/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
425,841 Subscribers
What is this bird? Small brown and white chubby little bird. Photo taken in Athabasca County, central Alberta Canada. Social type of bird since it has three more of its kind hanging around the yard as well. Bigger than a chickadee, smaller than a Robin.
19:44 UTC
Birb ID
Quick shot of it before it left. Found in SoCal!
19:18 UTC
What is this feather?
Appleton Maine, found at the edge of the woods near a pond.
18:20 UTC
Please help me to identify the two birds in this video!
Taken around 6pm in North Alabama (sorry for the poor video quality). I posted this video earlier this week, but no definitive conclusion was reached. The red headed bird resembles a Purple Finch more than a House Finch (the white above the brows and the sharp delineation of the red head) but they are out of season for the area. I have absolutely no idea about the grey and white bird. I would be very grateful if someone could help me identify them!
18:19 UTC
What are these lil cuties on my bumper? (SC Upstate region)
dont worry, im not touching them and this vehicle aint running rn so theyre safe to rest here. couldnt get any clear pics of mama, she flys off when i get near and my camera is shitty. do yall know what they are?
18:15 UTC
What’s this bird?
cry almost like a magpie. Europe, Switzerland. Thx in advance!
17:41 UTC
Green Cove Springs Florida-what’s this bird sound?
I keep hearing this bird and Merlin Bird ID isn’t picking it up. I usually hear it when it’s circling my pond but I can never ID it. I caught a glimpse the other day and it looked like a blue jay but I can’t be certain. I listened to all of the jay sounds and I didn’t hear this. Any help would be awesome!
14:43 UTC
Sex of fledgling English sparrow?
16:56 UTC
Baby seagull!?
What can I feed it?
16:17 UTC
Philadelphia suburbs area, very loud any ideas?( best pic I could get )
Saw this beautiful guy next to a pond making loud noises.
15:17 UTC
What bird is this feather from? (Ithaca, NY)
14:30 UTC
Found near a stream in northwest Pennsylvania. Reminds me of a penguin.
Sorry this is the best picture I could get. The beak seemed to be orangish red and grey. I saw it about two months ago in mid April.
14:28 UTC
North Georgia: has been making this noise in my backyard for about a week and a half. This is first time I have seen it on the ground. Some kind of hawk maybe?
13:58 UTC
What is this white bird
I was walking this morning and encountered this very white bird. I have never seen a bird as white as this one was and I can’t identify the breed. It is clearly a dove or pigeon of some kind, but I can’t figure it out on my own. Please help. These pictures were taken in Toronto, Canada.
13:53 UTC
Whooper Swan or Tundra Swan? poor picture quality but maybe IDable? (Gotland, Sweden)
13:51 UTC
Found an injured bird on our property. Can anyone tell me what it is?
I live in South Jersey, if it makes it easier. Would also be open to any care tips.
13:30 UTC
My new little robin friend, wondering Gender ID?
Hi everyone, I have this little robin that seems a bit misplaced. Mom is coming around and feeding it, and it is hopefully safe in my backyard so no worries there. I’m curious if anyone can tell the gender of this little friend.
I named it Stormie, cuz it looks like a storm trooper.
Any advice on how I can help this little guy is also appreciated.
Thanks
13:07 UTC
In the Baseball Field
I don’t want to say what I think it is because I don’t want to taint anyone else’s guesses. I know the quality is not great but some people are better than me with silhouettes. There’s about four of these on sandy/grassy terrain. They also make a ton of noise after the sun goes down.
12:00 UTC