Field Guide

Birds

Showing 61 - 66 of 66 results
Media
Photo of a Virginia rail walking on tamped-down aquatic vegetation.
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
Side view of lesser yellowlegs walking in shallow water
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
Black-necked stilt wading in shallow water
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.
Media
Mississippi kite in flight, seen from below
Species Types
Scientific Name
Ictinia mississippiensis
Description
The Mississippi kite is a rare summer resident in Missouri, usually seen flying above forests and grasslands along the Mississippi River valley. The flight of this rather small raptor is buoyant, like that of a swallow, or, yes, a kite.
Media
Adult Forster's tern, in breeding plumage, in flight
Species Types
Scientific Name
Sterna forsteri
Description
Adult Forster’s terns are pale gray above and white below, with a deeply forked gray tail and black markings on the head. There are different breeding and nonbreeding colorations. In Missouri, this species is a common spring and fall transient and an uncommon winter resident.
Media
Bonaparte’s gull floating on water, adult in nonbreeding plumage
Species Types
Scientific Name
Chroicocephalus philadelphia (formerly Larus philadelphia)
Description
Bonaparte’s gulls are in Missouri during migration and, less commonly, in winter. Breeding adults have black heads. In winter and immatures, the head is white except for a smudgy black spot behind the eye.
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.