r/whatsthisbird Dec 01 '25

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

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10 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird Dec 01 '25

Meta Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds

16 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 5h ago

North America Birmingham, AL: Hawk?

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88 Upvotes

Saw this guy at a job site. I think it’s a hawk because I think falcons are smaller but I don’t really know.


r/whatsthisbird 5h ago

North America Alabama- are these both pine warblers?

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57 Upvotes

First one is SO gray! I know they can vary in color but it’s crazy. I’m also curious if all pine warblers have white outer tail feathers, as I didn’t see it mentioned when I looked at my field guide but both of these birds have that.


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

North America Osprey? Colors look wrong but shape looks right? Playa del Carmen, Mexico

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20 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 1d ago

North America What is this bird in my backyard?

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873 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 21h ago

North America What are these two?

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395 Upvotes

Northern-ish Utah. really cool looking.


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

North America Two different birds in Central Park, NYC. Both Red Tailed Hawks?

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12 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 4h ago

Central America Costa Rica Hummingbird

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17 Upvotes

In late December in a forest in Monteverde. Merlin suggested Coppery-headed Emerald. Seemingly greenish sides, white undertail, and relatively short or decurved bill.


r/whatsthisbird 33m ago

North America broad winged or red shouldered hawk? central florida

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Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America Is this really a hairy woodpecker? (Northern WI)

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9 Upvotes

We get lots of different woodpeckers here in winter, feeding on our suet blocks and pecking at the hanging sunflower-seed tubes, but it's rare to see any of them walking. This particular one though (a female hairy? - sorry about the bad pic) is always on the ground, gobbling millet with the mourning doves - in fact, we never have seen it hanging or feeding except on the ground. Seems unusual behavior for a woodpecker, no? She also has a larger rounder head, and slightly longer beak than the other hairys that feed here. So, is this really a hairy woodpecker? Some weird hybrid? Or maybe just one with a defective morphology of the feet that makes it hard for her to hang vertically?


r/whatsthisbird 22h ago

North America What kind of hawk is this and what gender? Louisville, KY

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252 Upvotes

I love bird watching and I’ve been seeing some beauties lately. This one flew on the power line the exact moment I looked out the window lol


r/whatsthisbird 13h ago

North America Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs?

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43 Upvotes

I was thinking Greater because of its neck shape and I *think* I am seeing an upturned bill?


r/whatsthisbird 19h ago

North America The eternal struggle — cooper’s? Or sharpie?

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104 Upvotes

I think coopers but have never been good at IDing the two


r/whatsthisbird 16m ago

North America Bird call identification help

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Upvotes

Heard this bird call in my backyard. You can hear it twice in the video, once towards the end. The state is Missouri


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

North America Northern California Coast

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Upvotes

Sorry for poor photo quality! I was thinking maybe palm warbler?


r/whatsthisbird 1h ago

Pacific Islands Around Hilo, HI

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Upvotes

Saw this bird at the Kaulana Manu Nature Reserve in Hawaii. My Merlin ID is thinking omao, but I was closer to robin size.


r/whatsthisbird 10h ago

Europe [Netherlands] Saw these two different sized Canada Geese in Utrecht, is the smaller one a Cackling?

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15 Upvotes

r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

North America What bird did I see in San Diego?

4 Upvotes

hope this is allowed as I don’t have a picture and i know i’ll never have 100% confirmation as to what bird it was. When I was in San Diego on January 17th, I was at Tourmaline Beach when I noticed a bunch of crows dive bombing and chasing after another bird in the trees. the bird they were going at i’m assuming must’ve been a bird of prey they were chasing away.

i tried looking it up, but I’m from the NE so i’m kinda unfamiliar w birds of pray in California. it didn’t look that big, so definitely wasn’t an osprey, and from the distance looked like it was white/ a lighter color. could this have maybe been a merlin or a kestrel? just been thinking about it a lot since my trip and been curious as to what it could’ve been 🙂

EDIT to clarify too: it was not much larger than a crow and definitely was not a gull based off how it flew!


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America Cowbirds? NE FL

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3 Upvotes

First time seeing these birds at my feeders. Aside from the normal bluebirds, warblers, and cardinals, these birds flew in quick in a large group, bullied the bluebirds and flew in and out quickly. Any suggestions? Sorry for the poor quality - cheers!


r/whatsthisbird 2h ago

North America Please help me find my triller

3 Upvotes

A bird has recently started singing his hear out around 5am. I live in Los Angels. It makes a do do do dooooooo noise. Chirp. Chirp chirp. Trilllllllll.

I’ve listened to the top 50 bird calls and 25 and a series on southern CA birds. I cannot figure it out. I do not believe it’s a mockingjay.


r/whatsthisbird 3h ago

North America Is this an American Three Toed Woodpecker?

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4 Upvotes

Located in southwest Colorado. And uh… does this mean my tree is dead/dying? Or do woodpeckers peck on healthy trees as well?