Birds beginning with the letter W will be the focus of this list, which is mostly located in North America. Some birds are migratory, while others are only partially migratory. These birds are from all over the globe, so the goal was to create a list as diverse as possible.
27 TYPES OF BIRDS THAT START WITH W
1.WOOD DUCK
Scientific name: Aix sponsa
Over the nineteenth century, the number of these birds fell dramatically. Both meat and plumage were sought after by Europeans, who fashioned hats out of the Wood duck feathers. Furthermore, habitat degradation contributed to the decline.
The southern part of their North American range is home to non-migratory wood ducks. Birds, on the other hand, migrate south in the northern hemisphere.
2. WESTERN BLUEBIRD
Scientific name: Sialia mexicana
The head, neck, wings, and tail of male western bluebirds are all blue. Their breast is rusty orange, and it extends down their sides and onto their back, covering their wings. Females will have no blue on their throat and will appear duller, sometimes substantially duller.
In the United States, they are perhaps the most coveted occupants of birdhouses. The bluebird house business has grown in popularity. Backyards, but not feeders, are rife with them. Try to attract a mating pair by putting up a birdhouse.
Throughout much of New Mexico, Western Bluebirds may be found year-round. They might, however, only be found throughout the winter along the southern border, and they may be missing from the northeastern corner. Seed-eating bluebirds are uncommon, but may be tempted to visit feeders with mealworms or in a dish.
3.WHITE-WINGED SCOTER
Scientific name: Melanitta deglandi
Monogamy is common among these North American birds, who form pairs in the late summer. As early as two years old, white-winged scoters begin to breed. On the ground near the sea, rivers, or lakes, they construct their nests.
Females lay five to eleven eggs, which take 25 to 30 days to hatch. They can dive as deep as 25 meters to find food, and they are benthic feeders.
4.WILD TURKEY
Scientific name: Meleagris gallopavo
In an effort to attract both ladies and competing males, males who have been in the wild for more than a year will devour. Males under the age of one year old show this tendency to a lesser degree.
Their calls include “whines,” “kee-kees,” “putts,” “clucks,” and “purrs,” among other sounds. Despite their physical size and weight, turkeys live throughout North America and are agile, swift fliers.
5.WILLOW PTARMIGAN
Scientific name: Melanitta deglandi
The willow ptarmigan, Alaska’s state bird, is found throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Siberia, and Alaska. Leaves, flowers, seeds, twigs, and berries make up the majority of their diet. These are herbivorous animals.
Because of an undeveloped cecum, the young may feed on insects for the first part of their lives.
6.WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN
Scientific name: Lagopus leucura
Snow quail is the name for the White-tailed ptarmigan. The plumage of these birds, which is cryptic and diverse, is an interesting point. Alaska, Canada, and the Western United States are where they call home.
Its plumage is completely white throughout the winter, but it is speckled with hues of white, brown, and gray during the summer. The tale feathers of males of this species are used to attract females. For the duration of a breeding season, they are monogamous.
7.WESTERN GREBE
Scientific name: Aechmophorus occidentalis
With a wingspan of up to 40 inches, this species is the biggest grebe in North America and weighs up to 4.5 pounds.
Grebes from the United States may breed in huge colonies that number in the hundreds. In the breeding season, these birds will advertise themselves.
8.WHITE-WINGED DOVE
Scientific name: Zenaida asiatica
During the breeding season, these birds are quite active. When courting females with their tails spread, wings raised, and tails flapping, the male will coo and preen in an effort to attract a female.
Both parents work together to raise the children. Over two to three months, young doves that have left the nest may start nesting on their own. North America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are all home to white-winged doves.
9.WHITE-THROATED SWIFT
Scientific name: Aeronautes saxatalis
The plumage of these birds is mostly black and white, and they are medium sized. Because males and females look similar, you will not be able to tell the gender of the bird by its plumage.
Southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, southern California, western Texas, and central Mexico are all places where they may be found. The social nature of the White-throated swift is noted. Birds will roost and forage together in groups.
10.WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD
Scientific name: Basilinna leucotis
Green, blue, brown, white, and metallic turquoise are among the vibrant colors of these birds’ plumage. Females are more likely to be drab than males.
The hummingbird is thought to be quite tiny. Hummingbirds eat mostly nectar from flowers and flowering trees, like other hummingbirds do. In the United States, these hummingbirds can be found. Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas are examples of states.
11.WHOOPING CRANE
Scientific name: Grus americana
The Whooping crane is North America’s biggest bird and is renowned for its whooping cry. The crane species has been designated as endangered. Moreover, North America is home to just two crane species.
In the wild and in captivity, there are just 800 birds left. When walking in shallow water as well as fields, the Whooping crane forages frequently.
12.WILSON’S PLOVER
Scientific name: Charadrius wilsonia
Wilson’s plover, a migratory species that is common on most beaches in the Americas, is a popular sight. These birds migrate to Brazil for the winter, in addition to the birds found in Florida. These birds may be seen foraging for food on the beaches.
Because they’re hunting for food, their progress across the beach is leisurely. Crab, marine worms, and insects make up their diet. In 1814, Alexander Wilson, a Scottish-American naturalist, was given the name Wilson’s plover.
13.WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER
Scientific name: Calidris fuscicollis
Lives in:
If you want to see one of these shorebirds, head to Canada or Alaska. However, since their breeding site is so obscure in the summer, it might be difficult. Winter is not a good time to see them, since they travel too far south for most people. Bird viewers take note.
The best times to see these birds are in the spring and fall, when they’re often seen in small groups near water. The female is responsible for constructing the cup-shaped nest. Nests are typically well-camouflaged and difficult to detect. Nesting spots in grass/moss clusters are well hidden.
14.WANDERING TATTLER
Scientific name: Tringa incana
Crustaceans and marine worms make up Wandering tattles’ diet. While foraging, these birds are recognized for their twitchy, bobbing motions. In the same spot, they often feed again and again.
They’ll commonly be seen flying low over rocky coasts. Up to four eggs are usually placed by the female. The baby is incubated and reared by both parents. From Alaska to South America, these birds can be found on Pacific coasts.
15. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL
Scientific name: Megascops kennicottii
All along the western North American coast, as well as in many western US states, Western Screech-Owls may be found. Only about 7-10 inches tall, Screech-Owls are the tiniest of the owls. Both rural and urban environments, they nest in tree cavities. Owl boxes, which are available in urban yards, have even been known to be used by them.
Their perfectly camouflage feathers make it extremely difficult to detect them when they are hiding inside tree cavities. Listening for them is your best bet of locating one. Their call is generally characterized as a tooting sound with a rhythm that resembles that of a rolling ball.
16. WESTERN TANAGER
Scientific name: Piranga Iudoviciana
A male western tanager is unmistakable. Their brilliant yellow breast and back contrast vividly with their black wings, which have a brilliant orange face. Females lack orange on their face and are generally less colorful than males, with gray wings that appear more olive yellow.
They’re widespread in woodlands, especially conifer woodlands. Insects are the main source of food for these creatures, who meticulously pluck them from tree foliage.
Try to attract western tanagers with dry fruit or fresh oranges since they don’t often visit seed feeders. They may be drawn to your yard by a bird bath or other water feature.
17. WESTERN SANDPIPER
Scientific name: Calidris mauri
Almost every coast in the Americas has populations of common shorebirds like western sandpipers. During migration seasons, these birds have been known to congregate in huge flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
The upperparts of adult birds are black, brown, or rufous, and the underparts are white. Foraging along the retreating seashores or hunting for aquatic invertebrates for the following meal is a common sight.
18. WARBLING VIREO
Scientific name: Vireo gilvus
During the summer, American and Canadian warbling vireos live in the United States and Canada, but spend their winters in Southern Mexico and Central America. In mature deciduous woodlands, where they forage for insects and nest, look for warbling vireos.
During the breeding season, the males are extremely territorial, and while he defends it, the females have to choose a nesting site. Warbling vireos are a grayish-olive bird that is approximately the size of a Sparrow.
19. WANDERING ALBATROSS
Scientific name: Diomedea exulans
When fully spread, the wandering albatross’s wingspan is 11 feet 6 inches long, making it the world’s longest. Only Antarctic, sub-Antarctic, and subtropical waters give birth to this bird.
Monogamy prevents wandering albatrosses from breeding more than once every two years on subantarctic islands. One of, if not the most efficient and well-tuned flier in the entire animal kingdom is the wandering albatross. Using the winds from the ocean to help them barely even flap their wings, these birds can fly 500 miles in a single day.
20. WILLIAMSON’S SAPSUCKER
Scientific name: Sphyrapicus thyroideus
Only a few midwestern states are home to Williamson’s Sapsuckers. They exclusively eat pine sap, which they extract via sapwells. Insects are also eaten by sapsuckers.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are seldom seen in backyards, and they may be found from the Rocky Mountains westward. They prefer to nest in bigger, older trees, roosting in natural or excavated caves.
21. WOOD THRUSH
Scientific name: Hylocichla mustelina
One of the most lovely songs in North America belongs to the wood thrush. They have a flute-like cry that may travel through the woods and sound like “ee-oh-lay.”
Wood thrushes have been seen foraging for food in mature forests that are quiet and distant from humans, which has been a good luck find. In the eastern United States, look for them during the spring and summer.
22. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
Scientific name: Sitta carolinensis
In most backyards within their range, white-breasted nuthatches are a common feeder bird. Nuthatches are named after the way they feed nuts and seeds beneath tree bark before shattering the seed from its shell with their pointed beaks.
In addition, these birds are better able to walk vertically on trees than many other species. Nuthatches with white on both sides and on their bellies have a thick black stripe on top of their heads. Gray and black are the predominant colors of their wings.
Most seed feeders are visited by nuthatches, who offer black sunflower seeds, peanuts, or suet in exchange for mixed seed blends. They enjoy snatching seeds and fleeing, storing them in a neighboring tree or eating them right away.
23. WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER
Scientific name: Dryobates albolarvatus
While there are a couple of minor areas in Southern California where you may encounter a White-headed Woodpecker if you’re lucky, the birds can be found year-round in various regions of California, primarily to the north and east. They prefer pine-covered highlands and are seldom found in pine-free woodlands.
In woodlands with a lot of ponderosa, Jeffery, Coulter, and sugar pines, these woodpeckers adore pine seeds and cones. White-headed Woodpeckers, like Black-backed and American three-toed Woodpeckers, prefer to remove the bark from trees rather than drill into them. In addition, they’ll flock to burnt areas to exploit the insects.
With mostly inky black plumage, save for their bright white heads and white stripes on their wings, White-headed Woodpeckers are about the same size as an American Robin. Males, like other woodpeckers species, have a bright red patch on their heads. They have long wings and tails, as well as a small, pointed beak, when compared to other woodpeckers.
24. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
Scientific name: Zonotrichia leucophrys
The white-crowned sparrow, which has a huge range in North America, is a highly migratory and frequent bird. They reside in the lower 48 states or Mexico during the winter and breed in Northern Canada or Alaska.
This species is more likely to be seen near shrubs or overgrown fields, rather than at a bird feeder. The adult’s black and white striped head makes them easy to distinguish.
25. WHITE-FACED IBIS
Scientific name: Plegadis chihi
In most of the western and mid-western United States, this huge water bird is common. During the breeding season, they are more active. They hunt for prey such as earthworms, crayfish, and insects in marshes and wet fields where they can be found.
The white faces of breeding adults give the ibis its name, of course. Solid brown birds lack the white face and are immature or non-breeding adults.
26. WHITE-TAILED HAWK
Scientific name: Geranoaetus albicaudatus
In Central and South America, this neotropical raptor is common, but not in North America. In reality, the White-tailed Hawk may be found only in Texas’ southern tip, making it the only state in North America to do so. In neighboring states, there have been occasional reports of stray animals, although these were extremely unusual.
This species is non-migratory, but will travel locally in search of food. They are mostly gray on top and white on the bottom, with a black and light morph of this species of hawk being one of the few exceptions. Rats, mice, pocket gophers, rabbits, birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, and crabs are the majority of their diet.
27. WHITE-TAILED KITE
Scientific name: Elanus leucurus
South and Central America are the most common habitats for white-tailed kites, although you may only find them in a few areas of the United States. Florida’s southernmost point, Texas’ extreme south, California, and Oregon are among the locations mentioned.
These high-flying birds of prey search for tiny animals and rodents from above in grasslands and open woodland regions. White-tailed kites are gray, white, and black in hue, and are somewhat bigger than crows.