Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) Family: Laridae The Caspian Tern is the world’s largest tern at up to 2 feet in length and topping out at an impressive 5 foot wingspan, slightly larger than the Royal Tern, which it superficially resembles. Similar to other terns, the Caspian Tern sports a black hood or skullcap, white plumage […]

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) Family: Ciconiidae Wood Storks are large wading birds with long legs, a long curved bill, and a bald head and neck. They are mostly white with black flight feathers. Wood storks tower over most other wading birds standing over 3 feet tall. They often soar high in the sky, sometimes riding […]

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) Family: Columbidae Mourning Doves are small gray-brown doves with black spots on the wings and a long, thin tail. In flight they show their long tapered tail with white tips. Mourning Doves get their name from their soft, drawn-out coos which sound like laments. Inexperienced listeners can mistake their coo-ah, coo, […]

Purple Martin (Progne subis) Family: Hirundinidae Purple Martins are the largest member of the swallow family in North America. Adult males are iridescent, dark blue-purple overall with brown-black wings and tail. Females and immatures have dusky throats, light bellies, and dull purplish-black upperparts. Purple martins have undergone a complete tradition shift in their nesting behavior. […]

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) Family: Tyrannidae Eastern Wood-Pewees are a medium-sized grayish flycatcher with long wings and tail, short legs, two wing bars, and a peaked crown giving the head a triangular shape. From the front, you can see the sides of the breast are dusky gray with a lighter throat and belly, making it […]

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) Family: Accipitridae Red-tailed Hawks are the most familiar and common large hawk in North America. Like other members of the genus Buteo, they have broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale underneath with a streaked belly. The most defining ID characteristic […]

White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) Family: Vireonidae The White-eyed Vireo is a migratory songbird common throughout much of the eastern United States. Like other vireos, White-eyed Vireos are relatively stocky birds with a thick, straight, and slightly hooked bill. The White-eyed Vireo has a gray head, a pale throat, yellow flanks, an olive back, and two […]

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) Family: Cardinalidae Summer Tanagers are medium-sized, chunky songbirds with big bodies and large heads. They have large, thick, blunt-tipped bills. The strawberry-colored male Summer Tanager is the only completely red bird in North America. Adult females have olive-green upperparts and mustard yellow underparts. First spring males may have varying patches of […]

Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) Family: Apodidae Chimney Swifts are small, grey-brown birds found in Houston from March to October. They are best identified by their silhouette- slender bodies, round heads, long, narrow, curved wings and short, tapered tails. Their wide bills are so short that they are often hard to see. They have a distinctive […]

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) Family: Anatidae The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a large duck with a long neck, long legs, and short tail. They have a chestnut breast and black belly with a bright pink bill and legs. Their face is gray and has a broad, white wing stipe that is visible in flight. True to […]