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Salt Water

360 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 Avocet

This species is recognized by its bold black-and-white pattern, long blue-gray legs, and long upturned bill. Alternate Adult: Wings are black with white scapulars and secondaries. The back and underparts are white. The head, neck, and upper breast are buffy orange to cinnamon--about the color of a pe more...

Length: 43 cm Wingspan: 69 cm

American Bittern

A rather compact heron-like bird with a fairly long tapering neck and head. The head is mostly brown with white supercillium and pale iris. Large, long, sharp, dirty-yellowish bill. White throat bordered with dark malar. Neck patterned with broad, bold brown vertical stripes. Heavy body with smudgy, more...

Length: 71 cm Wingspan: 107 cm

American Black Duck

This large dabbling duck is very dark brown overall. Back and flank feathers lack paler margins, resulting in a less patterned appearance than most other female dabbling ducks. The head and neck are paler with a dark crown, dark line through the eye, and fine streaking. Only Mottled Duck compares in more...

Length: 48 cm Wingspan: 84 cm

American Coot

A small, dark, duck-like rail. Adults solid charcoal gray with a white, chicken-like bill, red or white forehead, and pale yellow legs with large feet and large lobed toes. Juveniles have paler bellies, gray legs and feet and a grayer bill. Very similar to Eurasian and Caribbean Coots. Larger and les more...

Length: 39 cm Wingspan: 61 cm

American Flamingo

These mostly pink, tall long-legged wading birds are unmistakeable. Pink head, pale iris and large chunky pale bill with black and pink tip. Long, slender and curved pink neck and pink body. Extremely long, dull pink legs, brightest at joints. In flight, black and pink wings. Sexes similar. Juvenile more...

Length: 117 cm Wingspan: 152 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

American Pipit

This species is recognized by its slender build, white outer tail feathers, and constant tail-bobbing. Several subspecies occur, creating a lot of variation. Alternate Adult: Birds that breed in the Rocky Mountains are pale gray above, with light edges on the wing feathers. The underparts, cheek, and more...

Length: 15 cm Wingspan: 25 cm

American White Pelican

Very large mostly white waterbird with black wingtips. Head is disproportionately large with a huge, long bill with extensible pouch and, in breeding season, horn on upper mandible. Neck long, crooked in flight. Body mostly white; immatures have dusky markings on wings. Bill and skin around eye orang more...

Length: 155 cm Wingspan: 274 cm

American Wigeon

A chunky dabbling duck with short legs and a long tail. The distinctive head shape, characterized by a steep forehead, high forecrown, and sloped crown, is less round than most other dabbling ducks. Male: Head is mostly gray with fine black mottling with a white crown, and a bold iridescent green str more...

Length: 46 cm Wingspan: 76 cm

Ancient Murrelet

Named for its ragged patch of head feathers resembling gray hair in alternate plumage, the diminutive Ancient Murrelet has a black head and bib, partial white collar, gray back, straw-yellow bill, and white underparts. In winter, the white head streaks fade and the black bib is encroached by white. A more...

Length: 26 cm Wingspan: 43 cm

Anhinga

Large, black, slender cormorant-like bird with longer tail and neck. Long, yellowish, pointy bill. Adult male: black overall. Short white plumes and sides of head and neck. Orange patch at base of bill. Dark greenish lores. Silvery-white wing panels. White streaks and spots on scapular feathers and b more...

Length: 89 cm Wingspan: 114 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

Arctic Loon

Accidental outside Western Alaska. In all plumages, note the white flank tuft above waterline. Otherwise, similar to Pacific Loon but slightly larger and heavier-billed; alternate adult has black back with white patches, black throat, vertical white lines on neck, and gray head and nape. Nape is slig more...

Length: 69 cm Wingspan: 102 cm