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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rose-throated Becard
Rose-throated Becard: Small flycatcher with gray upperparts, large head with black cap, pale rose-red throat, and pale gray underparts. Catches insects in flight. Also eats their larvae, fruits and berries. Flight is weak and often of short duration, with rapid shallow wing beats.
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove: Small dove with rufous upperparts, pale pink-gray underparts, and pale gray head. Wings are rufous with black spots and bill is gray with a dark tip. Legs and feet are pink-gray. Forages on ground for seeds and berries. Fast low direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-billed Tropicbird: Slender, white, gull-like seabird with long white tail streamers. White back, finely barred black. Black eye stripe curves upward behind eye, almost meets at nape. Black primaries, red bill. Direct, rapid flight, pigeonlike, stiff, shallow wingbeats. The largest tropicbird.
Rufous-winged Sparrow
Rufous-winged Sparrow: Medium sparrow, gray-brown upperparts finely streaked with black; underparts are white. Pale gray head has rufous crown divided by gray median stripe, red-brown eye-line, and black moustache stripe. Wings are brown with rufous shoulder patches and two white bars.
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.
Rufous-backed Robin
Rufous-backed Robin: Large thrush, rufous back, gray head, rump, white throat with black streaks, breast and sides are rufous-orange. Undertail coverts, belly are white. Yellow bill has black tip. Wings are rufous with gray primaries. Gray tail. Swift, direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Rock Wren
Rock Wren: Medium wren with white-speckled gray upperparts, brown rump, white-over-black eye-lines, white throat and breast with fine gray streaks, and buff-yellow flanks and belly. The long tail is buff-and-black barred, and has a pale tip; undertail coverts are white with black bars.
Rufous-capped Warbler
Rufous-capped Warbler: Small warbler with olive-green upperparts, bright yellow throat and upper breast, and white belly. Head has rufous crown and cheek patch, white eyebrow, and black eyestripe. Bill is black and the tail is long and olive-gray. It likes to hide in dense undergrowth.
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Duck: Medium-sized diving duck. Black upperparts, weakly tufted, purple-black head. Neck, upper breast, tail are black, lower breast and belly are white, sides are pale gray. Cinnamon collar is hard to see in the field. Dark wings have black-tipped gray flight feathers visible in flight. Blue-gray bill, white ring, black tip.
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Duck: Small duck, bright red-brown body; black cap extends below the eyes and onto the nape, contrasting sharply with white face; heavy bill is blue. Tail is black, often held erect when swimming. Some males show all black head, lacking white cheek patches. Direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Medium kinglet, olive-green upperparts and gray-washed, pale yellow underparts. Head has inconspicuous tuft of red crown feathers, white spectacles. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is slightly notched and has white edges. Weak fluttering flight on shallow wing beats.
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull: Medium gull with gray upperparts and white underparts. Head is white and bill is yellow with black ring near tip. Wings are gray above, tipped black with white spots, and white below. Yellow legs and feet. Strong direct flight on deep wing beats, soars on thermals.
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser: Medium-sized diving duck with black upperparts, gray sides, rust-brown breast, and white belly. Head, double crests, and neck are green and the neck ring is white. Bill is long, thin, and bright orange. Feet and legs are orange. Feeds mostly on fish, which it finds by diving.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk: Large, highly variable hawk with brown upperparts, head and throat. The underparts are pale with brown streaks. Wings are pale below with dark bar at leading edge and dark tips. The tail is red-brown with dark terminal band. Legs and feet are yellow. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk: Large hawk with brown upperparts, paler, streaked head, brown-spotted white breast, and dark breast band. The legs are fully feathered. Wings are mostly pale below and dark-edged. Upper half of tail is white, lower half is finely banded. Uncommon dark phase is brown-black overall.
Rufous Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird: Medium hummingbird, bright rufous-brown overall with white breast and ear patch, red-orange throat, and green shoulders. Rounded tail is rufous with black edges. Some males show green on back and head. Feeds on insects and nectar. Direct and hovering flight with rapid wing beats.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Ring-necked Pheasant: Large, chicken-like pheasant with metallic-brown body, iridescent green head, white neck ring, and bright red eye patch and wattles. The tail is very long and pointed. It was first introduced to California from Asia as a game bird in 1857. Very popular bird for hunting.
Rock Pigeon
Rock Pigeon: Large, highly variably colored dove; wild form has gray body, dark blue-gray head, neck, breast, and white rump. Wings are gray with two black bars. Tail is gray and rounded with dark terminal band. Forages on ground, eats grass, seeds, grains, clover and berries. Swift direct flight.
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird: Small blackbird with jet-black body and bright red shoulder patches edged with yellow on bottom. Runs or hops while foraging on the ground. Eats seeds, grains, berries, fruits, insects, caterpillars, spiders, snails, grubs and mollusks. Strong direct flight on rapid wing beats.
Red-naped Sapsucker
Red-naped Sapsucker: Medium-sized woodpecker with white-checkered black upperparts, pale yellow underparts with spotted sides. Head has red crown, nape patch and white moustache stripe behind eye. Throat and breast band are black. Wings are black with thick white stripes. Black bill, legs and feet.