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List of birds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Welcome to the amazing world of birds found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park! This special park is located in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. This list tells you about the many different bird species that live or visit here. It was put together in May 2010 by the Great Smoky Mountains Association (GSMA) and the National Park Service (NPS). There are 245 different types of birds on this list!

The birds are organized in a scientific way, following the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). This helps scientists and birdwatchers keep track of them. The names of the bird families come from the Clements taxonomy.

Most of the birds on this list live in the park regularly. Some live there all year, some visit in summer or winter, and others just pass through during migration. You'll see some special notes next to certain birds:

  • (U) Uncommon: This means you might see at least one of these birds each season, or a few throughout the year (43 species).
  • (O) Occasional: You might see one of these birds about once a year or even less often (45 species).
  • (R) Rare: These birds have been seen in the park at least once, but they are not expected to be there often (53 species).
  • (I) Introduced: These are birds that humans brought to North America (three species).

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 flat, which is great for finding food. Their feathers are also super good at shedding water, thanks to 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 look a lot like quails from other parts of the world, but they are not closely related. They are named for their similar looks and habits.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies: Game Birds

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

This family includes pheasants and similar birds. They are ground-dwelling birds that vary in size. They are usually 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 a bit clumsy when they are 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 have a soft, fleshy area at the base of their bill called a cere.

Cuckoos: Birds with Long Tails

Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae

The cuckoo family includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds come in different sizes but usually have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. Some cuckoos in other parts of the world are known for laying their eggs in other birds' nests.

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 small bills. Their soft feathers are colored to help them blend in with bark or leaves, making them hard to spot.

Swifts: Masters of 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 Jewels

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

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

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots: Shy Water Birds

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

This is a large family of small to medium-sized birds. They include rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. Most of these birds live in thick plants in wet areas like lakes, swamps, or rivers. They are often shy and hard to see. They have strong legs and long toes, which are great for walking on soft, uneven ground. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are not very strong fliers.

Cranes: Tall and Graceful 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. Most cranes have special and loud dances they do when they are trying to find a mate.

Plovers and Lapwings: 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, often pointed wings. You can find them in open areas all over the world, especially near water.

Sandpipers and Allies: Wading Birds

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae

This is a large and diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, and snipes. Most of these birds eat small bugs they find in mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills allow many species to feed in the same areas without competing for food.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers: Seabirds

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

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

Loons: Expert Divers

Order: Gaviiformes   Family: Gaviidae

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

Northern Storm-Petrels: Small Ocean Birds

Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Hydrobatidae

Storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds. They are related to petrels and eat tiny sea creatures and small fish from the water's surface, often while hovering. Their flight is fluttery and sometimes looks like a bat's flight.

Cormorants and Shags: Dark Water Birds

Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium to large water birds, usually with dark feathers and colorful 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, which help them swim.

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 usually have shorter necks and are more secretive. Birds in this family fly with their necks pulled back, which is different from other long-necked birds like storks.

New World Vultures: Nature's Clean-Up Crew

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae

New World vultures are not closely related to vultures from 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 great sense of smell to find carcasses.

Osprey: Fish-Eating Raptors

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

The Osprey family includes birds of prey that eat fish. They have a very large, strong, hooked beak to tear meat from their prey. They also have strong legs, powerful claws (talons), and excellent eyesight. This family has only one type of bird.

  • Osprey, Pandion haliaetus (U)

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites: Powerful Hunters

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

This family includes hawks, eagles, kites, and harriers. These birds of prey have very large, strong, hooked beaks for tearing meat. They also have powerful legs, sharp talons, and amazing 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: Silent Hunters of the Night

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

Typical owls are usually solitary birds of prey that hunt at night. They have large eyes that face forward and big ears. They also have a hawk-like beak and a clear circle of feathers around each eye, called a facial disk.

Kingfishers: Fishermen of the Bird World

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: Tree Tappers

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae

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

Falcons and Caracaras: Fast Flyers

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

This family includes falcons and caracaras. They 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.

Tyrant Flycatchers: Insect Eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are songbirds found across North and South America. They look a bit like flycatchers from other parts of the world but are stronger and have more powerful bills. Most of them eat insects.

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis: Greenish Songbirds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae

Vireos are small to medium-sized songbirds found only in the Americas. They are usually greenish and look like wood warblers, but they have stronger bills.

Shrikes: Birds with Hooked Beaks

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are songbirds known for catching other birds and small animals. They sometimes stick the parts they don't eat onto thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies: Smart Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae

This family includes crows, ravens, and jays. Corvids are larger than most other songbirds, and some of the bigger ones are very intelligent.

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice: Small Woodland Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Paridae

The Paridae family includes 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 special flights they do to show off. Most larks don't have very bright feathers. They eat insects and seeds.

Swallows: Aerial Acrobats

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

The swallow family is built for catching food while flying. They have slender, streamlined bodies, long, pointed wings, and a short bill that opens wide. Their feet are made for perching, not walking.

Kinglets: Tiny Crowned Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Regulidae

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

Waxwings: Silky Feathered Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae

Waxwings are a group of songbirds 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 and eat insects in summer and berries in winter.

Nuthatches: Head-First Climbers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability: they can climb down trees headfirst! Other birds can only climb upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Treecreepers: Bark Explorers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Certhiidae

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

Gnatcatchers: Delicate Insect Hunters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae

These delicate birds look and act like warblers from other parts of the world. They move quickly through leaves, looking for insects. Gnatcatchers are mostly soft bluish-gray and have the typical long, sharp bill of an insect-eating bird. Many species have distinct black patterns on their heads (especially males) and long, black-and-white tails that they often hold up.

Wrens: Small Birds with Loud Songs

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and often hard-to-see birds, but they have 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 catbirds. These birds are famous for their singing, especially their incredible ability to copy many different bird calls and other sounds they hear outdoors. These birds usually have dull gray and brown feathers.

Starlings: Social Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae

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

Thrushes and Allies: Ground Feeders with Sweet Songs

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Turdidae

Thrushes are a group of songbirds found mostly in other parts of the world, but some are here too. 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 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-Feeding Insectivores

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Motacillidae

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

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies: Seed-Eating Singers

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 of them sing well.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings: Open Grassland Birds

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Calcariidae

This group of songbirds used to be considered part of the New World sparrows. However, they are different in several ways and are usually found in open grassy areas.

New World Sparrows: Distinctive Head Patterns

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae

Until 2017, these birds were grouped with another family. Most of them are called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of these birds have unique patterns on their heads.

Yellow-breasted Chat: A Unique Bird

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteriidae

This bird was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but experts weren't sure. In 2017, it was given its very own family!

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

Wood-warblers are a group of small and often colorful songbirds found only in the Americas. Most of them live in trees, but some, like the ovenbird, live more on the ground. Most birds in this family eat insects.

Cardinals and Allies: Strong-Billed Seed Eaters

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae

Cardinals are a family of strong, seed-eating birds with powerful bills. They are usually found in open woodlands. The males and females often have different colored feathers.

See also

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List of birds of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.