Miscellaneous Birds

Some birds look like they flew straight out of a crayon box. With bold colors, long tail feathers, and shimmering plumes, they put even the most flamboyant fashion shows to shame.

By Nico Avelle

At first glance, geese and swans seem like large, long-necked cousins in the bird world — and they are. But the goose vs. swan comparison reveals key differences in size, behavior, migration, and even their place in the ecosystem.

By Nico Avelle

The heron vs. crane debate might sound like something only birdwatchers care about, but knowing the difference is key for anyone who loves wildlife or spends time near wetlands.

By Nico Avelle

When it comes to scavengers of the sky, black vulture vs. turkey vulture identification is easy to misconstrue. These two species often share the same habitats, feast on the same carrion, and roost in the same trees. But they couldn’t be more different in how they fly, feed, and find their meals.

By Nico Avelle

Birds are more than chirps and feathers. Some of the smartest birds rival primates when it comes to solving problems and navigating complex environments.

By Nico Avelle

Yellow birds are some of the most eye-catching creatures in the avian world, bringing bursts of bright yellow plumage to forests, grasslands and backyards. Some species have bright yellow bodies, while others display a mix of yellow feathers with black wings or olive green upperparts.

By Talon Homer

White birds are some of the most striking and elegant creatures in the natural world. Whether soaring over lakes, wading through wetlands, or perched in city skylines, these birds tend to capture attention with their brilliant features.

By Talon Homer

Orange birds are some of the most brilliantly colored creatures in the avian world! Whether you're strolling through mixed forests or watching your backyard feeder, these fiery-feathered wonders demand attention.

Brown birds are often ground-dwelling, foraging, nesting birds. In Native American cultures, birds are also sometimes seen as messengers between the spirit world and the physical realm, so a brown bird could be seen as bringing a connection to Earth, home, reliability, simplicity and consistency.

By Ada Tseng

Black and white birds may not be as vibrant as bright-colored birds, but in many parts of the world, birds such as magpies symbolize luck, intelligence or mystery. Black-and-white seabirds such as penguins and razorbills have also become icons of climate change awareness.

By Ada Tseng

The kiwi bird: a small, flightless bird with some seriously strange features! Native to New Zealand, this bird in the world is unlike any other, with hair-like kiwi feathers, nostrils at the tip of its beak and a highly developed sense of smell.

By Zach Taras

Birds of prey are some of nature’s most fascinating creatures, but when it comes to buzzard vs. vulture species, things can get a little confusing.

By Zach Taras

Two of the largest flightless birds on the planet may look similar but they typically live on different continents and have evolved unique adaptations for survival. How are your emu vs. ostrich identification skills?

By Talon Homer

The most colorful birds come in such dazzling hues that they are often the subject of artists and photographers.

By Ada Tseng

Flightless species of birds (such as ostriches, which are the largest living birds) tend to outsize any of the largest birds in the sky. Bigger sizes, while a liability in the air, can keep flightless birds safer on land.

By Ada Tseng

The most dangerous bird species are also some of the most beautiful. These seemingly innocent creatures can pack a punch — or peck — that you definitely want to avoid.

By Talon Homer

Hummingbird feeders are a great way to help those little fliers, but to feed them responsibly, you need to keep your feeders clean and fill them correctly.

By Jesslyn Shields

They are all huge, but does it surprise you that none of the nine biggest birds can fly?

By Jesslyn Shields

Budgies are the same species as parakeets and make fabulous pets - and, yes, they love to talk!

By Laurie L. Dove

There are 126 species of birds that don't have the ability to fly, for various evolutionary reasons. Let's meet seven of them.

By Katie Carman

Magpies are much-maligned as harbingers of doom, thieves of shiny objects and songbird eggs, but they're smart, monogamous for life and actually hold funerals for one another.

By Patty Rasmussen

The cartoon Roadrunner beep-beeped his way through the desert, outfoxing Wile E. Coyote every time, but the real bird can run up to 27 mph and, in some Native American traditions, offers protection from evil spirits.

By Jesslyn Shields

There's more to Australia's kookaburra than the cheery song you learned as a kid, but what is it that makes the kookaburra laugh?

By Patty Rasmussen & Mack Hayden

Biochemically like a heron and anatomically similar to a pelican, the shoebill stork has been called "Monsterface" and even "Death Pelican." But wait until you hear the staccato rat-a-tat-tat of its booming machine-gun call.

By Carrie Tatro & Zach Taras

Generations of cereal eaters grew up sharing the breakfast table with Toucan Sam, famous for following his long, colorful nose - but what's that bill for besides hawking cereal?

By Jesslyn Shields