Crested Shelduck
Tadorna cristata
Three specimens exist. Last credible sighting 1964. Officially maybe.
In rotation now
Field guide
Every bird that can currently turn up, rarest first. This list changes during seasonal events โ some birds only appear for a few weeks a year.
Legendary
4
Dodo
Raphus cucullatus
Gone within a century of being found. The byword for gone.
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Campephilus principalis
The Lord God Bird. Declared extinct, still argued about.
Spix's Macaw
Cyanopsitta spixii
Extinct in the wild for two decades. Recently released back.
Endemic
7
Blakiston's Fish Owl
Ketupa blakistoni
The Ainu call it the god that protects the village. Largest owl alive.
Brown Eared Pheasant
Crossoptilon mantchuricum
White ear tufts like a moustache. Only in a few Chinese mountains.
California Condor
Gymnogyps californianus
Twenty-two left in 1987. Every one was caught to save the species.
Kฤkฤpล
Strigops habroptilus
Flightless nocturnal parrot. Around 250 individuals exist.
Philippine Eagle
Pithecophaga jefferyi
National bird. Seven-foot wingspan. Around 400 pairs remain.
Scottish Crossbill
Loxia scotica
Britain's only endemic bird. Crossed bill prises open pine cones.
Shoebill
Balaeniceps rex
Stares directly through you. Clatters its bill like gunfire.
Vagrant
5
Black-browed Albatross
Thalassarche melanophris
One lived alone off Yorkshire for years, courting gannets.
Chinese Pond Heron
Ardeola bacchus
Drab in flight until the wings open, and it is suddenly white.
Ross's Gull
Rhodostethia rosea
A pink gull from the high Arctic. Almost a rumor.
Steller's Sea Eagle
Haliaeetus pelagicus
One wandered North America for years. Birders chased it for years.
Varied Thrush
Ixoreus naevius
A single held note in a wet forest. Turns up in Europe by accident.
Rare
6
American Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
Stands on one leg out of habit. The pink comes from what it eats.
Atlantic Puffin
Fratercula arctica
The bill only goes orange for the summer. Off-season it is drab.
Crested Ibis
Nipponia nippon
Down to seven birds in 1981. Every one alive descends from them.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
Fastest animal alive. Stoops at over 200 mph.
Red-crowned Crane
Grus japonensis
Tancho. A thousand paper ones buys a wish. Pairs dance for life.
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus
Arctic ghost. Some winters it comes south. Most it does not.
Notable
7
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
On the seal since 1782. The screech in films is a Red-tailed Hawk.
Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae
In 1932 Australia sent soldiers with machine guns. The emus won.
Golden Pheasant
Chrysolophus pictus
The bird the fenghuang was drawn from. Somehow real.
Green Pheasant
Phasianus versicolor
Japan's national bird. Kiji, of the Momotaro story.
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Buceros rhinoceros
Sarawak's state bird. The female seals herself into the nest.
Toco Toucan
Ramphastos toco
That bill is mostly air, and doubles as a radiator.
White Stork
Ciconia ciconia
Nests on German chimneys. Blamed for babies since forever.
Uncommon
8
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Catches every meal mid-air, at speed.
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Loud, brilliant, and a shameless mimic of hawks.
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
Britain's national bird. Follows gardeners for the turned worms.
Greater Roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus
Runs at 20 mph. Eats rattlesnakes. Has never said meep meep.
Korean Magpie
Pica sericea
Korea's national bird. A visitor is coming.
Laughing Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineae
The dawn chorus that sounds like a crowd laughing at you.
Mandarin Duck
Aix galericulata
Yuanyang, the marriage symbol. One turned up in Central Park and stopped New York.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua galerita
Solved the wheelie bin. Taught the other bins.
Common
9
Asian Koel
Eudynamys scolopaceus
The call that will not let you sleep in. Never seen, always heard.
Australian White Ibis
Threskiornis molucca
Bin chicken. Was sacred in Egypt. Now it has your chips.
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Holds the park. Will not be negotiated with.
House Crow
Corvus splendens
Runs the rooftops. Knows your routine better than you do.
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Everywhere humans are. Chatty, scruffy, unbothered.
Japanese White-eye
Zosterops japonicus
Mejiro. Arrives with the plum blossom, leaves with it.
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
That mournful cooing people mistake for an owl.
Oriental Magpie
Pica serica
The magpie bridge of Qixi. Seeing one is good luck.
Rufous-bellied Thrush
Turdus rufiventris
Brazil's national bird. Sings the country awake.