast one that does.
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow-breasted Chat: The largest North American warbler. Has olive-green to olive-gray upperparts, brilliant yellow throat, breast. Belly and undertail are white. Eyes have white spectacles and dark eye patches. Bill is heavy and dark. Wings and tail are olive-green. Bill, legs, and feet are black.
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler: Small warbler with olive-yellow upperparts and bright yellow underparts with rust-brown streaks on breast, sides. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is dark with yellow-tinged edges. Has a wider range than any other North American warbler. Eats insects, larvae, and some fruit.
Tennessee Warbler
Tennessee Warbler: Small warbler with olive-green upperparts, white underparts, and olive-gray washed sides. Darker head has white eyebrows and dark eyestripes. Wings are plain gray. Tail is short. It spends the summers in Canada and is only found in Tennessee during migration. Eats mostly insects.
Yellow-throated Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler: Medium warbler with gray upperparts, yellow throat, chin, and upper breast, white underparts with black spots on sides. Head has black face patch, white eyebrows. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is gray with white spots near corners. Bill, legs, and feet are black.
Mourning Warbler
Mourning Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with an olive-green back, wings, tail, and gray hood. The underparts are yellow and the upper breast is black. It's named for the way its dark breast and hood resemble a person in mourning. It is one of the latest spring migrants of all North American warblers.
Hammond's Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher: Small flycatcher, gray upperparts, gray-brown underparts, white eye-ring. Throat is pale gray, belly is pale yellow. Wings are dark with two pale bars. Feeds on insects. Black legs and feet. Weak fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats. Sallies to take insects in air.
Painted Redstart
Painted Redstart: Medium warbler with black head, upperparts, bright red breast and belly. Wings are black with large, white patches. White arc beneath eye. Tail is black with thick, white edges. It only eats insects, and forages for them on the ground and in trees. It also catches them in flight.
Red-faced Warbler
Red-faced Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with gray upperparts, white nape and rump, and paler gray underparts. Forehead, throat, and upper breast are bright red. The crown and ear patches are black. Gray tail is long and square tipped. Eats mostly spiders and insects which it finds in tree branches.
Bay-breasted Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with dark-streaked gray upperparts and buff underparts with chestnut-brown patches on the chin, throat, breast and flanks. The head has a dark brown crown and black mask. Wings are black with two white bars. It is one of the largest warblers.
Willow Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher: Small flycatcher, brown-olive upperparts, white throat contrasting with paler breast, white to pale yellow belly. Head has darker cap, faint white eye rings. Dark wings with two white bars. Feeds on insects, spiders, berries. Weak fluttering flight with shallow rapid wing beats.
Green-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal: Small dabbling duck with pale, gray-barred sides and buff breast with a white bar down the side. Head is chestnut-brown with green ear patch. Bill is dark gray and legs and feet are olive-gray to gray-brown. Speculum is flashy green bordered with brown above and white below.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: Small, flycatcher-like perching bird, blue-gray upperparts, white underparts, prominent white eye-ring. Wings are dark. Black tail is long and white-edged. Forages in thickets, trees and shrubs for insects, their eggs and larvae. Weak fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.
Aplomado Falcon
Aplomado Falcon: Medium falcon with slate-gray upperparts, plain white breast. White, moustache-striped face has pale eyebrows joining at back of head. Belly and legs are cinnamon-brown. Long tail banded with white and black (or gray) stripes. Swift, direct flight with deep wing beats, also hovers.
Black Skimmer
Black Skimmer: Odd-looking, tern-like bird with black upperparts and white underparts. Bright red bill with black tip, lower mandible longer than upper. Long, slim wings are dark above and silver-gray below. Tail is white with black central feathers. Legs, feet are red. Direct flight.
Black Tern
Black Tern: Small tern with black head, bill and underparts. Back, wings, and tail are silver-gray. Vent is white; legs and feet are dark red but may appear black. Bouyant direct flight with deep rapid wing beats, hovers for insects. Uneven foraging flight. Plunge dives on occasion.
Baird's Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with scaled, gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and dark-spotted, gray-brown breast. Crown, face, and neck are buff with fine, dark brown streaks. Rump is white with dark central stripe extending through the center of gray-brown tail. Black legs and feet.
Gadwall
Gadwall: Large dabbling duck with finely barred gray body, black rump and undertail coverts, white belly, and rust-brown shoulders. Head and neck are gray-brown; bill is gray. Wings have black-bordered white speculum most visible in flight. Legs and feet are yellow. Fast direct flight.
Common Black-Hawk
Common Black-Hawk: Large hawk, nearly all black with white patch just behind bill. Bill, legs and feet are bright orange-yellow. The tail is black with single, thick white band across the middle and a thin, white tip. Alternates deep steady wing beats with short to long glides. Soars on thermals.
Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull: Medium gull with black head and bill, gray back and wings, white underparts and tail. White outer primaries with black trailing edges are visible in flight. Legs are red-orange. Catches fish by wading and diving. Light and direct flight with rapid wing beat, ternlike.
Common Tern
Common Tern: Medium tern, medium gray upperparts, pale gray underparts, glossy black cap and nape. Wings are dark-tipped and have dark leading edge on forewing. Red bill is black-tipped. Legs are red and tail is deeply forked and elongated. Direct flight, hovers above water before diving for prey.
Elegant Tern
Elegant Tern: Medium tern, pale gray upperparts, white underparts may have pink tint. Black cap has shaggy crest; orange or red-orange bill is long, slightly decurved. Outermost primaries have faint black smudges. Tail deeply forked, legs are black. Hovers above water before diving.
Forster's Tern
Forster's Tern: Medium tern, pale gray upperparts, black cap, white underparts. Bill is orange, black tip. Wings are pale gray with paler primaries. Tail is pale gray, deeply forked with dark inner edge, white outer edge. Orange legs, feet. Hovers above water before diving for prey.
Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern: Large, stocky tern with pale gray upperparts, white underparts. Cap is black and may appear weakly crested; large bill is coral-red. Undersides of primaries are gray. Tail is white, relatively short, and slightly forked; legs are black. Hovers above water before diving.
Clapper Rail
Clapper Rail: Large, noisy marsh bird, gray or brown upperparts, vertical white-barred flanks and belly, buff or rust-brown breast. Bill is long, slightly decurved. Gray legs, feet. Feeds at low tide on mudflats or hidden in salt marsh vegetation. Flight is low and fluttering over short distances.
Common Moorhen
Common Moorhen: Medium, chicken-like marsh bird with gray-brown back and slate-gray head, neck, breast, and belly. Upper flanks show distinct white line. Yellow-tipped red bill is short with red frontal plate extending onto forehead. Tail is white below. Long legs and unwebbed feet are yellow-green.
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Plover: Small plover, gray-brown upperparts and white underparts. Forehead and faint eyebrows are white, while face and collar are black. Bill is orange with black tip. Wings have white stripes visible in flight. Tail is brown with white edges. Orange legs, feet. Strong direct flight.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, buff wash over entire body except for white vent. Upperparts are black-spotted and streaked, underparts are slightly scaled. Shows white wing linings in flight. Has white eye-ring and black bill. Legs are yellow. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wilson's Plover
Wilson's Plover: Medium plover, gray-brown upperparts and cap. Underparts are white except for black upper breast band. Head has black forehead patch and white eyebrows joining above bill. Wings are dark with white stripes visible in flight. White tail with faint brown central strip and dark tip.
Magnificent Frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebird: Large black seabird, orange throat patch inflates into a huge bright red-orange balloon when in courtship display. Long bill is gray, hooked. Wings are long and narrow. Tail is forked; legs and feet are dark gray. Eats fish, crustaceans, jellyfish. High soaring flight.
Cinnamon Teal
Cinnamon Teal: Small dabbling duck, scaled, dark brown upperparts, cinnaon-brown underparts, head, neck. Eyes are red and bill is relatively long and dark. Green speculum, pale blue shoulder patch on wing are separated by white line. Yellow-gray legs. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Pacific Loon
Pacific Loon: Medium loon with black-and-white checkered back and white underparts. Crown and nape are gray. Iridescent throat patch can appear purple, green, or black. Eye is red. Bill is black and slender. Feeds mostly on fish, some crustaceans and mollusks. Flight is direct with rapid wing beats.
Common Merganser
Common Merganser: Large, sleek diving duck with black upperparts and white underparts. Head and upper neck are green-black with head crest usually not visible. Long, thin bill is bright red. Wings are black with extensive white patches. Feeds on fish, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and plants.
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper: Small sandpiper with scaled gray-brown upperparts, white underparts, and fine streaks on the breast and sides. The black bill is short, stout and straight. Feeds on insects, worms, small mollusks and crustaceans. Legs and feet are black. Swift flight on rapidly beating wings.
Least Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper: Small sandpiper, brown-scaled upperparts, rust-brown crown. Breast, throat are dark-spotted; belly, undertail are white. Wings have thin, white stripes visible in flight. Black line on rump extends onto tail. Legs and feet are yellow-green. Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck: Large, long-legged, long-necked duck with dark brown back and white V-shaped rump patch. Head and underparts are buff with white throat and vent. The white-edged side and flank feathers form a striking border between sides and back. Tail is black with white undertail coverts.
Upland Sandpiper
Upland Sandpiper: Large bird, dark-spotted, brown upperparts, black rump. White chin, neck, throat. Breast and sides streaked with dark chevrons, white belly. Dark cap, white eye-rings. Bill is thin, olive-brown, decurved at tip. Wedge-shaped tail has dark center and barred edges visible in flight.
Stilt Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper with gray-brown upperparts, white rump, heavily barred white underparts. Head has a dark cap, white eyebrows, and brown ear patches. Bill is long, black, and curved down at tip. Legs are long and gray-green. Powerful, direct flight on long, rapidly beating wings.
Solitary Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper: Medium sandpiper, pale-spotted, dark brown back and rump, white underparts with streaks on neck and sides. Head is dark, eye-ring is bold white. Tail is black with conspicuous black-and-white barred edges. Bill, legs, and feet are olive-green. Direct flight is light and bouyant.
Northern Jacana
Northern Jacana: Rail-like relative of plovers and shorebirds; is unique in having extremely long toes. Body is chestnut-brown with black head and neck, and flashy yellow-green flight feathers. Forehead has a fleshy orange-yellow frontal shield arising from base of bill. Weak mothlike flight.
Green Parakeet
Green Parakeet: Fairly large all green parakeet, may show scattered orange or red feathers on breast. In flight the underside of flight feathers show metallic yellow and there may be scattered yell