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Beaches

92 Bird Species

Aleutian Tern

A slender, gray tern of coastal Alaska. Alternate Adult has gray back, wings, and underparts, forked white tail, white face, black cap and eyeline, white forehead, thin black bill, and black legs. Basic Adult has dark primaries, white underparts, blackish smudge on shoulder, and white head with black more...

Length: 30 cm Wingspan: 74 cm

American Golden-Plover

Very similar to other golden-plovers. At rest, the wingtips of this species extend well beyond the tail, with four or five primaries visible beyond the tertials. In flight, the undersides of the wings are gray. The upperside of the wings show an indistinct white stripe. In flight, the toes usually do more...

Length: 25 cm Wingspan: 46 cm

American Oystercatcher

A large, stocky shorebird with contrastingly black-and-white plumage, a long, orange-red bill and sturdy, flesh-colored legs. Head, neck and upper breast black. Upperparts dark brown with black primaries and a white wingbar. Underparts white. In flight, shows a bold white wingbar and a white band acr more...

Length: 44 cm Wingspan: 81 cm

Antillean Nighthawk

Fairly small nighthawk. Long, dark wings with white bar halfway between wingtip, and bend in wing. Notched tail finely barred with dark tip. Brownish-black upperparts with light brown flecks. Darkest on back and crown. Warm brown face. White throat. Underparts buffy golden-brown with fine dark barrin more...

Length: 21 cm Wingspan: 53 cm

Antillean Palm-Swift

This mostly dark Caribbean swift is white below and extensively white on the rump. Upperparts are very dark dusky-brown. White rump divided by a narrow dark stripe that connects between the dark back and all-dark tail. White belly and throat. Sides of neck and flanks washed with dusky-brown, undertai more...

Length: 11 cm Wingspan: 29 cm

Baird's Sandpiper

In all plumages, this species is distinguished from the other small sandpipers by its short black legs, all-black bill which is straight or only slightly decurved, and wing tips that extend well beyond the tail. Alternate Adult: Back and scapular feathers black and brown with silvery fringes. Head an more...

Length: 14 cm Wingspan: 38 cm

Bar-tailed Godwit

This species gets its name from the black and white barring on the tail. In flight, the upper surface of the wing is gray-brown, slightly darker on the primary coverts, and lacks a wing stripe. The Siberian race shows black and white barring on the rump and lower back, and on the underside of the win more...

Length: 37 cm Wingspan: 69 cm

Belcher's Gull

A stocky, medium-sized, four-year gull. Relatively long yellow legs and long, straight-edged, yellow bill with black ring and red tip. Dark eye. Adult: White underparts; slaty-black upperparts. Nonbreeding are dark-hooded with white eye arks. White head in breeding plumage contrasts with smoky-gray w more...

Length: 51 cm Wingspan: 124 cm

Black Noddy

A dark, tern-like bird, rare on Texas coast and Dry Tortugas in Florida. Adult, unusual in North America, is black with white cap, slender black bill, and short black legs. Juveniles and immatures are entirely dark with sharply contrasting white cap and pale wing coverts. Brown Noddy is browner overa more...

Length: 34 cm Wingspan: 76 cm

Black Oystercatcher

Unmistakable. A large, stocky, all-black shorebird with a long, bright red bill and strong, pale pink legs. Upperparts usually with a brownish tinge. Eyes bright yellow with a reddish eye-ring. Juveniles are similar to adults, but their upperparts show pale brown edging and buffy tips to the coverts; more...

Length: 45 cm Wingspan: 81 cm

Black Skimmer

A distinctive coastal bird of Eastern and Southern North America. Adult is tern-like, with long wings, short legs, and short neck. Back and wings are black, underparts white. Head is white with black cap and, in alternate plumage, black nape. Unique bill is long and relatively thick vertically, while more...

Length: 46 cm Wingspan: 112 cm

Black-bellied Plover

This is the largest of the four Pluvialis plovers, with a large head and heavy bulbous bill. In all plumages, the white rump and black axillaries, visible in flight, are distinctive. In flight, the underside of the wings are mostly white, while the upperside is dark with a bold white wing stripe. At more...

Length: 28 cm Wingspan: 56 cm

Black-headed Gull

Despite the name, the hood of this gull is actually chocolate brown. Black-headed Gull is similar to Bonaparte's Gull, with which it often associates, but is larger, with a heavier bill. In all plumages, the undersides of the primaries are dark. Alternate Adult: The mantle is pale gray. The primaries more...

Length: 38 cm Wingspan: 90 cm

Bluethroat

This species appears short-winged and short-tailed. In all plumages, note the rufous base to the blackish tail, visible in flight and when the bird flicks its tail when foraging. Adult Male: Upperparts are dull gray-brown. A bold whitish supercilium is thinly bordered above by black. The throat and u more...

Length: 14 cm Wingspan: 23 cm

Boat-tailed Grackle

Male appears black from a distance. Overall length about the same as a crow, but body is much smaller and slimmer and the tail accounts for about half of the total length. When seen from close range, shows dark blue-green iridescent overall, with bluish sheen on head. Has pale eye, and a long graduat more...

Length: 42 cm Wingspan: 58 cm

Brandt's Cormorant

Similar in length, but slightly slimmer overall than Double-crested Cormorant. In flight, they hold their necks straighter; neck and head more streamlined than Double-crested. Adults are all black. During nesting season, they show some greenish iridescence, a bright azure blue throat pouch, and may h more...

Length: 80 cm Wingspan: 120 cm