List of birds of North America

The lists of birds in the light blue box below are divided by biological family. The lists are based on The AOS Check-list of North American Birds of the American Ornithological Society[1] supplemented with checklists from Panama, Greenland, and Bermuda . It includes the birds of Greenland, Canada, the United States (excluding Hawaii), Mexico, Central America, Bermuda, and the Caribbean Islands.

"Birds of North America" redirects here. For the book, see Birds of North America (book).
The first edition of the Check-list of North American Birds of the American Ornithological Society, published in 1886

Taxonomy

The taxonomic treatment[2] (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the accompanying bird lists adheres to the conventions of the AOS's (2020) Check-list of North American Birds, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North America birds. The AOS's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the body responsible for maintaining and updating the Check-list, "strongly and unanimously continues to endorse the biological species concept (BSC), in which species are considered to be genetically cohesive groups of populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups" (AOS 2020). The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is an alternative phylogenetic arrangement based on DNA-DNA hybridization.


Tinamous

Order: Tinamiformes   Family: Tinamidae

The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of bird. Although they look similar to other ground-dwelling birds like quail and grouse, they have no close relatives and are classified as a single family, Tinamidae, within their own order, the Tinamiformes. They are distantly related to the ratites (order Struthioniformes), which includes the rheas, emus, and kiwis.

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl
Canada goose

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.

Guans, chachalacas, and curassows
Black guan, Chamaepetes unicolor

Order: Galliformes   Family: Cracidae

The chachalacas, guans and curassows are birds in the family Cracidae. These are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colorful facial ornaments.

Guineafowl
Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris)

Order: Galliformes   Family: Numididae

Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage.

New World quail
California quail

Order: Galliformes   Family: Odontophoridae

The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.

  • Tawny-faced quail, Rhynchortyx cinctus LC
  • Mountain quail, Oreortyx pictus LC
  • Buffy-crowned wood-partridge, Dendrortyx leucophrys LC
  • Long-tailed wood-partridge, Dendrortyx macroura LC
  • Bearded wood-partridge, Dendrortyx barbatus VU
  • Banded quail, Philortyx fasciatus LC
  • Northern bobwhite, Colinus virginianus NT (Masked bobwhite C. v. ridgwayi : E)
  • Black-throated bobwhite, Colinus nigrogularis LC
  • Crested bobwhite, Colinus cristatus LC
  • Scaled quail, Callipepla squamata LC
  • Elegant quail, Callipepla douglasii LC
  • California quail, Callipepla californica LC
  • Gambel's quail, Callipepla gambelii LC
  • Montezuma quail, Cyrtonyx montezumae LC (Merriam's Montezuma quail C. m. merriami: E)
  • Ocellated quail, Cyrtonyx ocellatus VU
  • Singing quail, Dactylortyx thoracicus LC
  • Marbled wood-quail, Odontophorus gujanensis NT
  • Black-eared wood-quail, Odontophorus melanotis LC
  • Tacarcuna wood-quail, Odontophorus dialeucos VU
  • Black-breasted wood-quail, Odontophorus leucolaemus LC
  • Spotted wood-quail, Odontophorus guttatus LC

Pheasants, grouse, and allies
Wild turkey

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.


Flamingos
Caribbean flamingo

Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos (genus Phoenicopterus monotypic in family Phoenicopteridae) are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.

Grebes
Clark's grebe

Order: Podicipediformes   Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-sized diving birds. They breed on fresh water, but often visit the sea when migrating and in winter. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers; however, their feet are placed far back on their bodies, making them quite ungainly on land.

Pigeons and doves
Inca dove

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Cuckoos
Black-billed cuckoo

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs.

Nightjars and allies
Common nighthawk

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically coloured to resemble bark or leaves.

Oilbird

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Steatornithidae

Potoos

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Nyctibiidae

Swifts
White-throated swift

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Apodidae

The swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.

Hummingbirds
Ruby-throated hummingbird

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

See also

References
  1. "The AOU Check-list of North American Birds, 7th Edition". The American Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 February 2015. This publication is the official source on the taxonomy of birds found in North and Middle America, including adjacent islands.
  2. Clements, James F. (2000). Birds of the World: A Checklist (fifth and supplements up to July, 2005 ed.). Vista, California: Ibis Publishing. ISBN 0-934797-16-1.
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