/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
465,370 Subscribers
Raptor in Westchester, NY today.
February 1, 2025
02:30 UTC
Ramona Grasslands Preserve - 2 raptors
02:13 UTC
Yosemite Silhouette
I liked this picture from Yosemite and was wondering if this is enough detail for an ID. November.
01:52 UTC
What bird are these?
Location is Malaysia.
00:55 UTC
I'm pretty sure this is a buteo but not sure if they are a Red-tailed Hawk or Red-Shouldered Hawk. (San Jose CA)
23:28 UTC
Who is this mohawk bird? Griffith Park, Los Angeles CA
ChatGPT thinks it’s a Steelers Jay, but I’ve never seen one that doesn’t have blue! Belly was white. Who is this?
23:19 UTC
Sorry it’s blurry
Sorry this is the best image I was able to get. It was 6-8 inches. Almost blue jay sized. In western Ohio. I’m usually pretty good with local birds but I don’t know this.
23:15 UTC
Raptor ID with poor quality photo
I have seen this bird a few times in my yard. I apologize for the poor photo quality. It's back appears to be a darker brown color; I wasn't able to get a picture. Location is southeast Michigan, US. It was diving after mice in my field.
22:37 UTC
Whats this little fella?
21:48 UTC
Owl ID based on hooting
Location: Raleigh NC, USA. The calls sound like “hip-hip-hooray!” (Number of “hips” varies a little sometimes). One will start and then a handful of others start to join. Usually we hear them at night, but late afternoon sometimes too. I’ve never seen them, so I’d love to put a name and a face to these guys!
21:46 UTC
It was quite far away but what bird is this ?
21:33 UTC
ID request: DT San Francisco, California. Sopping wet, lethargic
Also any recs for who to call to help this poor guy?
21:32 UTC