Known to “ride out” massive tropical storms by flying into the calm eye of the hurricane

Remains as one of the most resilient residents of the tropics

If you look closely at their dark hood, you’ll see two broken white crescents around the eye

Most gulls have sharp, pointed wings, but this one has strikingly rounded wingtips

During the winter, they are one of the few gull species that becomes truly pelagic

Often called the “tern in a gull’s body”

Despite their elegant looks, they are fierce parents

Rugged enough to survive Arctic blizzards and mid-ocean gales that would ground much larger birds

Despite traveling across entire hemispheres, they often return to the exact same marsh or mudflat

Often called the “shorebird that forgot the shore”

Famous for nesting in the most inconvenient places possible

Thriving in the alkaline lakes, salt ponds, and marshes of the American West and beyond

A bird that looks like a cross between a sleek chicken and a neon-painted waterfowl

Possesses a unique physical defense mechanism: the “laterally compressed” body

Doesn’t perch across a branch like most birds; it perches lengthwise along the limb

When a covey takes flight, the sound is so loud and sudden that it’s often compared to a small firework going off

Notoriously high-strung and are often the first ducks to take flight at the slightest hint of danger

One of the most dedicated vegetarians in the waterfowl world

Despite being tiny fluff-balls, they are so light that they almost always bounce and walk away unharmed

Famous (and sometimes infamous) for their love of rice.

Forest’s most dedicated hoarder and resident “clown”

If you saw it flying in the distance, you might mistake it for a small crow

They don’t just drum for food; they drum to communicate

Unlike other woodpeckers, this bird loves to catch bugs in the air, not just from trees

Larger and more noticeable, but it is still quick, cautious

A clever, hardworking, city-ready survivor

To this day, no one knows exactly how this warm-weather bird ended up with a freezing Russian namesake

Despite being a formidable bird of prey, they are highly secretive and surprisingly quiet

Do not let their relatively compact, crow-like size fool you— they have a fiery temperament and are fiercely territorial

That thick bill isn’t just for show; it helps it handle large insects (and sometimes more)

Its short wings work like flippers, letting it chase prey underwater with surprising agility

The very tip of the bill has special “pits” that can detect the vibrations of a moving fish in murky water

One of the few shorebirds that can handle small fish and even lizards

Those short wings help it chase prey underwater, almost like it’s flying through the sea

People expect rails to be chunky marsh birds—this one is tiny, almost pocket-sized

Besides using their lungs, they can take in some oxygen through tissues near the rear end while resting underwater

Often uses its nose like a detector, “painting” the air with quick sniffs to track food it can’t see

Its fur is dense and water-resistant, which helps it stay warm and buoyant during night swims

50 teeth? That’s a serious set of chompers for crunching insects, fruit, or even bones!

Closely tied to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec—not a jackrabbit you’d expect to see all over the continent

“Mini skunk” with the flashy outfit—much smaller and more agile than the common striped skunk

One of the few parrots in the world that regularly nests on cliff faces instead of in trees

Its famous call is often remembered as sounding like it is asking a question

Despite its name, its calls are often described as musical or trilling rather than screeching

Looks so much like a snake that it is sometimes called the “sea serpent shark”

Often come and go after dark, so a place that feels quiet in daylight can turn noisy at night

Males usually have a red crown patch, while females usually don’t—so the “red hat” can be a quick clue

Not a real horn—it’s a fleshy bump, which makes it even weirder and cooler

Compared with the greater roadrunner, it’s slightly smaller with a smaller bill and generally less heavy streaking

The tall hump/keel on its back is bony and hard, not soft tissue—one reason it feels so “armored” and unique

Once believed that their frequent calling was a sure sign that a thunderstorm was on its way

Have specialized glands that help them manage the high-salinity environment of the coast

One of the rarest motmots

Its sound is one of the most iconic sounds of the American summer

The “wild turkey of the rainforest canopy”

Sometimes described as a flying tennis ball because it’s small, round, and zips low over the waves with fast wingbeats

Can be black, can be grey but it’s the same bird

Preferred deep, cold lakes on the high Arctic tundra, far away from people and noise

Has one of the longest nonstop flights ever recorded for any bird

Once a sky-filling spectacle—today, most of what we have are museum skins and stories

These birds perform a massive, circular migration that covers nearly 32,000 km (20,000 miles) annually

One of the deepest-diving ducks

Blink-and-you-miss-it land time

These gulls aren’t scavengers; they are specialized insect eaters.

Before their 3,000-mile flight, they become “hyperphagic,” eating until fat makes up nearly half of their body weight

One of the very few “smelly” birds (in a good way)

While that eight-inch bill looks like a solid piece of bone, the very tip of it is actually flexible

Its speed and size make it harder for predators (and hunters) to track

Scan the sea on a cold day, and that “black smudge” past the breakers might be a raft of scoters

One of the smallest stiff-tailed ducks in the Americas

Known to cross the vast Sahara Desert in a single go during their migration

A bird that scoffs at fresh water and grassy parks

Smell? Not so much—mostly rely on eyesight and the behavior of other vultures to find food

When the crest is up, it looks like it’s wearing a dramatic feather crown or mohawk

Looks like other hawks in disguise

Have a specialized reflective layer behind the retina to help them see in near-total darkness.

One of the most primitive living rabbits

Native to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa, this tortoise thrives in some of the hottest and driest environments on Earth. For many years, it was grouped with the Mojave desert tortoise under a single species, but recent genetic studies revealed that the two are distinct. Unlike its […]

One of the newest tortoise species described

A bird lighter than a small coin

Crisp-feathered, fast-flying, and fearless in icy waters

Weighs about as much as a couple of slices of bread and is barely bigger than a sparrow

The “cheetahs” of the deep ocean

Symbols of open summer fields and joyful wild song

Under certain angles, the feathers can look almost black

Superb gliders and can travel hundreds of kilometers in a day, riding winds with barely a wingbeat

That little head tuft? It rises and falls with mood — desert bird emojis in real life

Spend so much time sitting still that birdwatchers sometimes double-check to see if they’re statues

Watch them forage and you’ll see a funny, deliberate shuffle-strut walk

Often burrow into mud to stay moist, avoid predators, and cool down

A heavyweight champ — elegant, yes, but you don’t want to mess with that beak

Black feathers, white cap, sleek shape — it’s the tuxedo of the bird world

Its eyes make up nearly half the size of its skull, giving it excellent night vision but little room for movement

Known to eat mushrooms that are toxic to humans without any ill effects

Sometimes emit a scent reminiscent of peanuts—an unusual trait not common in many amphibians

Among the most athletic dolphins, known for their spectacular leaps and spins that can reach several meters high