/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
438,859 Subscribers
How sure can I be that this is an Ovenbird? It’s for my Life list and I don’t want to count anything that isn’t 100% sure it was seen in the center of North Carolina.
19:27 UTC
Green buddy in Italy
North eastern Italy, cannot find any green parrots online that should be on this part of the globe. Is it a bird species I don't know about? Thanks :)
19:16 UTC
Is this a male pochard? An early winter visitor, perhaps. Oxford, UK Aug 2024
19:08 UTC
Western Flycatcher? (San Diego, CA)
18:53 UTC
Found in the sunflower patch
Saw this little guy or gal in the sunflower patch. Merlin wants to call it a Common Yellowthroat.
18:33 UTC
Dead Bird found in Alberta, Canada
18:26 UTC
Feather ID? Found by a small pond in the woods in MD.
Found this feather near a small pond in the woods in Maryland. It's approximately 2 inches long, and the part at the bottom right is an afterfeather branching off from the shaft.
I've seen wild turkeys, barred owls, great blue herons, and red-shouldered hawks in the area, but can't find a good match online. Thanks!
18:07 UTC
Spotted in French Alps in Town (La Buet)
18:03 UTC
Need help identifying, spotted in Waltham, MA
17:32 UTC
Feather identification?
I just found this in Central Oregon, and would love to know what bird it’s from! Any ideas?
17:16 UTC
What birdsong is this? Mazunte Mexico
16:59 UTC
Can I have help with a verbal description for an ID?
I’m in SE MI & was out kayaking on a rural section of river surrounded by trees. I came up on a shaded, shallow area with exposed river beds.
I saw a small bird, brown on top & a white belly. It was walking around & pecking at the ground. It was about the size of a killdeer but shorter legs. I also saw it bobbing its body around. It flew off making some pip pip noises.
I think it could be a waterthrush but I don’t know if it’s northern or louisiana. I’m not sure if there’s another bird that fits this description either.
Thank you in advance if anyone can give me a suggestion!
16:49 UTC
On a resort in Florida, can anyone help out?
This cute fella has been lounging by us for the last 30 minutes
16:07 UTC
What type of Warbler is this? I'm guessing female?
16:04 UTC
What's this bird in my book of myths?
16:01 UTC
Who's this tall, fall warbler? (northern il)
15:58 UTC
Call ID
I heard this call on 8/23 in the evening in Southeast Michigan. Merlin won’t ID it at all, so it may not even be a bird.
15:46 UTC
What’s this lil guy
Found this lil guy tryna eat some chicken food, what is he? I don’t know nothing bout birds.
15:00 UTC
What is this bird?
Hey everyone. Heard this bird (?) last night around 9pm in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It’s pretty quiet in the video, so you’ll have to crank the volume right up. Any ideas?
14:43 UTC
What are these little birds outside my hotel room in Colombia?
14:29 UTC