Bird: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 11, 2026

News •

Spot a baby bird on the ground? Don't be tempted to bird‑nap it • Nov. 6, 2026, 6:00 PM ET (Phys.org)

QuickCheck: Does a bird with 'sunflower eyes' exist? • Nov. 2, 2026, 7:00 PM ET (Toronto Star)

Even birds get jet lagged, study shows • Oct. 29, 2026, 2:00 PM ET (NPR)

Researchers explore the valuable connection between birds, memory and territory in Chile • Oct. 20, 2026, 9:20 AM ET (Phys.org)

Chickens allowed free range again in Victoria as bird flu lockdown ends • Oct. 15, 2026, 7:02 PM ET (ABC News (Australia))

Facts

Also Known As	fowl • Aves

Photos and Videos

A zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) with a bright orange beak, gray head, orange cheek patch, and black-and-white striped tail perches on a branch.

basic body feather tracts on a generalized songbird

black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)

pigeon skeleton

Thematic map of North America showing proportions of breeding birds that migrate to the Neotropics, overlaid on vegetation zones including forest, tundra, grassland and scrub, desert, and ice sheets. Circular pie charts at various locations indicate the percentage of local bird populations and species that migrate, with red representing migrating individuals and green representing migrating species.

An illustration of a red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) with vibrant red, orange, and green plumage, perched on a branch with green leaves in the background.

California quail (Callipepla californica) with distinctive black plume on its head, perched on a weathered wooden branch.

Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) perched on a bare branch, showing iridescent black feathers with white spots against a clear blue sky.

View a flock of red-billed queleas at the Etosha National Park

Evolution and diversity in Galapagos finches

Learn how a hummingbird can fly in any direction and about its iridescent plumage

Observe flightless cormorants in their natural habitat on coasts of Fernandina and Isabela islands

See the black skimmer water bird skim the calm surface with its longer lower mandible in search of prey

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Topics

Archaeornithes wildfowl Neornithes 15 of the Best Birdsongs (According to Britannica)11 Questions About Birds Answered 6 of the World’s Most Dangerous Birds Extreme birds: 7 wonders of the avian world Pigeon list of U.S. state birds Funky Feathers: 10 Bizarre Birds reptile fish insect mammal chondrichthyan crustacean amphibian mollusk arachnid agnathan

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Key People

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Jean Theodore Delacour

French aviculturist

Newton, Alfred

Alfred Newton

British zoologist

Sálim Ali

Sálim Ali

Indian ornithologist, naturalist, and conservationist

John James Audubon

John James Audubon

ornithologist, artist, and naturalist

Hudson, W.H.

W.H. Hudson

British author, naturalist, and ornithologist

Mayr, Ernst

Ernst Mayr

American biologist

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Maria Martin

American artist

Magellanic penguin, left (Spheniscus magellanicus), and king shag (Phalacrocorax albiventer), watercolour and pencil by Roger Tory Peterson, from his book Penguins (1979); Houghton Mifflin

Roger Tory Peterson

American ornithologist

Baird, Spencer Fullerton

Spencer Fullerton Baird

American naturalist

Alexander Wilson, detail of an engraving by W.H. Lizars

Alexander Wilson

Scottish ornithologist

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John Gould

British ornithologist

Belon, detail from an engraving

Pierre Belon

French naturalist

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David Lambert Lack

British author and ornithologist

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Alexander Wetmore

American ornithologist

Frank M. Chapman

Frank M. Chapman

American ornithologist

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Jack Miner

Canadian naturalist

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Elliott Coues

American ornithologist

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Charles-Lucien Bonaparte, prince di Canino e di Musignano

French scientist

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John Bachman

American naturalist and minister

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

pigeon. pigeon and dove. member of the order Columbiformes, family Columbidae

Ultimate Bird Trivia Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is seen in Switzerland on December 2024

Animal Factoids

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

A male cardinal perched in a tree (birds, redbirds).

U.S. State Bird Quiz

Prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) in mid-flight.

Know Your Birds Quiz: Part Two

Birds, Birds, Birds Quiz

Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).

A Is for Animal Quiz

Great Grey Owl or Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa), Alaska. Wood owls, birds.

All About Birds Quiz

Macaw. bird. Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) in Quantana Roo, Mexico. A large colorful parrot native to tropical North and South America.

Know Your Birds Quiz: Part One

turkey vulture. vulture. Close-up of a head and beak of a Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).

A Little Bird Told Me

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

turkey vulture. vulture. Close-up of a head and beak of a Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura).

A Little Bird Told Me

Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius). Animals, mammals.

Ultimate Animals Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names