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List of birds of Manitoba facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This list of birds of Manitoba tells you about all the different bird types found in Manitoba, a province in Canada. Experts from the Manitoba Avian Research Committee (MARC) keep track of these birds. As of 2021, there are 404 different kinds of birds on this list!

Some birds are very rare or only show up by accident. We call these "accidental" (A) birds. Others are seen more often but not every year; these are "occasional" (O) birds. Some birds were brought to Manitoba by people, either on purpose or by accident; these are "introduced" (I) species. Sadly, one bird on the list is completely "extinct" (E), meaning it no longer exists anywhere. Two other birds are "extirpated" (Ex), which means they no longer live in Manitoba, but you can still find them in other parts of the world. One of these might even be extinct now.

This list follows a special order created by bird scientists in North America. We use the common names you might know, but also their scientific names, which are in italic text.

Strix nebulosaRB
The great grey owl is the official provincial bird of Manitoba

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae

This family includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds love water! They have webbed feet to help them swim and special feathers that shed water easily. Their bills are often flat, which helps them find food in the water.

Canada-Goose-Szmurlo
Canada goose
Höckerschwan
Mute swan
Greater-scaup-male2
Greater scaup
Bristol.zoo.common.eider.arp
Common eider
Bucephala clangula
Common goldeneye
Kappensäger männlich seitlich 050501
Hooded merganser

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae

This family includes pheasants, partridges, grouse, and turkeys. These birds usually stay on the ground. They are often plump with short, wide wings. Many of them are hunted for sport or raised for food.

RuffedGrouse23
Ruffed grouse

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes   Family: Podicipedidae

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

Podiceps auritus1
Horned grebe

Pigeons and Doves

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.

Zenaida macroura1
Mourning dove

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.

Coccyzus-americanus-001
Yellow-billed cuckoo

Nightjars and Allies

Order: Caprimulgiformes   Family: Caprimulgidae

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

Common Nighthawk
Common nighthawk

Swifts

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. They often perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, swept-back wings that look like a boomerang.

Hummingbirds

Order: Apodiformes   Family: Trochilidae

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

Rubythroathummer65
Ruby-throated hummingbird

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Rallidae

This large family includes rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots. They are usually found in thick plants near lakes, swamps, or rivers. They are often shy and hard to spot. Most have strong legs and long toes, perfect for walking on soft, uneven ground.

Fulica americana
American coot

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes   Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large birds with long legs and long necks. When they fly, their necks are stretched out, which is different from herons. Many cranes have amazing and loud "dances" during mating season.

Stilts and Avocets

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Recurvirostridae

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

AmericanAvocet23
American avocet

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, pointed wings. You can find them in open areas around the world, especially near water.

Killdeer
Killdeer

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, 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.

Catoptrophorus semipalmatus edit
Willet
Western Sandpiper
Western sandpiper
Calidris-alpina-001 edit
Dunlin
Common snipe fencepost
Wilson's snipe
RedNeckedPhalaropeIceland2006
Red-necked phalarope

Skuas and Jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Stercorariidae

Skuas and jaegers are large birds, usually grey or brown. They often have white marks on their wings. They have longish bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They are strong, agile fliers.

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Alcidae

Alcids look a bit like penguins because they are black and white and stand upright. But unlike penguins, they can fly! Auks live on the open sea and only come to land to nest.

Tystie1
Black guillemot

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae

This family includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. They are medium to large seabirds, usually grey or white, often with black markings. They have strong, longish bills and webbed feet.

Laughing gull - natures pics
Laughing gull
Larus-delawarensis-021
Ring-billed gull
Larus-glaucoides-002
Iceland gull
Chlidonias niger
Black tern

Loons

Order: Gaviiformes   Family: Gaviidae

Loons are water birds about the size of a large duck. They are mostly grey or black and have pointed bills. Loons are excellent swimmers and flyers, but they are very clumsy on land because their legs are at the back of their bodies.

RedthroatedLoon23
Red-throated loon

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy wading birds with long legs, long necks, and strong bills. They have wide wings and are good at soaring. Unlike herons, storks fly with their necks stretched out.

Boobies and Gannets

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.

Northern Gannet 2006 2
Northern gannet
  • Northern gannet, Morus bassanus (A)

Cormorants and Shags

Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium to large water birds, usually dark in color. They have long, thin, hooked bills and webbed feet.

Phalacrocorax-auritus-007
Double-crested cormorant

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Pelecanidae

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

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae

This family includes bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns are usually shorter-necked and more secretive. When they fly, they pull their necks back, unlike storks.

Botaurus lentiginosus 28079
American bittern
Great Blue Heron On Rock1
Great blue heron

Ibises and Spoonbills

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Threskiornithidae

This family includes ibises and spoonbills. They are large birds that live on land or wade in water. They have long, wide wings and are strong, graceful fliers.

New World Vultures

Order: Cathartiformes   Family: Cathartidae

New World vultures look like Old World vultures, but they are not closely related. They both eat dead animals. New World vultures have a great sense of smell, which helps them find food.

Turkey vulture Bluff
Turkey vulture

Osprey

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Pandionidae

The Osprey is a bird of prey that eats fish. It has a very large, strong, hooked beak to tear meat from its prey. It also has strong legs, powerful claws, and excellent eyesight. There is only one species in this family.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae

This family includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds of prey usually have strong, hooked beaks for tearing meat, powerful legs, sharp claws, and keen eyesight.

Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Full Body 1880px
Red-tailed hawk
GoldenEagle-Nova
Golden eagle

Barn-Owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Tytonidae

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with big heads and unique heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful claws.

Owls

Order: Strigiformes   Family: Strigidae

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

Northern Saw-whet Owl, Reifel BC 1
Northern saw-whet owl

Kingfishers

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 for fish.

Woodpeckers

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae

Woodpeckers, sapsuckers, and flickers are small to medium-sized birds. They have chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues for catching insects. Many woodpeckers tap loudly on tree trunks with their beaks.

Downy Woodpecker01
Downy woodpecker

Falcons and Caracaras

Order: Falconiformes   Family: Falconidae

This family includes falcons and caracaras. These are birds of prey that hunt during the day. They are different from hawks and eagles because they kill their prey with their beaks, not their claws.

Falco peregrinus nest USFWS
Peregrine falcon

Tyrant Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are songbirds found across North and South America. They look a bit like Old World flycatchers but are stronger and have tougher bills. Most of them eat insects.

Acadian Flycatcher
Acadian flycatcher
Empidonax-minimus-001
Least flycatcher
Tyrannus-tyrannus-001
Eastern kingbird

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vireonidae

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

Vireo-flavifrons-001
Yellow-throated vireo

Shrikes

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are songbirds known for catching other birds and small animals. They often impale (stick) their uneaten prey on thorns or barbed wire. A shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.

Lanius excubitor 1 (Marek Szczepanek)
Northern shrike

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Corvidae

This family includes crows, ravens, jays, magpies, and others. Corvids are larger than average songbirds. Some of the bigger species are very smart.

Cyanocitta-cristata-004
Blue jay

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Paridae

Chickadees and titmice are mostly small, plump woodland birds with short, strong bills. Some have crests on their heads. They are adaptable birds that eat both seeds and insects.

Poecile-atricapilla-001
Black-capped chickadee

Larks

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Alaudidae

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

Swallows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Hirundinidae

This family of songbirds is known for how well they fly and catch food in the air. They have slender bodies, long pointed wings, and short bills with wide mouths. Their feet are better for perching than walking.

Tachycineta bicolor1
Tree swallow

Kinglets

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Regulidae

Kinglets are a small family of birds that look a bit 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.

Regulus calendula1
Ruby-crowned kinglet

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Bombycillidae

Waxwings are birds with soft, silky feathers. Some of their wing feathers have unique red tips that look like sealing wax, which gives them their name. These birds live in northern forests.

Cedar Waxwing-27527-1
Cedar waxwing

Nuthatches

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, which most other birds cannot do. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Red-breasted-Nuthatch
Red-breasted nuthatch

Treecreepers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Certhiidae

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

Gnatcatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Polioptilidae

Gnatcatchers are a group of small songbirds that eat insects. Most of them look quite plain, but many have distinct songs.

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Troglodytidae

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

Carolina Wren 2
Carolina wren

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Mimidae

This family includes thrashers, mockingbirds, and catbirds. These birds are famous for their amazing songs and their ability to copy many different bird calls and other sounds. They usually have dull grey and brown feathers.

Mockingbird in Bay Ridge (85082)
Northern mockingbird

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized songbirds. 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 songbirds that are usually plump with soft feathers. They are small to medium-sized birds that eat insects or sometimes everything. They often feed on the ground. Many thrushes have beautiful songs.

Eastern Bluebird-27527-2
Eastern bluebird
Turdus-migratorius-002
American robin

Old World Flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Muscicapidae

Old World flycatchers are a large family of small songbirds. These birds mainly eat insects, often catching them while flying.

Old World Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small songbirds. They are usually plump and brownish or greyish with short tails and strong bills. Sparrows eat seeds, but they also eat small insects.

Wagtails and Pipits

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Motacillidae

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

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae

Finches are small to medium-sized songbirds that eat seeds. They have strong, often cone-shaped beaks. All finches have 12 tail feathers and nine primary flight feathers. They fly in a bouncy way, flapping their wings then gliding. Most finches sing well.

Purple Finch
Purple finch
Red Crossbills (Male)
Red crossbill
Carduelis-tristis-002
American goldfinch

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Calcariidae

This group of songbirds used to be grouped with New World sparrows. They are usually found in open grassy areas.

New World Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Passerellidae

Most birds in this family are called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of these birds have unique patterns on their heads.

Eastern Towhee-27527-2
Eastern towhee
Spizella-arborea-002 edit2
American tree sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco-27527-3
Dark-eyed junco

Yellow-breasted Chat

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteriidae

This bird was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but now scientists have given it its own family!

YellowbreastedChat23
Yellow-breasted chat

Troupials and Allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Icteridae

This group includes blackbirds, meadowlarks, cowbirds, grackles, and New World orioles. Most species are black, often with bright yellow, orange, or red colors.

Red winged blackbird - natures pics
Red-winged blackbird
Quiscalus-quiscula-001
Common grackle

New World Warblers

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Parulidae

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.

Blue-winged Warbler
Blue-winged warbler
Northernparalua20
Northern parula
Setophaga ruticilla
American redstart
Common yellowthroat
Common yellowthroat

Cardinals and Allies

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Cardinalidae

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

Rose-breasted Grosbeak-2752
Rose-breasted grosbeak

See also

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List of birds of Manitoba Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.