Field Guide

Birds

Showing 41 - 50 of 115 results
Image of a rose-breasted grosbeak
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
The rose-breasted grosbeak's song is a beautiful, robin-like carol. Grosbeaks are chubby birds with heavy bills used for gathering and eating beetles, seeds, and fruits.
Photo of ruffed grouse standing on a log
Ruffed Grouse
Bonasa umbellus
Restoration efforts are raising the numbers of this chickenlike bird in our state. Look for brown, rufous, and gray streaks, bars, and bands. A dark ruff on the neck appears on both sexes but is used by the male in courtship displays.
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominica
The American golden-plover is a robin-sized shorebird that makes an incredible annual odyssey from Argentina to the Arctic tundra, a distance of over 20,000 miles. It flies through Missouri in spring.
Photo of a yellow-bellied sapsucker perched on a rock
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Their mottled back pattern camouflages them on tree trunks, but yellow-bellied sapsuckers leave behind telltale small, weeping holes in trees.
hairy woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Dryobates villosus (formerly Picoides villosus)
The hairy woodpecker looks a lot like a downy woodpecker but is larger, with a proportionately longer and stronger-looking bill.
Photograph of a Mourning Dove walking on the ground
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
Doves symbolize peace, and they are also a popular quarry of hunters. Our mourning doves are probably the closest living relatives of the extinct passenger pigeon. Learn more about these cooing seed-eaters!
Photo of a gray rock pigeon standing among rocks
Rock Pigeon (Rock Dove)
Columba livia
This is the common pigeon of city parks, downtown buildings, barns, and cliffs. Many color forms exist. The wild type has a dark head, breast, and shoulders, a light gray body, two dark bars on the wings, a white rump, and a dark band on the tip of the tail.
Image of a northern flicker
Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
America’s flickers used to be considered three different species, but in the 1980s biologists determined otherwise. Now, our eastern “yellow-shafted” flicker, the “red-shafted” flicker of the west, and the “gilded flicker” of the southwest are all considered just forms of the same species: the northern flicker.
Photo of a gray catbird on a small branch, showing undertail feathers.
Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
Gray catbirds sing jazz solos, improvising nonstop for minutes at a time, quoting the tunes of cardinals, robins, wrens — even frogs or chickens. A catlike “mew” is one of their distinctive notes.
Photo of an eastern phoebe perched on a small branch.
Eastern Phoebe
Sayornis phoebe
Eastern phoebes often build their mud-and-plant nests on the side of a house, just under a roof or other overhang. These small flycatchers repeatedly cry out their own name: “FEE-bee! FEE-bee!”
See Also
Photo of a Snowberry Clearwing
Snowberry Clearwing
Hemaris diffinis
The snowberry clearwing is a moth that confuses people because it looks like a bumblebee and flies like a hummingbird!
White-Lined Sphinx Moth
White-Lined Sphinx
Hyles lineata
The white-lined sphinx moth sometimes confuses people because it flies, hovers, and eats from flowers like a hummingbird. The adults often fly during daylight hours as well as in the night and are often found at lights.
Photo of a Virginia Creeper Sphinx moth
Virginia Creeper Sphinx
Darapsa myron
The Virginia creeper sphinx moth is common in woods and brushy areas and comes to lights at night. The larvae eat Virginia creeper and grape leaves.
Photo of a tricolored bat hanging from a cave ceiling.
Tri-Colored Bat
Perimyotis subflavus (formerly Pipistrellus subflavus)
Tri-colored bats, formerly called eastern pipistrelles, are relatively small and look pale yellowish or pale reddish brown. The main hairs are dark gray at the base, broadly banded with yellowish brown, and tipped with dark brown.
Photo of four gray myotises clinging to a cave ceiling.
Gray Myotis (Gray Bat)
Myotis grisescens
Gray myotises are difficult to distinguish from other mouse-eared bats. A key identifying feature of the gray myotis is that its wing is attached to the ankle and not at the base of the toes. It’s an endangered species.
Photo of a little brown myotis hanging from cave wall with lesions on its wrist.
Little Brown Myotis (Little Brown Bat)
Myotis lucifugus
The little brown myotis (little brown bat) is one of our most common bats, but populations are declining. White-nose syndrome has taken a heavy toll in northeastern states. This species is now listed as vulnerable across its range.
Photo of an Indiana myotis hanging from a cave ceiling.
Indiana Myotis (Indiana Bat)
Myotis sodalis
The Indiana myotis, or Indiana bat, summers along streams and rivers in north Missouri, raising its young under the bark of certain trees. It is an endangered species.

About Birds in Missouri

About 350 species of birds are likely to be seen in Missouri, though nearly 400 have been recorded within our borders. Most people know a bird when they see one — it has feathers, wings, and a bill. Birds are warm-blooded, and most species can fly. Many migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs (often in a nest), and the parents care for the young. Many communicate with songs and calls.

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