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List of birds of Arkansas facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The northern mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas.

Mimus polyglottos adult 01 cropped
The northern mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas.

This article is a list of all the different types of birds that have been seen and officially recorded in the state of Arkansas. The Arkansas Audubon Society (AAS) keeps this official list. As of January 2022, there are 424 bird species on the list!

Some birds are seen more often than others:

  • Very rare (VR): These birds are seen only sometimes, and not very often.
  • Occasional (O): These birds have been seen a few times (3-4 records), with at least two sightings since 1950.
  • Accidental (A): These birds have only been seen once or twice in Arkansas.
  • Introduced (I): These are birds that were brought to North America by people and now live freely in the wild.
  • Extinct (E): These birds no longer exist anywhere in the world.
  • Extirpated (Ex): These birds no longer live in Arkansas, but they can still be found in other places.

This list only includes birds that have made Arkansas their home and have wild populations. Birds that might have escaped from captivity are not included, even if they were seen flying around.

The birds are listed in a special order, following the "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds" from the American Ornithological Society (AOS).

Contents

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl: Birds of the Water

Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae

This group includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are perfectly built for life in the water! They have webbed feet to help them swim, and their bills are usually flat. Their feathers are also great at shedding water because of special oils.

New World Quail: Small Ground Birds

Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae

New World quails are small, round birds that live on the ground. They are not closely related to the quails found in other parts of the world, but they look and act similarly.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Turkeys: Game Birds

Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae

This family includes pheasants, partridges, grouse, and turkeys. They are ground-dwelling birds that vary in size but are generally plump with wide, short wings. Many of these birds are hunted for sport or raised for food.

Grebes: Diving Birds

Order: Podicipediformes Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-sized birds that dive in freshwater. They have special lobed toes that make them excellent swimmers and divers. However, their feet are set far back on their bodies, which makes them clumsy on land.

Pigeons and Doves: Common Birds

Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are birds with sturdy bodies, short necks, and thin bills. They often have a soft, fleshy area at the base of their bill called a cere.

Cuckoos: Birds with Long Tails

Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae

This family includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds come in different sizes but usually have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.

Nightjars and Allies: Nighttime Hunters

Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized birds that are active at night. They usually build their nests on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Their soft feathers are colored to help them blend in with tree bark or leaves.

Swifts: Birds Built for Flight

Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds that spend most of their lives flying. They have very short legs and almost never land on the ground. Instead, they perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, swept-back wings that look like a crescent moon or a boomerang.

Hummingbirds: Tiny, Hovering Wonders

Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are tiny birds famous for their ability to hover in mid-air by flapping their wings very fast. They are the only birds that can fly backward!

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots: Secretive Water Birds

Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae

This is a large family of small to medium-sized birds that includes rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. They usually live in thick plants near lakes, swamps, or rivers. They are often shy and hard to spot. Most have strong legs and long toes, which help them walk on soft, uneven ground. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are not very strong fliers.

Limpkin: A Unique Wading Bird

Order: Gruiformes Family: Aramidae

The limpkin is a unique bird that looks like a large rail. However, its bones show it is more closely related to cranes.

Cranes: Tall, Elegant Birds

Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large birds with long legs and long necks. Unlike herons, which look similar but are not related, cranes fly with their necks stretched out, not pulled back. Many cranes have fancy and loud courtship dances.

Stilts and Avocets: Long-Legged Waders

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae

This family includes avocets and stilts. Avocets have long legs and long bills that curve upwards. Stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.

Lapwings and Plovers: Shoreline Birds

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae

This family includes plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, pointed wings. They live in open areas around the world, especially near water.

Sandpipers and Allies: Diverse Shorebirds

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae

This is a large and varied family of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. Most of these birds eat small bugs they find in mud or soil. Their different leg and bill lengths allow many species to feed in the same places without competing for food.

Skuas and Jaegers: Powerful Seabirds

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Stercorariidae

Skuas and jaegers are medium to large birds, usually gray or brown with white marks on their wings. They have long bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They look like large, dark gulls but have a fleshy area above their upper bill. They are strong and agile fliers.

Auks, Murres, and Puffins: Ocean Dwellers

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Alcidae

This family includes auks, murres, and puffins. These birds have short wings and live on the open ocean. They only come to land for breeding.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers: Coastal Birds

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae

This family includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes, and skimmers. They are medium to large seabirds, typically gray or white, often with black marks on their heads or wings. They have strong, longish bills and webbed feet.

Loons: Excellent Divers

Order: Gaviiformes Family: Gaviidae

Loons are aquatic birds about the size of a large duck, though they are not related. They are mostly gray or black and have bills shaped like spears. Loons swim very well and fly adequately, but they are almost helpless on land because their legs are placed far back on their bodies.

Storks: Large Wading Birds

Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy birds with long legs and necks, and strong, long bills. They have wide wingspans and are wading birds. Storks do not have a voice box, so they are mute.

Frigatebirds: Masters of the Air

Order: Suliformes Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are black, or black and white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colorful throat pouches that can inflate. They cannot swim or walk well and cannot take off from a flat surface. They have the largest wingspan compared to their body weight of any bird, allowing them to stay in the air for more than a week!

Boobies and Gannets: Plunge Divers

Order: Suliformes Family: Sulidae

This family includes gannets and boobies. Both are medium-large coastal seabirds that dive headfirst into the water to catch fish.

  • Brown booby, Sula leucogaster (O)
  • Northern gannet, Morus bassanus (A)
    Morus-bassanus Northern Gannet
    Northern gannet

Anhingas: Snakebirds

Order: Suliformes Family: Anhingidae

Anhingas are water birds that look like cormorants but have very long necks and long, straight beaks. They eat fish and often swim with only their neck above the water, which is why they are sometimes called "snakebirds."

Cormorants and Shags: Dark Water Birds

Order: Suliformes Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium to large aquatic birds, usually with mostly dark feathers and colored skin on their faces. Their bills are long, thin, and sharply hooked. They have four webbed toes on each foot.

Pelicans: Birds with Pouches

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are very large water birds with a special pouch under their beak. Like other birds in their group, they have four webbed toes.

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns: Wading Birds

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae

This family includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to have shorter necks and are more secretive. Unlike storks or ibises, these birds fly with their necks pulled back.

Ibises and Spoonbills: Unique Bill Shapes

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Threskiornithidae

This family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, wide wings and long bodies and necks, with fairly long legs. Their bills are also long; ibises have bills that curve downwards, while spoonbills have straight bills that are distinctly flattened at the end.

New World Vultures: Nature's Clean-Up Crew

Order: Cathartiformes Family: Cathartidae

The New World vultures are not closely related to vultures found in other parts of the world, but they look similar because they evolved to do the same job. Like other vultures, they are scavengers, meaning they eat dead animals. Unlike Old World vultures, which find food by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell to find carcasses.

Osprey: The Fish Hawk

Order: Accipitriformes Family: Pandionidae

The Osprey family includes only one type of bird: the Osprey! These are fish-eating birds of prey. They have a very large, strong hooked beak for tearing meat, powerful legs, strong talons, and excellent eyesight.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites: Powerful Hunters

Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae

This family includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds of prey have very large, powerful hooked beaks for tearing meat from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight.

Barn-Owls: Nighttime Hunters with Heart-Shaped Faces

Order: Strigiformes Family: Tytonidae

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with big heads and a special heart-shaped face. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons.

Owls: Solitary Night Birds

Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae

The typical owls are small to large birds of prey that hunt alone at night. They have large eyes that face forward and good hearing. They have a hawk-like beak and a clear circle of feathers around each eye, called a facial disk.

Kingfishers: Fisher Birds

Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. They are known for diving into water to catch fish.

Woodpeckers: Tree Tappers

Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues for catching insects. Many woodpeckers have two toes pointing forward and two backward, which helps them grip trees. They are known for tapping loudly on tree trunks with their beaks.

Falcons and Caracaras: Fast Predators

Order: Falconiformes Family: Falconidae

This family includes falcons and caracaras. These are birds of prey that are active during the day. They are different from hawks and eagles because they kill their prey with their beaks instead of their talons.

New World and African Parrots: Colorful and Smart

Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae

Parrots are birds that can be small to large, with a special curved beak. Their upper beak can move a little where it connects to their skull, and they usually stand upright. All parrots have two toes pointing forward and two backward on each foot. Most of the more than 150 species in this family live in the Americas.

Tyrant Flycatchers: Insect Eaters

Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are songbirds found all over North and South America. They look a bit like flycatchers from other parts of the world, but they are stronger and have tougher bills. They don't have the complex songs of many other songbirds. Most of them are plain-looking, and as their name suggests, they mostly eat insects.

Vireos: Greenish Songbirds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Vireonidae

Vireos are a group of small to medium-sized songbirds. They are usually greenish and look like wood warblers, but they have stronger bills.

Shrikes: The Butcher Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are songbirds known for their unusual habit of catching other birds and small animals. They will sometimes impale the parts they don't eat on thorns or barbed wire. A shrike's beak is hooked, similar to a bird of prey.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies: Smart Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae

This family includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. Corvids are larger than average among songbirds, and some of the bigger species are very intelligent.

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice: Small Woodland Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mostly small, stocky woodland birds with short, strong bills. Some have crests on their heads. They are adaptable birds that eat a mix of seeds and insects.

Larks: Ground Birds with Songs

Order: Passeriformes Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small birds that live on the ground. They often have amazing songs and display flights. Most larks look quite plain. They eat insects and seeds.

Swallows: Aerial Acrobats

Order: Passeriformes Family: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae includes songbirds that are built for catching food in the air. They have slender, streamlined bodies, long, pointed wings, and short bills with wide mouths. Their feet are better for perching than walking.

Kinglets: Tiny Crowned Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Regulidae

The kinglets are a small family of birds that look like titmice. They are very tiny birds that eat insects. Adult kinglets have colorful crowns on their heads, which is how they got their name.

Waxwings: Silky Plumage and Berries

Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae

The waxwings are a group of birds with soft, silky feathers and unique red tips on some of their wing feathers. These tips look like sealing wax, giving them their name. These birds live in northern forests. They eat insects in the summer and berries in the winter.

Nuthatches: Head-First Climbers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, which is unusual for birds that climb. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Treecreepers: Bark Explorers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown on top and white underneath. They have thin, pointed bills that curve downwards, which they use to pull insects out of tree bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which help them support themselves on vertical tree trunks.

Gnatcatchers: Restless Insect Hunters

Order: Passeriformes Family: Polioptilidae

These delicate birds look and act like Old World warblers, moving constantly through leaves to find insects. Gnatcatchers are mostly soft bluish-gray and have the long, sharp bill typical of insect-eating birds. Many species have distinct black patterns on their heads (especially males) and long, often cocked, black-and-white tails.

Wrens: Small Birds, Loud Songs

Order: Passeriformes Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and often hard-to-see birds, except for their very loud songs. They have short wings and thin, downward-curved bills. Several species often hold their tails straight up. All wrens eat insects.

Mockingbirds and Thrashers: Amazing Mimics

Order: Passeriformes Family: Mimidae

The mimids are a family of songbirds that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, and New World catbirds. These birds are famous for their voices, especially their incredible ability to copy the sounds of many other birds and outdoor noises. These species usually have dull gray and brown feathers.

Starlings: Dark and Social Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized songbirds with strong feet. They fly strongly and directly and often live in large groups. They prefer open areas and eat insects and fruit. Their feathers are usually dark with a shiny, metallic look.

Thrushes and Allies: Songbirds of the Ground

Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of songbirds found mostly, but not only, in the Old World. They are plump, soft-feathered, small to medium-sized birds that eat insects or sometimes everything. They often feed on the ground. Many thrushes have beautiful songs.

Old World Flycatchers: Rare Visitors

Order: Passeriformes Family: Muscicapidae

This is a large family of small songbirds found only in the Old World. Species from this family only appear in North America by accident. These birds look very different from each other, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.

Old World Sparrows: Small Seed Eaters

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small songbirds. Generally, sparrows are small, plump, brownish or grayish birds with short tails and strong, short beaks. Sparrows mainly eat seeds, but they also eat small insects.

Wagtails and Pipits: Ground Feeders

Order: Passeriformes Family: Motacillidae

This family includes wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender songbirds that eat insects on the ground in open areas. They often have medium to long tails.

Finches and Allies: Seed-Eating Songbirds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae

Finches are songbirds that eat seeds. They are small to medium-sized and have strong beaks, usually shaped like a cone. All finches have twelve tail feathers and nine primary flight feathers. These birds have a bouncy flight, flapping and then gliding with their wings closed. Most finches sing well.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings: Grassland Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Calcariidae

The Calcariidae are a group of songbirds that used to be grouped with the New World sparrows. However, they are different in several ways and are usually found in open grassy areas.

New World Sparrows: Diverse Head Patterns

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passerellidae

Until 2017, these birds were part of a different family. Most are known as sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of these birds have special patterns on their heads.

Yellow-breasted Chat: A Unique Songbird

Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteriidae

This bird was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but experts were unsure. In 2017, it was placed in its own family because it's quite unique!

Troupials and Allies: Colorful New World Birds

Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae

The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful songbirds found only in the Americas. This family includes grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as their main feather color, often brightened with yellow, orange, or red.

New World Warblers: Small and Bright

Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae

The wood warblers are a group of small, often colorful songbirds found only in the Americas. Most live in trees, but some spend more time on the ground. Most birds in this family eat insects.

Cardinals and Allies: Strong-Billed Seed Eaters

Order: Passeriformes Family: Cardinalidae

The Cardinalidae are a family of strong, seed-eating birds with powerful bills. They usually live in open woodlands. Males and females often have different feather colors.

See also

  • List of birds
  • Lists of birds by region
  • List of birds of North America
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List of birds of Arkansas Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.