Birds
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Aythya americana
Description
The redhead is well named. The male is distinctive with its chestnut-red head, black breast, and gray body. A diving duck or pochard, the redhead typically dives completely underwater to forage.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Chen rossii
Description
Ross’s goose looks a lot like the snow goose, but it is the size of a mallard, has a rounded head, stubby bill, and short neck, and lacks the black “lipstick” patch on the bill.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Larus delawarensis
Description
The ring-billed gull is Missouri’s most common gull. Adults can be told from our other most common gulls by their yellow legs and yellow bill with a black ring near the tip.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Aythyra marila
Description
The male greater scaup is a diving duck with a black head and chest, white sides, and black tail end. It's a rare migrant in Missouri. You can tell it from the similar lesser scaup by its rounded (not peaked) head.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Aythya affinis
Description
The male lesser scaup is a diving duck with a black head and chest, white sides, and black tail end. It's a common migrant in Missouri. You can tell it from the similar greater scaup by its peaked (not rounded) head.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Aythya valisineria
Description
A diving duck or pochard, the canvasback forages on the bottom of lakes, rivers, and marshes for invertebrates and plants. It is a common migrant in Missouri.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Porzana carolina
Description
The sora looks something like a tiny, dark hen. A common migrant and rare summer resident in Missouri, this rail forages in marshes, swamps, wet pastures, and flooded fields.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Rallus limicola
Description
A chickenlike marsh bird with a long, slightly curving bill, the Virginia rail is a migratory gamebird related to coots and gallinules.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Tringa flavipes
Description
The lesser yellowlegs migrates through Missouri in spring and fall, its numbers peaking in late April and late August. Identify this dainty, bright-yellow-legged shorebird by its color pattern and bill.
Media
Species Types
Scientific Name
Himantopus mexicanus
Description
The black-necked stilt migrates through Missouri in spring and fall. In summer, it breeds locally in the Bootheel. It’s easy to identify, with its black back, white belly, long pink legs, and long, thin, straight bill.
See Also
Media
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
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
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
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
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
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.