kids encyclopedia robot

List of birds of Everglades National Park facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Everglades National Park in Florida, USA, is a special place where many different kinds of birds live. This list tells you about the birds that have been seen there. It's based on information from the National Park Service, updated on June 21, 2022.

There are about 375 different bird species on this list! Some of these birds were brought to North America by people (we call these "introduced" species). A few species used to live in Florida but are now gone from the state, though they still exist elsewhere (these are "extirpated"). Sadly, one species on the list is completely gone from the world (it's "extinct").

The birds are listed in a scientific order, just like how scientists group animals. The names of the birds and their families come from important bird checklists.

Here are some special tags you'll see next to some bird names:

  • (I) Introduced: This means people brought this bird to North America, either on purpose or by accident.
  • (e) Extirpated: This bird used to live in Florida but doesn't anymore. It still lives in other places.
  • (E) Extinct: This bird no longer exists anywhere in the world.

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

This family includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are great at living in water! They have webbed feet to help them swim, flat bills for feeding, and special feathers that shed water easily thanks to natural oils.

Flamingoes

Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingoes are tall, social wading birds, usually about 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) tall. They live in both the Western and Eastern parts of the world. Flamingos eat tiny shellfish and algae by filtering them from the water. Their unique beaks are shaped to separate mud from their food and are used upside-down!

Pigeons and Doves

Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae

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

Cuckoos

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

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.

Hummingbirds

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are tiny birds famous for hovering in the air. They flap their wings incredibly fast! They are the only birds that can fly backward.

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

This is a big family of small to medium-sized birds like rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. They often live in thick plants in wet places like swamps or near lakes. They are usually shy and hard to spot. Most have strong legs with long toes and short, rounded wings. They are not very strong fliers.

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, tall birds with long legs and long necks. Unlike herons, which look similar, cranes fly with their necks stretched out. Many cranes have special, noisy dances they do to find a mate. Sometimes, a group of cranes will "dance" just for fun!

Plovers and Lapwings

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, often pointed wings. You usually find them in open areas, especially near water.

Sandpipers and Allies

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

This is a large and varied family of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, and more. Most of them eat small insects and other tiny creatures they find in mud or sand. Different birds in this family have different leg and bill lengths, which lets them all feed in the same area without competing for food.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

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

Loons

Order: Gaviiformes   Family: Gaviidae

Loons are water birds about the size of a large duck, though they are not related to ducks. They are mostly gray or black and have bills shaped like spears. Loons are excellent swimmers and can fly well, but they are clumsy on land because their legs are placed far back on their bodies.

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy wading birds with long legs, long necks, and strong, long bills. They have wide wingspans. Unlike other wading birds, storks don't have special "powder down" feathers to clean off fish slime. Storks also can't make sounds with a voice box, so they are mostly silent.

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are very large water birds with a unique pouch under their beak. Like other birds in their group, they have four webbed toes, which help them swim.

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

This family includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are wading birds with long necks and legs. Herons are generally larger, and egrets are smaller. Bitterns usually have shorter necks and are more secretive. When they fly, these birds pull their necks back into a curve, which is different from storks or ibises.

Ibises and Spoonbills

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Threskiornithidae

The Threskiornithidae family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings, long bodies, and even longer legs and necks. Their bills are also long: ibises have bills that curve downward, while spoonbills have straight bills that are flattened at the end.

New World Vultures

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae

New World vultures look like Old World vultures, but they are not closely related. They look similar because they both adapted to the same lifestyle of eating dead animals. Unlike Old World vultures, which find food by sight, New World vultures have a great sense of smell to find carcasses.

Osprey

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

The Osprey family (Pandionidae) has only one type of bird: the Osprey! These birds of prey eat fish. They have a very large, strong, hooked beak for tearing meat, powerful legs, strong claws, and excellent eyesight.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

This family includes hawks, eagles, kites, and harriers. These birds of prey have very large, hooked beaks for tearing meat from their food. They also have strong legs, powerful claws, and sharp eyesight.

Owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

Typical owls are mostly solitary birds of prey that are active at night. They have large eyes that face forward, good hearing, a hawk-like beak, and a clear circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Alcedinidae

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

Woodpeckers

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 tap loudly on tree trunks with their beaks.

Falcons and Caracaras

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

The Falconidae family includes falcons and caracaras. They are different from hawks and eagles because they use their beaks to kill their prey, not their claws.

New World and African Parrots

Order: Psittaciformes   Family: Psittacidae

Parrots have strong, curved bills, stand upright, and have strong legs with clawed feet that can grasp things (two toes point forward, two backward). Many parrots are brightly colored. They range in size from about 3 inches (8 cm) to 3 feet (1 meter) long. Most of the over 150 species in this family live in the Americas.

Tyrant Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers live all over North and South America. They look a bit like Old World flycatchers but are stronger and have sturdier bills. They don't have the complex songs of many other songbirds. Most of them eat insects.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae

This family includes crows, ravens, and jays. Corvids are larger than most other perching birds, and some of the bigger species are very smart!

Swallows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

Swallows are built for catching food while flying. They have slender bodies, long pointed wings, and short bills with wide mouths. Their feet are better for perching than walking.

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

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

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mimidae

This family includes thrashers, mockingbirds, and catbirds. They are famous for their amazing voices, especially their ability to copy the sounds of many other birds and outdoor noises. These birds are usually dull gray and brown in color.

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized perching birds with strong feet. They fly strongly and directly and often gather 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

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

Thrushes are a group of perching birds that are mostly found in the Old World. They are plump, with soft feathers, and are small to medium-sized. They eat insects or sometimes everything (omnivores), often finding food on the ground. Many thrushes have beautiful songs.

New World Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae

These birds were once grouped with another family, but scientists now know they are different. Most of these species are called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of them have unique patterns on their heads.

Troupials and Allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae

The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful, perching birds found only in the Americas. This family includes grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most of them are black, often with bright yellow, orange, or red colors.

New World Warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae

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

Cardinals and Allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae

Cardinals 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

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
List of birds of Everglades National Park Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.