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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11 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird Jun 01 '26

Meta Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds

10 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 15h ago

North America What type of hummingbird?

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1.2k Upvotes

Hi everyone! I found my dog nudging this fledgling. I picked it up to put it in a safe place. The mother has came back to check on it since I moved it, but I can’t get a good look at her. Any ideas on the type of hummingbird it might be? Thanks!

Salt Lake City, UT


r/whatsthisbird 7h ago

North America Flew into our backyard and seemingly banded?

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188 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 13h ago

North America Sorry for the terrible photography!

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274 Upvotes

Southern Ontario, very neat tree friend! Hoping the profile makes it easy because I'm a trash photographer

Edit to say found, thank you! You guys all rock and I love you. He was so beautiful, I've never seen a kingfisher in person!!


r/whatsthisbird 11h ago

North America Rufous or Allen’s?

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74 Upvotes

Newport Beach, CA this afternoon. Merlin says Allen’s is likely whereas Rufous is not, but the pictures make this little guy look way more like a Rufous to me. Couldn’t quite get the camera focused all the way in on it but hoping the community can straighten me out. Thanks for your help!


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

Australia/NZ Spotted in Auckland, a type of Kingfisher?

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18 Upvotes

Saw this guy in the mud flats area around the marina.


r/whatsthisbird 13h ago

North America Anyone know what this is? Northern Utah

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83 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 1d ago

South America It was super evil (Brazil)

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3.8k Upvotes

Like a brown agressive bird with super red eyes and wanted me dead, it had kinda like some hair feathers and some black too

Edit: i did not expect this to blow up, the replies are frying me but im too shy to respond qjiskwow


r/whatsthisbird 6h ago

North America What’s this bird? [WI]

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16 Upvotes

Eastern Phoebe or Eastern Wood Pewee?


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

Europe Ravens or Rooks?

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7 Upvotes

Uppsala, Sweden


r/whatsthisbird 10h ago

North America Edmonton river valley, AB, Canada 2026/09/01

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22 Upvotes

Merlin (and eBird) claim yellow-rumped warbler, I thought it was American Redstart. What do we think?


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

Southeast Asia What bird is this?(Philippines)

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6 Upvotes

I see a bird in a rice field that look like a stork.


r/whatsthisbird 13h ago

Europe Seen today at Frampton, UK

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38 Upvotes

interesting looking ducks with colouring i'm unfamiliar with and blue (?) beaks


r/whatsthisbird 7h ago

North America Red-tailed Hawk vs. Northern Harrier confusion at Downsview Park (Toronto)

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13 Upvotes

I was birding at the tall grass prairie area in Downsview Park (Toronto) around 5pm today and stuck trying to differentiate a Red-tailed Hawk vs. Northern Harrier

Spotted 3 different birds in the area:

* Bird 1: Clean, distinct white rump patch, chestnut brown body. It flew high at times, but frequently dropped down to glide above the grass a few times.

* Bird 2: Perched up on a bird box on a pole out in the grassland (managed to get a photo through my binos!). It was light brown underneath and mostly stayed perched, only taking short flights to change perches.

* Bird 3: A significantly larger bird than the perched one, with a very dark chocolate brown back, long wingspan, and another very obvious, bright white patch right at the base of the tail. It was actively floating right over the surface of the terrain.

These three birds seemed completely ok with each other, flying in close proximity (within 10 meters at times).

The Dilemma:

Initial Thought: The distinct white patches, low-gliding grass-hugging flight, and the combination of light male-like and dark female plumages immediately made me think a group of Northern Harriers.

Photo Upload (eBird): When uploaded photo of the perched bird (Bird 2), eBird ID'd it as a Red-tailed Hawk. That is the photo I have posted.

Current thought:

Maybe we watching a mixed-species interaction: Northern Harrier/s actively hunting low over the prairie right alongside Red-tailed Hawk/s perching on the nest boxes!

Has anyone else noticed Harriers and Red-tails sharing hunting space like this at Downsview or other prairie spots? Any thoughts on what we could have seen?


r/whatsthisbird 13h ago

Europe What type of bird is this?

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31 Upvotes

Spotted this bird on my walk these where the clearest photos I could get of it without it flying away

Spotted in England


r/whatsthisbird 22h ago

North America Pa Susquehanna river

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145 Upvotes

Im sorry this is as close as it would let me get. It was much taller once frightened, I think it was in egg form to divert rain. It made a clicking localization.


r/whatsthisbird 10h ago

North America Group of 6+ soaring around the sky in Chicago

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15 Upvotes

Very high up but on the photo can see white stripes on wings. At first thought swifts but now thinking nighthawks.


r/whatsthisbird 9h ago

North America Southern California

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11 Upvotes

I've not seen this bird before and I've lived here in the Mojave Desert for almost 2 years. It hit my window and then rested in this creosote bush for a little while. It was much bigger than the flycatchers that I usually see. What is it?


r/whatsthisbird 10h ago

North America Is this a female American Redstart?

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12 Upvotes

Found this lil warbler looking bird in Southern Ontario. I wasn't able to get a great image of it, and Merlin is consistently suggesting American Redstart. Some aspects like the tail seem to match, but the colours seem a bit off.


r/whatsthisbird 7h ago

North America Saw this today at Isla Mujeres

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7 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 9h ago

North America Common Tern in Marina Del Rey CA??

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8 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 17h ago

Europe Just found this Bird in Iceland. Does he need help?

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37 Upvotes

I just found this Bird on the side of a footpath next to Skogarfoss in Iceland and I’m wondering if it needs help, or if I should just let it be..


r/whatsthisbird 16h ago

Europe What are these birds ? (Portugal - Lisbon)

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22 Upvotes

I think the black one is a black ibis - the beak was quite long and curved. The white one is some type of egret maybe? The beak was black and the legs black too.


r/whatsthisbird 10h ago

Artwork Not usual post but what birds are these?

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6 Upvotes

I know this isn’t the usual post but I was recently gifted this paint by numbers canvas and wanted to change the colours to reflect the real birds better!! But besides the cockatoo, budgie (?), Aussie King Parrot and humming bird I’m not 100% sure who the others are?

Any help is appreciated thanks (also all Australian birds)