Field Guide

Birds

Showing 11 - 20 of 74 results
Media
Photo of a male evening grosbeak eating sunflower seeds at a feeder.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Coccothraustes vespertinus
Description
Evening grosbeaks are sporadically present in Missouri — flocks sometimes wander here from the north during winter. When flocks appear at backyard birdfeeders, it creates a local sensation.
Media
Photograph of a male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage
Species Types
Scientific Name
Spinus tristis
Description
Goldfinches are often seen in flocks during fall, winter, and spring and at bird feeders. In spring, the male’s dull winter plumage changes to bright yellow with a black cap and wings.
Media
Photo of a male great-tailed grackle walking on a lawn
Species Types
Scientific Name
Quiscalus mexicanus
Description
The great-tailed grackle occurs mostly in western parts of Missouri, which is on the northeastern edge of its range. This blackbird’s long, V-shaped tail is distinctive, as is its song of whistles, clacks, chucks, and clicks.
Media
Photo of a northern mockingbird perched on sumac branch with snow falling.
Species Types
Scientific Name
Mimus polyglottos
Description
One of the best-known U.S. songbirds, the northern mockingbird can sing endlessly, night and day, repeating phrases from the songs of other birds. Its white wing patches are conspicuous in flight.
Media
Photo of a perched loggerhead shrike
Species Types
Scientific Name
Lanius ludovicianus
Description
This robin-sized, gray and white bird has a black eye-mask extending behind its large, hooked bill. It has the unusual habit of hanging its prey items — little birds, mice, frogs, and big insects — on tree thorns or barbed wire.
Media
Image of a male scarlet tanager
Species Types
Scientific Name
Piranga olivacea
Description
In summer, scarlet tanagers feed on insects and fruit in the canopy of oak-hickory forests and in large shade trees of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada.
Media
Photograph of a Common Grackle
Species Types
Scientific Name
Quiscalus quiscula
Description
The common grackle makes “a mistake . . . in trying to sing,” a prominent birder once wrote of its kree-del-eeeeks and chlacks. Yet its iridescent purples, blues, and bronzes please the viewer despite the harshness of the voice.
Media
Photo of a male red-winged blackbird singing
Species Types
Scientific Name
Agelaius phoeniceus
Description
These crimson-shouldered residents of marshes, wet meadows and weedy roadside ditches are well-known by most rural Missourians. Their “konk-o-REEE” song likely emanates from every pond in Missouri.
Media
Photo of male brown-headed cowbirdhttps://mdc.mo.gov/admin/focal_point/preview/66579/50x39?focal_point_token=LgTrHwPNEbDQ2zF7TM3xo6wHKaw3Uhax57PTdk6u0GA
Species Types
Scientific Name
Molothrus ater
Description
The brown-headed cowbird never builds a nest of its own. Instead, it lays eggs, one at a time, in the nests of other birds. Each cowbird is raised by unwitting foster parents.
Media
bobolink
Species Types
Scientific Name
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Description
The male bobolink is the only North American bird that has light feathers above and dark feathers below. In fall and winter, the male resembles the buffy and brown-streaked female.
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.