A comprehensive listing of all the bird species confirmed in the United States follows. It includes species from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of July 2022. Species confirmed in other U.S. territories are also included with other "as of" dates.
 The birds of the continental United States most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to the continent as part of the supercontinent Laurasia until around 60 million years ago. Many groups occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere and worldwide. However some groups unique to the New World have also arisen; those represented in the list are the hummingbirds, the New World vultures, the New World quail, the tyrant flycatchers, the vireos, the mimids, the New World warblers, the tanagers, the cardinals, and the icterids.
 Several common birds in the United States, such as the house sparrow, the rock pigeon, the European starling, and the mute swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to North America, but were brought there by humans. Introduced species are marked as (I). In addition, many non-native species which have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America are not on the list. It is especially true of birds that are commonly held as pets, such as parrots and finches.
 The status of one bird on the list, the ivory-billed woodpecker, is controversial. Until 2005, the bird was widely considered to be extinct. In April of that year, it was reported that at least one adult male bird had been sighted in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. The report, however, has not been universally accepted, and the American Birding Association still lists the ivory-billed woodpecker as extinct.
 Hawaii has many endemic bird species (such as the Kauaʻi ʻelepaio) that are vulnerable or endangered, and some have become extinct. The number of birds on Guam has been severely reduced by introduced brown tree snakes — several endemic species on Guam (such as the Guam flycatcher) have become extinct, while others (such as the Guam rail) have become extinct in the wild. Guam rails have since been reintroduced to the wild on Guam and Rota. There are many endemic bird species in Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, while American Samoa has South Pacific bird species (such as the many-colored fruit dove) found in no other part of the United States.
  The majority of this list is derived from the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 63rd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Bird Checklists of the World (Avibase). The geographic territory of that source which applies to the article is the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, the adjacent islands under the jurisdiction of those states, Puerto Rico, and the American Virgin Islands.
 The article also includes birds found in the other U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands). In total, the list of birds in the article includes bird species found in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.
 The source for birds in the U.S. territories is the Avibase website: Bird checklists of the world (American Samoa), Bird checklists of the world (Guam), Bird checklists of the world (Northern Mariana Islands), Bird checklists of the world (Puerto Rico), Bird checklists of the world (United States Virgin Islands), and Bird Checklists of the world (U.S. Minor Outlying Islands).
 When a bird's presence in the U.S. only occurs within a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico, the name of the territory is noted alongside the bird's name.
 For species found in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the list are those of the AOS, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North and Middle American birds. However, the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them. 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". The sequence and names of families and species found in American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands follow the Clements taxonomy because the AOS does not address those areas.
 Unless otherwise noted, the species listed here are considered to occur regularly in the United States as permanent residents, summer or winter residents or visitors, or annual migrants. The following tags are used to designate some species:
 The (A) and (C) tags correspond to the codes 5 and 4 respectively of the American Birding Association. The (E), (Ex), and (I) tags describe species' status according to the AOS. The (EH) tags follow the AOS list and the (EM) tags are based on the Clements taxonomy.
 Population status symbols are those of the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The symbols apply to the species' worldwide status, not their status solely in the United States except for endemic species. The symbols and their meanings, in increasing order of peril, are:
 LC = least concern
NT = near threatened
VU = vulnerable
EN = endangered
CR = critically endangered
EW = extinct in the wild
EX = extinct
 This list contains 1125 species found in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of these 1125, 155 are tagged as accidental, 101 as casual, and 55 as introduced. Thirty-three are known to be extinct and one, the thick-billed parrot, has been extirpated though a population remains in Mexico. Thirty-three living species are endemic to Hawaii; an additional 28 former Hawaiian endemics are known to be extinct and a few others are thought to be. Sixteen species are endemic to the 48 contiguous states and one to Alaska.
 There are an additional 146 species whose presence in the United States is only within one or more U.S. territories; some of those species have become extinct. The total number of bird species on the list is 1267 (i.e. the 1120 bird species found in the 50 states and District of Columbia, plus the 146 species found only in the U.S. territories). Some of the species found in the 50 states and District of Columbia are also found in the U.S. territories.
 Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae
 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, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.
 Order: Galliformes   Family: Megapodiidae
 The Megapodiidae are stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet. All but the malleefowl occupy jungle habitats and most have brown or black coloring.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae
 Flamingos 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.
 Order: Podicipediformes   Family: Podicipedidae
 Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
 Order: Pterocliformes   Family: Pteroclidae
 Sandgrouse have small pigeon-like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Their legs are feathered down to the toes.
 Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae
 Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. They feed on seeds, fruit, and plants. Unlike most other birds, the doves and pigeons produce "crop milk," which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Both sexes produce the highly nutritious substance to feed to the young.
 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.
 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 colored to resemble bark or leaves.
 Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Nyctibiidae
 Potoos are a group of large near passerine birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. These are nocturnal insectivores which lack the bristles around the mouth found in the true nightjars.
 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.
 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.
 Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae
 Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. The most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.
 Order: Gruiformes   Family: Heliornithidae
 Finfoots resemble rails; they have long necks, slender bodies, broad tails, and sharp, pointed bills. Their legs and feet are brightly colored. The family has three species and only the sungrebe is found in the New World.
 Order: Gruiformes   Family: Aramidae
 The limpkin is an odd bird that looks like a large rail, but is skeletally closer to the cranes. It is found in marshes with some trees or scrub in the Caribbean, South America, and southern Florida.
 Order: Gruiformes   Family: Gruidae
 Cranes are large, long-legged, and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Burhinidae
 The thick-knees are a group of waders found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes, and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Recurvirostridae
 Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Haematopodidae
 The oystercatchers are large, obvious, and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae
 The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Jacanidae
 The jacanas are a family of waders found worldwide within the tropical zone. They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae
 Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Glareolidae
 The pratincoles have short legs, very long pointed wings, and long forked tails. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding. Their flight is fast and graceful like that of a swallow or a tern, with many twists and turns to pursue their prey.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Stercorariidae
 Skuas are in general medium to large birds, typically with gray or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They have longish bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large dark gulls, but have a fleshy cere above the upper mandible. They are strong, acrobatic fliers.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Alcidae
 Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colors, their upright posture, and some of their habits. However, they are only distantly related to the penguins and are able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae
 Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed by flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish.
 Order: Phaethontiformes   Family: Phaethontidae
 Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their long wings have black markings, as does the head.
 Order: Gaviiformes   Family: Gaviidae
 Loons are aquatic birds, the size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. Their plumage is largely gray or black, and they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well and fly adequately, but are almost hopeless on land, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body.
 Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Diomedeidae
 The albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.
 Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Oceanitidae
 The storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like. Until 2018, these species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae.
 Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Hydrobatidae
 Though the members of the family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.
 Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae
 The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
 Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae
 Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills, and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and are mute.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Fregatidae
 Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae
 The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Anhingidae
 Anhingas are cormorant-like water birds with very long necks and long straight beaks. They are fish eaters which often swim with only their neck above the water.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae
 Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored skin on the face. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed.
 Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Pelecanidae
 Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes.
 Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae
 The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills.
 Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Threskiornithidae
 The family Threskiornithidae includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings. Their bodies tend to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills.
 Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae
 The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers. However, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they locate carcasses.
 Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae
 Pandionidae is a monotypic family of fish-eating birds of prey. Its single species possesses a very large and powerful hooked beak, strong legs, strong talons, and keen eyesight.
 Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae
 Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight.
 Order: Strigiformes   Family: Tytonidae
 Owls in the family Tytonidae are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces.
 Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae
 Typical or "true" owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
 Order: Trogoniformes   Family: Trogonidae
 Trogons are residents of tropical forests worldwide with the greatest diversity in Central and South America. They feed on insects and fruit, and their broad bills and weak legs reflect their diet and arboreal habits. Although their flight is fast, they are reluctant to fly any distance. Trogons do not migrate. Trogons have soft, often colorful, feathers with distinctive male and female plumage. They nest in holes in trees or termite nests, laying white or pastel-colored eggs.
 Order: Upupiformes   Family: Upupidae
 Hoopoes spend much time on the ground hunting insects and worms. This black, white, and pink bird is quite unmistakable, especially in its erratic flight, which is like that of a giant butterfly. The crest is erectile, but is mostly kept closed. It walks on the ground like a starling. The song is a trisyllabic oop-oop-oop, which gives rise to its English and scientific names.
 Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Todidae
 Todies are a group of small near passerine forest species endemic to the Caribbean. These birds have colorful plumage and resembles kingfishers, but have flattened bills with serrated edges. They eat small prey such as insects and lizards.
 Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae
 Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.
 Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Coraciidae
 Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colorful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not.
 Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae
 Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
 Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae
 Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
 Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Cacatuidae
 Cockatoos share many features with true parrots (family Psittacidae) including the characteristic curved beak shape and a zygodactyl foot, with two forward toes and two backwards toes. They differ, however in a number of characteristics, including the movable headcrest, and their lack of the Dyck texture feather composition, which gives many parrots their iridescent colors. Cockatoos are also, on average, larger than the true parrots.
 Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittacidae
 Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from 8 cm (3.1 in) to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Most of the more than 150 species in this family are found in the New World.
 Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittaculidae
 Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from 8 cm (3.1 in) to 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tityridae
 Tityridae is family of suboscine passerine birds found in forest and woodland in the Neotropics. The approximately 30 species in this family were formerly lumped with the families Pipridae and Cotingidae (see Taxonomy). As yet, no widely accepted common name exists for the family, although Tityras and allies and Tityras, mourners, and allies have been used. They are small to medium-sized birds.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Meliphagidae
 The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium-sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea. They are nectar feeders and closely resemble other nectar-feeding passerines.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Campephagidae
 The cuckooshrikes are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are predominantly grayish with white and black, although some species are brightly colored.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Dicruridae
 The drongos are mostly black or dark gray in color, sometimes with metallic tints. They have long forked tails, and some Asian species have elaborate tail decorations. They have short legs and sit very upright when perched, like a shrike. They flycatch or take prey from the ground.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Rhipiduridae
 The fantails are small insectivorous birds which are specialist aerial feeders.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae
 Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust and have stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most, but not all, are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae
 The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds mostly restricted to the New World, though a few other species in the family are found in Asia. They are typically greenish in color and resemble wood-warblers apart from their heavier bills.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Monarchidae
 The Monarchinae are a relatively recent grouping of a number of seemingly very different birds, mostly from the Southern Hemisphere, which are more closely related than they at first appear. Many of the approximately 140 species making up the family were previously assigned to other groups, largely on the basis of general morphology or behavior. With the new insights generated by the DNA-DNA hybridisation studies of Sibley and his co-workers toward the end of the 20th century, however, it became clear that these apparently unrelated birds were all descended from a common ancestor. The Monarchinae are small to medium-sized insectivorous passerines, many of which hunt by flycatching.
 Five of the species listed below (three species endemic to Hawaii, one species found in American Samoa, and one species endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands) represent the group in the United States. One species, the Guam flycatcher, is extinct because of the introduced brown tree snake on Guam.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Laniidae
 Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae
 The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers, and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence. Since about 2012, nesting fish crows have increasingly been documented in Canada along the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, so the species will probably soon no longer be considered endemic to the lower 48 U.S. states.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Remizidae
 The only member of this family in the New World, the verdin is one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous "shoulder patch" (the lesser coverts). Verdins are insectivorous, continuously foraging among the desert trees and scrubs. They are usually solitary except when they pair up to construct their conspicuous nests.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Paridae
 The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Alaudidae
 Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Acrocephalidae
 The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Locustellidae
 Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae
 The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Aegithalidae
 The long-tailed tits are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They make woven bag nests in trees. Most eat a mixed diet which includes insects.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Scotocercidae
 The members of this family are found throughout Africa, Asia, and Polynesia.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Phylloscopidae
 Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The Arctic warbler breeds east into Alaska. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Pycnonotidae
 The bulbuls are a family of medium-sized passerine songbirds native to Africa and tropical Asia. These are noisy and gregarious birds with often beautiful striking songs.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sylviidae
 The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia, and to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Zosteropidae
 The white-eyes are small passerine birds native to tropical and sub-tropical Africa, southern Asia, and Australasia. The birds of this group are mostly of undistinguished appearance, their plumage above being generally some dull color like greenish-olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast, or lower parts, and several have buff flanks. But as indicated by their scientific name, derived from the Ancient Greek for girdle-eye, there is a conspicuous ring around the eyes of many species. They have rounded wings and strong legs. The size ranges up to 15 cm (6 inches) in length. All the species of white-eyes are sociable, forming large flocks which only separate on the approach of the breeding season. Though mainly insectivorous, they eat nectar and fruits of various kinds.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Leiothrichidae
 The laughingthrushes are a large family of Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterized by soft fluffy plumage. These birds have strong legs and many are quite terrestrial. This group is not strongly migratory and most species have short rounded wings and a weak flight.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Regulidae
 The kinglets and "crests" are a small family of birds which resemble some warblers. They are very small insectivorous birds in the single genus Regulus. The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their name.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae
 The waxwings are a group of passerine birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Ptiliogonatidae
 The silky-flycatchers are a small family of passerine birds which occur mainly in Central America. They are related to waxwings and most species have small crests.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mohoidae
 Hawaiian honeyeaters prefer to flit quickly from perch to perch in the outer foliage, stretching up or sideways or hanging upside down at need. They have a highly developed brush-tipped tongue, which is frayed and fringed with bristles which soak up liquids readily. The tongue is flicked rapidly and repeatedly into a flower, the upper mandible then compressing any liquid out when the bill is closed. All species of honeyeaters below were endemic to Hawaii, but are now extinct. The Kauai oo was the last species to survive, and was last seen in 1987.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae
 Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Certhiidae
 Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae
 These dainty birds resemble Old World warblers in their structure and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers are mainly soft bluish gray in color and have the typical insectivore's long sharp bill. Many species have distinctive black head patterns (especially males) and long, regularly cocked, black-and-white tails.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae
 Wrens are small and inconspicuous birds, except for their loud songs. They have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mimidae
 The mimids are a family of passerine birds which includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae
 Starlings and mynas are small to medium-sized Old World passerine birds with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct and most are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit. The plumage of several species is dark with a metallic sheen.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cinclidae
 Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements. These birds have adaptations which allows them to submerge and walk on the bottom to feed on insect larvae.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae
 The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Muscicapidae
 The Old World flycatchers form a large family of small passerine birds. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Peucedramidae
 The olive warbler has a gray body with some olive-green on the wings and two white wing bars. The male's head and breast are orange and there is a black patch through the eye. This is the only species in its family.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Ploceidae
 Weavers are a group of small passerine birds related to the finches. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia. Weavers get their name from the large woven nests many species make. They are gregarious birds which often breed colonially.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Viduidae
 The Viduidae is a family of small passerine birds native to Africa that includes indigobirds and whydahs. All species are brood parasites which lay their eggs in the nests of estrildid finches. Species usually have black or indigo predominating in their plumage.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Estrildidae
 The members of this family are small passerine birds native to the Old World tropics. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colors and patterns.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Prunellidae
 Accentors are small, fairly drab species superficially similar, but unrelated to, sparrows. However, accentors have thin sharp bills, reflecting their diet of insects in summer, augmented with seeds and berries in winter.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passeridae
 Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or grayish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Motacillidae
 Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender ground-feeding insectivores of open country.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae
 Finches are seed-eating passerine birds that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Calcariidae
 The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that had been traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Emberizidae
 Emberizidae is a family of passerine birds containing a single genus. Until 2017, the New World sparrows (Passerellidae) were also considered part of this family.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae
 Until 2017, these species were considered part of the family Emberizidae. Most of the species are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many of these have distinctive head patterns.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Nesospingidae
 This species was formerly classified as a tanager (family Thraupidae) but was placed in its own family in 2017.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Spindalidae
 The members of this small family are native to the Greater Antilles. One species occurs fairly frequently in Florida.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteriidae
 This species was historically placed in the wood-warblers (Parulidae) but nonetheless most authorities were unsure if it belonged there. It was placed in its own family in 2017.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae
 The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color which is often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae
 The wood-warblers are a group of small often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae
 The cardinals are a family of robust seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages.
 Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thraupidae
 The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics. Many species are brightly colored. As a family they are omnivorous, but individual species specialize in eating fruits, seeds, insects, or other types of food.