/r/whatsthisbird
The place for your bird identification needs and challenges.
See something feathered but you just can't figure out what it is? Submit descriptions, audio, and/or visuals of unknown birds, eggs, feathers, or nests and we'll try to help! Be sure to include the location of the sighting when submitting.
Already know the ID of a tricky bird and want to see if others can guess it? Just include [CHALLENGE] in your submission's title.
Have you found a baby bird? PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING!
Have you found an injured bird? Use this link to find licensed wildlife rehabilitation near you.
Active nest guidelines: Keep your distance from a nest if a bird is currently on it. Keep your visit to a nest brief if eggs or hatchlings are inhabiting the nest.
Filter by UNSOLVED and help out some folks who still need IDs!
Want to find a bird conservation group in your country? Check out the list of international BirdLife partners.
RULES
1. Submit descriptions, audio, video and/or photos of unknown birds.
Unidentified eggs, feathers, nests, and bird artwork are all allowed here.
Media containing known species are better suited to r/birdpics, r/birding, r/ornithology, and others. Please respect each subreddit's rules when posting. Posts focusing on known birds will be removed at moderator discretion.
Know the ID of a tricky bird and want to see if others can guess it? That's allowed, too; just include [CHALLENGE] (with the brackets) in your post's title.
2. Include geographic location in ID requests.
The location of your sighting is extremely important when it comes to identifying the bird in question. Please include a reasonably precise geographic location to help us ID your bird.
3. No joke posts.
While we enjoy good humor, this is foremost an educational subreddit. Jokes in comments are acceptable, as long as they do not confound any legitimate IDs.
4. Tag images involving death or gore as NSFW.
Images containing death or gore (within reason; for example, stuffed specimens are exempt) must be tagged as NSFW.
A few handy ID guides to common North American birds:
American Crow vs Common Raven (and a couple other corvids)
Cooper's vs Sharp-shinned Hawk
Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker (plus bonus woodpeckers)
Juvenile Black-crowned vs Yellow-crowned Night-Herons
Which Dowitcher? Tips for distinguishing Short- vs Long-billed
Bird Doppelgängers series:
Bird Doppelgängers, Pt. 1 (Chickadees, white herons, and more)
Bird Doppelgängers, Pt. 2 (Haemorhous finches, Aythya ducks, gallinules and more)
Bird Doppelgängers, Pt. 3 (North American Sparrows)
Bird Doppelgängers ID Guides: Birds of Oceania (Australia, NZ, New Guinea, etc.)
Bird Doppelgängers: similar birds worldwide (Part 1) (Magpies, Small White Egrets and more)
Similar birds worldwide (Part 2) (Herons, tits, buteos, corvids, Passer sparrows)
Other bird-related subreddits:
r/ornithology - bird science
r/birding - bird watching
r/birdphotography - bird photos
More identification fun:
Many thanks to stabberthomas for the fantastic header.
/r/whatsthisbird
465,125 Subscribers
Found when cutting up black berries will it hatch? What kind is it maybe?
In northern ca
20:46 UTC
New York City USA Duck
I saw these floating around in the East River yesterday. I’ve never seen this type of duck in the city. They had white rings around their necks, the tops of their bodies were black/dark, and the bottom halves of their bodies were white with dark stripes/speckles. I tried Merlin ID and the Audubon app to ID this with no luck. What kind of birds are these? Thanks in advance.
18:53 UTC
What kind of bird is on this tie i thrifted?
i hope it’s okay that i’m asking about a tie and not a real bird
18:30 UTC
Is this a swamp sparrow or a chipping sparrow? Usually pretty good at telling them apart but this one is tripping me up for some reason (Massachusetts USA)
17:32 UTC
UK countryside, very talkative
Blurry pic but I had to snap it quickly
Lancashire countryside UK - this bird's taken up residence in my street and chitters(?) very loudly all day. Anyone able to identify?
17:26 UTC
I'm in Cancun and keep hearing a bird that sounds like a slide whistle. Haven't seen it. Who dat bird?
17:02 UTC
Leucistic Mallard?
Found in Newcastle, UK.
16:41 UTC
Rhode Island. New to lookin at birds. Stuck between two geese(gooses?)
Sorry for the bad picture my phone zoom doesnt work lol
15:46 UTC
Hawk in Central New Jersey?
14:22 UTC
Gull ID?
Seen this morning in coastal Massachusetts. Iceland or Glaucous? I was leaning Glaucous but after looking at pictures of both juveniles I’m not sure.
13:35 UTC
Can someone help me identify this bird? I think it’s a type of Bulbul or Thrush. Location is Rwanda
Bird has a long tail and a whitish mark at the top of his beak. Also has similar features to Bulbuls.
11:09 UTC
What bird is making this sound?
I thought it was someone calling for help at first
10:52 UTC
First time seeing these bird in singapore as a local.
Anyone knows what are those birds?
09:23 UTC
Widgeon/Teal hybrid?
Never seen the green flash around the eye before. I often see the widgeon and teal hanging about here together although mostly squabbling.
09:04 UTC
Hawk or Sparrowhawk? Belgium
06:56 UTC
This guy leading some Eurasian Tree Sparrows around at Tokyo DisneySea.
06:29 UTC
Little black bird
He was making a weird croaking noise behind me in the Costco food court. Santa Barbara area.
04:54 UTC
Looking through some old photos from 2020, had a flock of these guys fly out of the bushes into my car, this poor one didn't make it. Gray partridge? Alberta, Canada
03:28 UTC