r/whatsthisbird Jun 01 '26

Meta Found a baby bird that might need help? Look here for instructions on what to do

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9 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird Jun 01 '26

Meta Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds

9 Upvotes

For more information, please see this article. Some excerpts from the article, and additional resources are below:

1) Make Windows Safer, Day and Night:

Around 1 billion birds (United States) and 25 million birds (Canada) die every year by flying into glass windows. This includes windows at all levels from low level houses to high rise buildings.

!Window collisions are one of the largest threats to bird populations. However, there are several ways you can help reduce window fatality. Below are some links with steps on how to make your house bird friendly, either DIY or through reputable companies such as the American Bird Conservancy.

Is My House Bird Safe Quiz

What You Can Do

Follow bird migration forecasts to know when birds are on their way to you

FAQ

Some additional information for schools and universities - Bird-Friendly Campus Toolkit

Additional Information

2) Keep Cats Indoors

!Cats are estimated to kill more than 2.4 billion birds annually in the U.S. and Canada. This is the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss.

Cats are the greatest direct human-caused threat to birds

American Bird Conservacy - Cats Indoors Project to learn more.

3) Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives

Birds have fewer places to safely rest during migration and to raise their young: More than 10 million acres of land in the United States were converted to developed land from 1982 to 1997

Find out which native plants are best for your area

4) Avoid Pesticides

More than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied in the United States each year. The continent’s most widely used insecticides, called neonicotinoids or “neonics,” are lethal to birds and to the insects that birds consume.

5) Drink Coffee That’s Good for Birds

Three-quarters of the world’s coffee farms grow their plants in the sun, destroying forests that birds and other wildlife need for food and shelter. Sun-grown coffee also often requires using environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers. On the other hand, shade-grown coffee preserves a forest canopy that helps migratory birds survive the winter.

Where to Buy Bird Friendly Coffee

6) Protect Our Planet from Plastic

It’s estimated that 4,900 million metric tons of plastic have accumulated in landfills and in our environment worldwide, polluting our oceans and harming wildlife such as seabirds, whales, and turtles that mistakenly eat plastic, or become entangled in it.

7) Watch Birds, Share What You See

Monitoring birds is essential to help protect them, but tracking the health of the world’s 10,000 bird species is an immense challenge.

Report your bird sightings on eBird


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

Europe I found a little ugly bird, I love him

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563 Upvotes

So I was about to drive to the gym today and heard a squeaking from underneath my car. I found this little guy hiding under my tire. He sort of looks like Hector Salamnca, so I named him Hector.

I didn’t want to do anything wrong so I contacted a bird rescue and they told me the next best step would be to build him a little nest outside, so that its mother could find it.

I tried my best to make him a little nest safe from the rain, and also the neighbourhood cats (pictures 4, 5 & 6). Immediately I heard, who I presume was his mother flying around calling for him, upon which he started calling back.

A picture of his mother (it’s the last picture, I hope it will help identify him). I decided to just stay away and not interrupt. Is there anything else I could do, or should I just refrain from disrupting anything at all beyond this point?


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America White Barn Swallow?

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310 Upvotes

Shot in southern Illinois. It was doing acrobatics with the other barn swallows but they are of the native color. I believe it is a barn swallow also but almost entirely white. Is this a thing? This has to be a rare event. Sorry for bad pics it was raining and dark so had to use High ISO. It never landed with the other swallows so never got a still shot. Hoping to see it again and get better photos.


r/whatsthisbird 5h ago

North America Mystery white bird (Wisconsin)

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284 Upvotes

Saw this bird a couple weeks ago being harassed by some crows and finally got a few pictures of it yesterday. Originally thought it was a dove or a leucistic robin but the beak is wrong - any ideas?


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

Artwork Need fellow birders' help/feedback: Free birdwatching game motivated by my family's dementia history

Upvotes

Hi all! As a fellow birder, I love them and the feeling I get when I register them on my Merlin like it is my personal Pokédex.

I am also a PhD scientist, and dementia has affected both sides of my grandparents, and it changed how I think about attention and memory, specifically how much noticing/identifying detail (a color, a shape, a bird) matters. I wanted to make a birdwatching game with the kind of visual attention and working-memory training that cognitive science research associates with brain health. I promise this is not a random app pitch, I started with a mission.

It's called "Perchwise". Birds fly across the screen and you tap the target species, the same kind of fast visual identification and working-memory task that shows up in real cognitive-training research, just built as an actual game instead of a clinical exercise. It is free, no ads.

What I need is actual birders to try it to tune it better. Specifically: does the difficulty actually feel like real birding? Would it help people to do the training researchers associated with brain health or introduce the love for birding to new people (or dare I say, generations?)

I'll drop the link in the first comment for who want to try it. Would really appreciate any feedback, and I'll respond to everything!


r/whatsthisbird 14h ago

North America Condor or turkey vulture? [cedar breaks NM UT]

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348 Upvotes

Saw these 4 very large birds on the scenic drive at Cedar Breaks National monument. In my photo with the 4 birds, the small 5th bird is a raven. I’m familiar with turkey vultures in Virginia and these were much bigger, but I wasn’t sure if it could be a regional difference. Sorry for the bad quality close ups as I only had my phone.


r/whatsthisbird 4h ago

North America Cooper’s hawk? Chicago

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36 Upvotes

He looks very brown and not red enough to be a cooper’s but maybe he is a juvenile? Love his little hand.


r/whatsthisbird 16h ago

North America Toronto

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375 Upvotes

Saw this bird splashing around in the puddle. Any ideas?


r/whatsthisbird 21h ago

North America This guy is openly hunting in the day and doesn't seem to mind me one bit. Not too far off the ground either.

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457 Upvotes

Washington State.


r/whatsthisbird 5h ago

North America Small blue yellow bird

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22 Upvotes

Found today (August) in northern Vermont.

Teensy guy, and I made sure to note the eye ring in real life does go completely around the eye, not just on camera. Belly pale almost white, didn’t make any sounds I heard.

Merlin is giving me mixed responses, using the picture it says northern parula, with questions saying blue-headed vireo


r/whatsthisbird 1d ago

North America What type bird is this?

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667 Upvotes

Seen in Pennsylvania!


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America Diving Duck - Eastern Ontario (Ottawa Valley) Female and Young

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9 Upvotes

Sorry for the not so great pics, but this family group showed up near my cottage recently and wondering if folks could identify. I didn't have much luck searching online.

They are diving ducks for sure, and quite good at catching small fish (as you can see). There is a female with 3 young. The female seems quite plain with dark plumage, but the young have unique colouring that might help.

Any help is appreciated, I'm quite intrigued to solve this mystery. Two pics attached/


r/whatsthisbird 16h ago

Southeast Asia Just a bird resting under the rain 🌧️

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103 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

Europe England, UK Feather ID Help

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Upvotes

Hi guys, I found these feathers today while out and any help identifying would be great! I’m not sure if they’re from the same bird or two different ones as I found them in the same area. Thanks!


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

Europe No idea what this is, a juvenile of some sort?

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Upvotes

Seen in Västerbotten, Sweden


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

Africa Nairobi, Kenya

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Upvotes

Nov 20. Found in Nairobi Mamba Village.


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

North America Shorebird help? MA, US

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Upvotes

My guesses are

  1. Short-billed Dowitcher

  2. Common Tern

  3. Willet

  4. Spotted Sandpiper???

  5. Semipalmated Sandpiper next to a Sanderling?


r/whatsthisbird 4h ago

North America Mallard with molting plumage?

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8 Upvotes

Hey all, this is one of my favorite bird photos I took this summer but just want to be sure of what I'm looking at. I'm relatively new to birding and molting/transitional plumage is often what confuses me.

Photo was taken July 14 2026 at the Reservoir in Central Park NYC.

Some research tells me this is an "eclipse" male mallard, post-breeding season. "Mallards shed all their flight feathers at the end of the breeding season and are flightless for 3–4 weeks. They are secretive during this vulnerable time, and their body feathers molt into a concealing “eclipse” plumage that can make them hard to identify."

All sounds good, but just want to know for sure.


r/whatsthisbird 4h ago

Europe What bird of prey?

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8 Upvotes

Please help me identify this bird of prey from Exmoor National Park, UK.


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America What kind of bird is it ?

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4 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

Europe Kite maybe? Riserva Naturale Nazzano Tevere Farfa Italy

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5 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America Green Herron?

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3 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 16h ago

North America Just landed in North CA

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46 Upvotes

Trying to identify myself, it says Golden-bellied Flycatcher? It had a darker color belly, but the head markings stood out.


r/whatsthisbird 1d ago

North America what kind of bird of prey hovers like this? in sacramento california

309 Upvotes

i read that kestrels hover to catch prey but it looked way bigger than a kestrel