In calm weather the Sooty Shearwater flies low over the ocean with quick, stiff beats of its narrow wings; in windy conditions, it glides and scales effortlessly over the waves. Sociable at sea, it is ...

A common seabird off the Atlantic Coast, seldom coming close to shore except during storms. The Great Shearwater often forages in flocks. Commonly feeds around fishing boats, fighting over scraps and ...

Often the most common and widespread gull in North America, especially inland, and numbers are probably still increasing. Sociable at all seasons; concentrations at nesting colonies or at winter ...

The Western Gull is the only gull nesting along most of the Pacific Coast from Washington to Baja, this large species is common at all seasons. An opportunist, it often nests around colonies of other ...

Common along tropical and subtropical shores, the Royal Tern is a characteristic sight along the Gulf Coast and southern Atlantic Coast, less numerous in California. Aside from a few interior ...

Often shown in documentaries about the Galapagos, where pairs bow and shuffle and show off their blue feet, the Blue-footed Booby also nests as far north as western Mexico. In some years, small ...

This regal bird is the largest of our soaring Buteo hawks, a fitting raptor for the wide skies and windswept plains of the west. It soars with its broad wings held in a shallow V, and swoops down to ...

The haunting songs of the Varied Thrush echo through the dense humid forests of the Pacific Northwest. Long minor-key whistles repeated after deliberate pauses, they seem like sounds without a source; ...

In southeastern swamps in summer, this bright golden warbler sings from high in the trees. The Prothonotary Warbler is unique among eastern warblers in its habit of nesting in holes in trees, rather ...

During summer in Alaska and western Canada, scattered Bohemian Waxwings may be seen perching on spruce tops and flying out to catch insects in mid-air. In winter these same birds become sociable ...

The Belted Kingfisher is widespread across most of North America but wanders widely, sometimes found in Britian, Ireland, Hawaii, Galapagos Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and the Netherlands. It is ...

Our most beautiful bird of prey, striking in its shape, its pattern, and its extraordinarily graceful flight. Hanging motionless in the air, swooping and gliding, rolling upside down and then zooming ...