Birds
Media
![Photo of a green heron](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/field-guide/Green_Heron_1-25-17.jpg?itok=pL30bvHE)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Butorides virescens
Description
Green, gray, and brown, the stocky, crow-sized green heron hunches motionless at the water’s edge, waiting patiently for a fish to swim within striking distance.
Media
![Photo of an American wigeon pair floating on water surface.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2015/02/american_wigeon_pair_2-18-15.jpg?itok=RORd0fcn)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Anas americana
Description
A common migrant in Missouri, the American wigeon is a dabbling duck whose males have a white forehead and crown, a green band behind the eye and down the back of the neck, and a large white patch on the wing.
Media
![Photo of a green-winged teal pair floating on water.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2015/02/green-winged_teal_pair_swimming_2-20-15.jpg?itok=za85_zwb)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Anas crecca
Description
The green-winged teal is a fast, graceful flyer with an iridescent green wing patch. Teals are relatively small dabbling ducks and have been called the “bantams of the duck tribe.”
Media
![photo of a wood duck](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/11/pa.jpg?itok=5dnxPOk6)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Aix sponsa
Description
The wood duck is one of the world's most beautiful waterfowl. It is equally famous for being a cavity nester in hollow trees, sometimes 60 feet above the ground and a mile away from water.
Media
![Photo of male and female mallards walking on ice](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/11/mallard_pair_11-16-13.jpg?itok=XrASCimV)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Anas platyrhynchos
Description
The mallard is probably the most familiar duck in all of North America. The male has a green head and chestnut breast. Both sexes have a blue speculum (wing patch) bordered on both sides by white.
Media
![Photo of a male common merganser floating on water.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2015/02/common_merganser_male_2-24-15.jpg?itok=sYCEaell)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Mergus merganser
Description
Like our other mergansers, the common merganser has a long, slender, serrated bill and dives underwater for fish. This species, however, has only a short head crest and has unique color patterns.
Media
![Perched Acadian flycatcher viewed from side](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/2022-02/Empidonax_virescens_99136793.jpg?itok=VVrMYkGR)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Empidonax virescens
Description
The Acadian flycatcher is one of several flycatchers found in Missouri. It is a summer resident here, and like its relatives, it is much appreciated for its appetite for flying insects.
Media
![Male tree swallow perched atop a wooden post](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/2022-02/Male_Tree_Swallow_6-7-04.jpg?itok=NflOVVlm)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Tachycineta bicolor
Description
Tree swallows are sleek, agile fliers with white underparts and dark upperparts that look glossy blue or blue-green in good light. They are common migrants in Missouri. People most often see them chasing flying insects over wetlands and other aquatic habitats.
See Also
Media
![Photo of a Snowberry Clearwing](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/snowberry.jpg?itok=a4-aoxa4)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hemaris diffinis
Description
The snowberry clearwing is a moth that confuses people because it looks like a bumblebee and flies like a hummingbird!
Media
![White-Lined Sphinx Moth](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2013/02/white_lined.jpg?itok=8yj8CHQ5)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Hyles lineata
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of a Virginia Creeper Sphinx moth](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2012/06/v_creeper_sphinx.jpg?itok=0UfGaIrX)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Darapsa myron
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of a tricolored bat hanging from a cave ceiling.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/eastern_pipistrelle.jpg?itok=HKh8wKLm)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Perimyotis subflavus (formerly Pipistrellus subflavus)
Description
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.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Myotis grisescens
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of a little brown myotis hanging from cave wall with lesions on its wrist.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2011/07/32-08-2011.jpg?itok=srKK8sHl)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Myotis lucifugus
Description
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.
Media
![Photo of an Indiana myotis hanging from a cave ceiling.](/sites/default/files/styles/media_library/public/mo_nature/media/images/2010/05/indiana_bat.jpg?itok=s0nGRE8W)
Species Types
Scientific Name
Myotis sodalis
Description
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.