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List of birds of Nevada facts for kids

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Nevada is a cool state with lots of different places, from deserts to mountains. This means many kinds of birds can live here! This list tells you about the birds found in Nevada. It includes birds that live here all the time, birds that visit for summer or winter, and birds that just pass through during their migrations.

As of March 2021, there are 491 types of birds officially recorded in Nevada. Some of these birds are on a special "review list" (R). This means if someone sees them, they need to provide extra proof because these birds are usually rare or don't visit Nevada often. Also, six bird types have been "introduced" (I) by humans, meaning they weren't originally from North America but now live here.

This list follows the official bird guide from the American Ornithological Society (AOS).

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

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Canada goose

These birds are part of the Anatidae family. They are known for living in water, having webbed feet, and special feathers that shed water easily. You'll find ducks, geese, and swans in this group. Thirty-nine different kinds have been seen in Nevada.

New World Quail

These small, plump birds are related to the quails found in other parts of the world. They live on the ground. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

This family, Phasianidae, includes pheasants and their relatives. They are ground-dwelling birds that vary in size but are generally plump with broad, short wings. Many are hunted for sport or raised for food. Ten types have been seen in Nevada.

Grebes

Grebes are small to medium-sized birds that dive in freshwater. They have special lobed toes that help them swim and dive really well. However, their feet are set far back on their bodies, making them clumsy on land. Six types have been recorded in Nevada.

Pigeons and Doves

These birds are known for their sturdy bodies, short necks, and small, thin beaks. Nine types have been recorded in Nevada.

Cuckoos

The Cuculidae family includes cuckoos and roadrunners. These birds come in different sizes, with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Nightjars and Allies

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 beaks. Their soft feathers are colored to help them blend in with tree bark or leaves. Five types have been recorded in Nevada.

Swifts

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 boomerang. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Hummingbirds

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! Nine types have been recorded in Nevada.

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

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American coot

This large family (Rallidae) 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, perfect for walking on soft, uneven ground. Seven types have been recorded in Nevada.

Cranes

Cranes are large birds with long legs and long necks. Unlike herons, which look similar, cranes fly with their necks stretched out. They often have fancy and loud dances to find a mate. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Stilts and Avocets

This family (Recurvirostridae) includes large wading birds like avocets and stilts. Avocets have long legs and bills that curve upwards. Stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Plovers and Lapwings

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Killdeer

The Charadriidae family includes plovers and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, pointed wings. They live in open areas worldwide, especially near water. Seven types have been recorded in Nevada.

Sandpipers and Allies

Scolopacidae is a big family of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, 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 fighting over food. Thirty-five types have been recorded in Nevada.

Skuas and Jaegers

Skuas and jaegers are medium to large birds, usually gray or brown. They have long bills with hooked tips and webbed feet with sharp claws. They are strong, acrobatic flyers. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

The Alcidae family includes auks, murres, and puffins. These birds have short wings and live on the open sea, only coming to land to breed. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

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Ring-billed gull

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, including gulls and terns. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings. They have strong, longish bills and webbed feet. Twenty-six types have been recorded in Nevada.

Loons

Loons are aquatic birds, about the size of a large duck, but not related to them. They are mostly gray or black with spear-shaped bills. Loons swim and fly well, but they are very clumsy on land because their legs are placed far back on their bodies. Four types have been recorded in Nevada.

Northern Storm-Petrels

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. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Storks

Storks are large, heavy wading birds with long legs, long necks, and strong bills. They have wide wings. Storks do not have a voice box and are silent. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Frigatebirds

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are mostly black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. Males have colorful throat pouches that they can inflate. They don't swim or walk much and can't take off from flat ground. They have the largest wingspan compared to their body weight of any bird, allowing them to stay in the air for over a week! One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Boobies and Gannets

This family includes gannets and boobies. Both are medium-large coastal seabirds that dive headfirst into the water to catch fish. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Cormorants and Shags

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. Their feet have four webbed toes. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Pelicans

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

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

This family (Ardeidae) includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns are usually shorter-necked and more secretive. Unlike storks, these birds fly with their necks pulled back. Twelve types have been recorded in Nevada.

Ibises and Spoonbills

The Threskiornithidae family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, wide wings, long bodies, and long legs. Their bills are also long; ibises have bills that curve downwards, while spoonbills have straight, flattened bills. Four types have been recorded in Nevada.

New World Vultures

New World vultures look like Old World vultures but are not closely related. 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. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Osprey

Ospreys are fish-eating birds of prey. They have very large, strong, hooked beaks for tearing meat, powerful legs, strong claws, and excellent eyesight. There is only one type of Osprey in this family.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

This family (Accipitridae) includes hawks, eagles, kites, and harriers. These birds of prey have very large, strong, hooked beaks for tearing meat, powerful legs, strong claws, and sharp eyesight. Eighteen types have been recorded in Nevada.

Barn-Owls

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with big heads and unique heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful claws. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Owls

Typical owls are small to large birds of prey that are usually active at night and live alone. They have big eyes that face forward, good hearing, a hawk-like beak, and a clear circle of feathers around each eye. Twelve types have been recorded in Nevada.

Kingfishers

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used to catch insects. Many woodpeckers tap loudly on tree trunks with their beaks. Nineteen types have been recorded in Nevada.

Falcons and Caracaras

This family (Falconidae) 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 claws. Six types have been recorded in Nevada.

Tyrant Flycatchers

Tyrant flycatchers are songbirds found across North and South America. They look a bit like Old World flycatchers but are stronger and have more powerful bills. Most of them eat insects. Twenty-nine types have been recorded in Nevada.

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

Vireos are small to medium-sized songbirds. They are usually greenish and look like wood warblers, but they have heavier bills. Twelve types have been recorded in Nevada.

Shrikes

Shrikes are songbirds known for catching other birds and small animals and sticking them on thorns or barbed wire. A shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

The Corvidae family includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. These birds are larger than average songbirds, and some of the bigger ones are very smart. Nine types have been recorded in Nevada.

Penduline-Tits

Penduline-tits are a family of small songbirds related to true tits. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

The Paridae family includes small, sturdy woodland birds with short, strong bills. They can adapt to different environments and eat a mix of seeds and insects. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Larks

Larks are small ground birds known for their often beautiful songs and display flights. Most larks look quite plain. They eat insects and seeds. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Swallows

The Hirundinidae family is made up of birds that catch food while flying. They have slender bodies, long pointed wings, and short bills with wide mouths. Their feet are better for perching than walking. Seven types have been recorded in Nevada.

Long-tailed Tits

Long-tailed tits are a group of small songbirds with medium to long tails. They build woven bag nests in trees. Most eat a mix of insects. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Kinglets

Kinglets are a small family of very tiny insect-eating birds. Adults have colorful crowns, which is how they get their name. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Waxwings

Waxwings are songbirds with soft, silky feathers and unique red tips on some of their wing feathers that look like sealing wax. They live in northern forests and eat insects in summer and berries in winter. Two types have been recorded in Nevada.

Silky-Flycatchers

Silky-flycatchers are a small family of songbirds found mostly in Central America. They are related to waxwings and also have soft, silky feathers, usually gray or pale yellow. They have small crests on their heads. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Nuthatches

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, unlike most other birds that only climb up. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet. Three types have been recorded in Nevada.

Treecreepers

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

Gnatcatchers

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

Wrens

Wrens are small and often hard to spot, but they have very loud songs. They have short wings and thin, down-curved bills. Several types often hold their tails straight up. All wrens eat insects. Nine types have been recorded in Nevada.

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

This family (Mimidae) includes thrashers, mockingbirds, and catbirds. These birds are famous for their amazing voices, especially their ability to copy many different bird calls and other sounds they hear. They usually have dull gray and brown feathers. Eight types have been recorded in Nevada.

Starlings

Starlings are small to medium-sized songbirds 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. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Dippers

Dippers are small, sturdy birds that feed in cold, fast-moving streams. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Thrushes and Allies

Thrushes are a group of songbirds that are plump, with soft feathers, and are small to medium-sized. They eat insects or sometimes everything, often finding food on the ground. Many have beautiful songs. Ten types have been recorded in Nevada.

Old World Sparrows

Old World sparrows are small songbirds. They are generally small, plump, brownish or grayish birds with short tails and strong, short beaks. Sparrows eat seeds, but they also eat small insects. One type has been recorded in Nevada.

Wagtails and Pipits

This family (Motacillidae) includes wagtails and pipits. They are slender songbirds that feed on insects on the ground in open areas. Six types have been recorded in Nevada.

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

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 main flight feathers. These birds fly with a bouncy up-and-down motion, and most sing well. Fifteen types have been recorded in Nevada.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

The Calcariidae family includes longspurs and snow buntings. These songbirds are usually found in open grassy areas. Five types have been recorded in Nevada.

New World Sparrows

These birds are mostly called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of them have unique patterns on their heads. Thirty types have been recorded in Nevada.

Yellow-breasted Chat

This bird was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but in 2017, it was placed in its own family.

Troupials and Allies

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

New World Warblers

Wood warblers are a group of small, often colorful songbirds found only in the New World. Most live in trees, but some, like the ovenbird, live more on the ground. Most birds in this family eat insects. Forty-four types have been recorded in Nevada.

Cardinals and Allies

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. Thirteen types have been recorded in Nevada.

Images for kids

See also

  • List of birds
  • Lists of birds by region
  • List of North American birds
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List of birds of Nevada Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.