What Bird Was That?

A Key to Finding Out

 

This table does not contain an exhaustive list of birds found in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, but represents some of the more common or notable birds.

Use the guide by moving down the lefthand column to a category that most closely matches the bird you found. Then work across the columns to discover the name of the bird. Click on the link to find a photograph, listen to its call, and learn some fascinating facts about the bird.

 

Color	Size*	Likely Species
White/Very Light	Very Large	Great Egret
	Large	Herring Gull
Black	Very Large	Bald Eagle Turkey Vulture Double-crested Cormorant
	Large	American Crow American Coot
	Medium	Red-winged Blackbird Baltimore Oriole Common Grackle
	Small	Starling
Black/White	Small	Hairy Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Yellow	Small	American Goldfinch Yellow Warbler
Blue (or bluish)	Very Large	Great Blue Heron
	Medium	Blue Jay Belted Kingfisher
	Small	Bluebird Tree Swallow Barn Swallow
Orange/Black	Medium	Baltimore Oriole American Robin
Red (or with some red)	Large	Ring-necked Pheasant
	Medium	Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak Red-winged Blackbird Bluebird American Robin
	Small	House Finch Barn Swallow
Brown or Brown/White	Very Large	Bald Eagle Canada Goose
	Large	Ring-necked Pheasant
	Medium	Spotted Sandpiper Killdeer Pied-billed Grebe Northern Flicker Brown Thrasher Mourning Dove
	Small	House Finch House Sparrow Bank Swallow
Green or iridescent (head only)	Large	Mallard Wood Duck
Gray (or mostly gray)	Very Large	Great Blue Heron
	Large	Mallard
	Medium	Rock Dove (Pigeon)
	Small	Black-capped Chickadee

*Size
Very Large: eagle/hawk
Large: Duck
Medium: Robin/Blue Jay
Small: Sparrow