Bird guide
Birds worth knowing well.
A small, carefully written set of species guides — identification, habitat, behaviour and the field tips that actually help. We add species when we have something useful to say about them.
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
A heavy-billed, crested songbird of gardens, hedgerows and woodland edges across eastern and central North America. Males are brilliant red; females are warm buff-brown with red highlights.
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
A large, crested, blue-and-white corvid of eastern North American woodlands and suburbs — loud, intelligent, and far more subtle in behaviour than its reputation suggests.
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
A very large fish eagle of North American coasts, lakes and large rivers. Adults are unmistakable; immatures are dark and mottled, and are regularly misidentified.
American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
A small, bouncy finch of weedy fields, gardens and roadsides. Summer males are brilliant lemon-yellow with a black cap; winter birds are drab buff and confuse many beginners.
Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
A rich rusty-brown wren with a bold white eyebrow and a voice far larger than its body. Common in brushy gardens and woodland tangles of the southeastern United States.
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
A tall, slate-grey wading bird found on almost any water in North America — lakes, marshes, tidal flats, drainage ditches and garden ponds alike.
Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
A strikingly patterned duck of wooded swamps and quiet ponds, and one of the few North American ducks that nests in tree cavities.
Osprey
Pandion haliaetus
A large fish-eating raptor found near water on every continent except Antarctica, and the only hawk that plunges feet-first to catch fish below the surface.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus
A medium-sized woodland buteo of wet forests and suburbs, more often heard than seen — its ringing 'kee-yah' call carries a long way through the trees.
Belted Kingfisher
Megaceryle alcyon
A big-headed, shaggy-crested kingfisher of rivers, lakes and estuaries, usually announced by a dry rattling call as it flies away down the channel.
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
A brilliant red songbird with jet-black wings that spends the summer high in eastern deciduous canopy — spectacular, and far more often heard than seen.
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
An unmistakable pink wading bird of southern coastal wetlands, sweeping its spatulate bill side to side through shallow water.