Field Guide

Birds

Showing 1 - 10 of 18 results
Media
Image of a song sparrow
Species Types
Scientific Name
Melospiza melodia
Description
The song sparrow is an uncommon nester but a common winter resident throughout Missouri. You can find the song sparrow along forest edges and in many backyards.
Media
Image of a field sparrow
Species Types
Scientific Name
Spizella pusilla
Description
Field sparrows live in weedy, brushy fields, glades, and overgrown pastures. They have a gray head with rusty side stripes on the crown, and a rusty eyeline and cheek. The bill and legs are pink.
Media
Photograph of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow perched on a brick surface
Species Types
Scientific Name
Passer montanus
Description
The Eurasian tree sparrow and the house sparrow were brought to America in hopes of controlling insects, but both have become pests. These Old World sparrows are more closely related to birds in the Middle East and India than to our native American sparrows.
Media
White-Throated Sparrow
Species Types
Scientific Name
Zonotrichia albicollis
Description
White-throateds have a boldly striped black-and-white crown, gray cheek, and a yellow patch between the bill and the eye. They spend winter in Missouri.
Media
Photograph of a Tufted Titmouse
Species Types
Scientific Name
Baeolophus bicolor
Description
A small gray bird with a crest on its head, the tufted titmouse is drab only in terms of color. Its ringing “peter-peter-peter” song should be familiar to all Missourians.
Media
A close up of a small bird with blue feathers and a white front, holding a sunflower seed in its beak.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sitta carolinensis
Description
White-breasted nuthatches, the upside-down birds, creep up and down tree trunks and on the tops and bottoms of branches. The call is a nasal “yank” or “yank-yank.”
Media
Photograph of a Brown Creeper
Species Types
Scientific Name
Certhia americana
Description
Like a wren that behaves like a woodpecker, the brown creeper is a small brown and white bird that creeps in upward spirals around the trunks of trees, using its tail as a prop.
Media
Black-capped chickadee image showing characters for identification.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Poecile atricapillus and P. carolinensis
Description
Chickadees are common in backyards. These black-capped, perky insectivores are present year-round. There are two species in Missouri that look quite similar.
Media
Image of a dark-eyed junco
Species Types
Scientific Name
Junco hyemalis
Description
Dark-eyed juncos, or "snowbirds" as they are widely known, are sparrows. Juncos are abundant throughout Missouri during the winter. What many people are not aware of is that there are two color forms of juncos that occur here.
Media
Photo of a male house sparrow
Species Types
Scientific Name
Passer domesticus
Description
The house sparrow was brought to America from Europe, but instead of controlling insect pests, it became a pest itself. Also called the English sparrow, its hordes compete with native birds for nesting sites.
See Also
Media
Photo of a Snowberry Clearwing
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
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
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.
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
Photo of four gray myotises clinging to a cave ceiling.
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.
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.
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.