/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
410,859 Subscribers
Located in Mississauga, Canada. Some type of hawk or falcon?
Hey y’all, my girlfriend filmed this in her family’s backyard and I was wondering if anybody could tell me what type of bird it is. I’m assuming it’s a type of hawk or falcon but I’m not sure which one. I apologize if the video is not the greatest. Cheers!
13:10 UTC
Gull ID
Hello gull experts:)) I took a picture of this gull and I don't know exactly if is either Larus michahellis or Larus chachinnans. I'm from Romania.
12:17 UTC
Corvid ID? Wilson's Promontory. According to eBird, only Australian Raven, Little Raven or Forest Raven are found there.
11:59 UTC
Another female purple finch? NY
11:55 UTC
Florida, Miami, is it a conure of some sort?
10:58 UTC
Any chance someone could help me ID what bird is making this call? (Central PA)
Merlin said it was most likely a song sparrow but none of their song examples really matched. This call has been waking be up for the past couple days so I’d at least like to know what bird has been pestering me outside my window. Disclaimer: I love birds but this particular call is so incredibly repetitive and loud it’s kind of starting to drive me crazy 😂.
10:49 UTC
Is this a rock dove?
Found this feather where there are a lot of Rock Doves near an airport but can’t find a match in the Feather Atlas for it. Wanted someone to confirm for me. Thanks!
09:59 UTC
What is this?
Järla sjö, Sweden.
09:55 UTC
Bird found on a coloring page? I can't for the life of me figure it out.
04:07 UTC
Is it possible to ID a hawk just from a face shot? This was in Woodland, Ca., the rest of the bird was covered by foliage, and the overwhelming odds that are it's a Swainsons or a Red-Tailed. I'm thinking Swainsons dark phase, juvenile, maybe...
04:05 UTC
Hillsboro Oregon bird of prey?
03:32 UTC
still having trouble in texas
posting the video i took stills from instead because there's clear audio of the calls, as well as the audio i recorded in merlin. this bird is one of a group of 4-5 that were calling back and forth pretty constantly and flying between trees. i'm pretty certain they're some kind of tyrant flycatcher, and i've narrowed it down a little by size and beak color, but i'm otherwise stumped. any help would be appreciated!
this is from around paige texas, and not in a very urban area.
03:14 UTC
What is this bird that makes cool sounds (California)
I have no idea what this bird is, one of my friends thought some sort of kingfisher? It lives in my backyard
02:10 UTC
What is this behavior? ID the big bird if possible please 🙏 (East coast US)
meant to get a closer view
01:38 UTC
Hi all, is this a Cooper’s hawk?
I saw a big bird flying and ran to go find it and got a video, but I could only post a screenshot. I was thinking either a sharp shinned hawk or a Cooper’s hawk but with the rounded tail and being massive I’m leaning toward coopers? Learning why birders get those fancy cameras now 😭 such a missed opportunity! (Southeast New England)
01:33 UTC
Is the left individual a Glossy? (Louisiana)
01:01 UTC
Cormorant off the coast of Southern California
Sorry for the quality, unsure on which cormorant this is.
Thank you!
00:45 UTC
i’ve seen this bird flying a few times but this was the first time i actually was able to get a shot! is this a caracara??
texas
00:42 UTC
What is this bird in my back yard north of Ann Arbor Michigan?
What is this guy? Never heard a call like this in the state of Michigan before.
00:35 UTC
In SW Ontario. Is this an Eastern Screech Owl in my backyard?
The robins in my back yard started chirping like crazy, so I assumed there was a hawk around (I get them in my yard a fair bit), but then I saw this little one!
00:12 UTC
Pointy-Beak Girl?
Found by a pond near Princeton, NJ.
00:02 UTC