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List of birds of Newfoundland and Labrador facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is home to many amazing bird species! The Nature Newfoundland & Labrador Bird Records Committee has officially listed 427 different kinds of birds living here as of 2021. Another 20 species have been added from other bird checklists.

Out of these 427 species, some are seen more often than others:

  • R (Rare): These birds are not seen every year, but they do appear regularly in very small numbers.
  • VR (Very Rare): These birds have only been seen three times or less in the area.
  • A (Accidental): These birds are very rare and usually don't live in this area.
  • I (Introduced): These birds were brought to North America by people.

Sadly, one bird on the list might be extinct (meaning it no longer exists), and two other extinct species that used to live in Labrador are not on the main list.

This list follows the order used by the American Ornithological Society, which helps scientists keep track of all the different bird types.

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

American Black Duck male RWD1
American black duck
Long-tailed-duck
Long-tailed duck

These birds belong to the group called Anseriformes and the family Anatidae. This family includes ducks, geese, and swans. These birds are perfect for life in water! They have webbed feet, flat bills, and special feathers that shed water easily thanks to natural oils.

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

Ptarmigan9
Willow ptarmigan

These birds are part of the Galliformes order and the Phasianidae family. This group includes pheasants and their relatives. They mostly live on the ground. They are generally plump birds with broad, short wings. Many of these birds are hunted for sport or raised for food.

Flamingoes

Flamingoes belong to the Phoenicopteriformes order and the Phoenicopteridae family. These tall wading birds, usually about 1 to 1.5 metres (3 to 5 feet) tall, live in groups. They filter their food from the water, eating small shellfish and algae. Their unique, oddly shaped beaks are used upside-down to separate mud from their food.

Grebes

Grebes are in the Podicipediformes order and the Podicipedidae family. These are small to medium-sized diving birds that live in freshwater. They have lobed toes, making them excellent swimmers and divers. However, their feet are set far back on their bodies, which makes them quite clumsy on land.

Pigeons and Doves

These birds are in the Columbiformes order and the Columbidae family. Pigeons and doves are plump birds with short necks and thin bills. They eat seeds, fruits, and plants. Unlike most other birds, both male and female pigeons and doves produce a special liquid called "crop milk" to feed their young.

Cuckoos

Cuckoos are part of the Cuculiformes order and the Cuculidae family. This family includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds vary in size and have slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.

Nightjars and Allies

Nightjars are in the Caprimulgiformes order and the Caprimulgidae family. These are medium-sized birds that are active at night and usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Their soft feathers are coloured to blend in with bark or leaves, helping them hide.

Swifts

Swifts belong to the Apodiformes order and the Apodidae family. These small birds spend most of their lives flying. They have very short legs and almost never land on the ground, preferring to perch on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long, swept-back wings that look like a crescent moon.

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are also in the Apodiformes order, but they are in the Trochilidae family. These tiny birds can hover in mid-air by flapping their wings very fast. They are the only birds that can fly backwards!

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

These birds are in the Gruiformes order and the Rallidae family. 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 secretive, making them hard to spot. Most have strong legs and long toes, perfect for walking on soft, uneven ground. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are not strong fliers.

Cranes

Cranes are in the Gruiformes order and the Gruidae family. These 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 dances they do when trying to find a mate.

Stilts and Avocets

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

Oystercatchers

Oystercatchers are in the Charadriiformes order and the Haematopodidae family. These are large, noticeable, and noisy birds that look a bit like plovers. They have strong bills that they use to smash or pry open shellfish.

Plovers and Lapwings

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

Sandpipers and Allies

Calidris maritima
Purple sandpiper

These birds are in the Charadriiformes order and the Scolopacidae family. This is a large and varied family of small to medium-sized shorebirds. It includes sandpipers, curlews, godwits, and snipes. Most of these birds eat small creatures they find in mud or soil. Different bill and leg lengths allow many species to feed in the same places without competing for food.

Skuas and Jaegers

These birds are in the Charadriiformes order and the Stercorariidae family. Skuas and jaegers are medium to large birds, usually grey or brown, often 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 part above their upper bill. They are strong, acrobatic fliers.

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

AlleAlle 2
Dovekie

These birds are in the Charadriiformes order and the Alcidae family. Alcids look a bit like penguins because of their black and white colours and how they stand upright. However, they are only distantly related to penguins and can fly! Auks live on the open sea and only come to land to nest.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Great black-backed gull

These birds are in the Charadriiformes order and the Laridae family. This family includes gulls, terns, and skimmers. They are usually medium to large seabirds, typically grey or white, often with black marks on their heads or wings. They have strong, longish bills and webbed feet.

Tropicbirds

Tropicbirds are in the Phaethontiformes order and the Phaethontidae family. These are slender white birds found in tropical oceans. They have very long central tail feathers. Their long wings and heads have black markings.

Loons

Loons are in the Gaviiformes order and the Gaviidae family. These are water birds about the size of a large duck, though they are not related to ducks. Their feathers are mostly grey or black, and they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well and fly okay, but they are very clumsy on land because their legs are placed far back on their bodies.

Albatrosses

Albatrosses are in the Procellariiformes order and the Diomedeidae family. Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds. The great albatrosses have the largest wingspans of any birds alive today.

Southern Storm-Petrels

These tiny seabirds are in the Procellariiformes order and the Oceanitidae family. 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.

Northern Storm-Petrels

These birds are in the Procellariiformes order and the Hydrobatidae family. Even though they look and act like southern storm-petrels, they have enough genetic differences to be placed in their own family.

Shearwaters and Petrels

Puffinus gravis - SE Tasmania
Great shearwater

These birds are in the Procellariiformes order and the Procellariidae family. This group includes medium-sized "true petrels." They have nostrils that are joined together and a long outer wing feather that works well for flying.

Frigatebirds

Frigatebirds are in the Suliformes order and the Fregatidae family. These are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are big, black, or black and white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. Male frigatebirds have colourful throat pouches that they 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, and can stay in the air for more than a week!

Boobies and Gannets

These birds are in the Suliformes order and the Sulidae family. This family includes gannets and boobies. Both are medium-large seabirds that live near coasts and dive headfirst into the water to catch fish.

  • Brown booby, Sula leucogaster (VR)
  • Northern gannet, Morus bassanus

Cormorants and Shags

Cormorants are in the Suliformes order and the Phalacrocoracidae family. These are medium to large water birds, usually with mostly dark feathers and colourful skin around their faces. Their bills are long, thin, and sharply hooked. They have four webbed toes on each foot.

Pelicans

Pelicans are in the Pelecaniformes order and the Pelecanidae family. These are very large water birds with a special pouch under their beak. Like other birds in their order, they have four webbed toes.

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

These birds are in the Pelecaniformes order and the Ardeidae family. 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, unlike other long-necked birds like storks.

Ibises and Spoonbills

These birds are in the Pelecaniformes order and the Threskiornithidae family. This family includes ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings. Their bodies and necks tend to be long, with rather long legs. Their bills are also long; ibises have bills that curve downwards, while spoonbills have straight, flat bills.

New World Vultures

New World vultures are in the Cathartiformes order and the Cathartidae family. They look like Old World vultures but are not closely related. Both types of vultures eat dead animals. However, New World vultures have a good sense of smell to find food, unlike Old World vultures who rely on sight.

Osprey

The Osprey is in the Accipitriformes order and the Pandionidae family. Ospreys are birds of prey that eat fish. They have a very large, strong hooked beak for tearing meat, strong legs, powerful claws, and excellent eyesight. This family only has one species.

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

Northern Harrier2 by Dan Pancamo
Northern harrier

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

Barn-Owls

Barn-owls are in the Strigiformes order and the Tytonidae family. Owls in this family are medium to large with big heads and special heart-shaped faces.

Owls

Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758) Male
Snowy owl

Owls are in the Strigiformes order and the Strigidae family. These are usually solitary birds of prey that are active 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

Kingfishers are in the Coraciiformes order and the Alcedinidae family. These are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are in the Piciformes order and the Picidae family. These 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

These birds are in the Falconiformes order and the Falconidae family. 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 claws.

Tyrant Flycatchers

Tyrant flycatchers are perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Tyrannidae family. They live 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.

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Vireonidae family. Vireos are small to medium-sized perching birds mostly found in the New World. They are usually greenish and look like wood-warblers, but have heavier bills.

Shrikes

Shrikes are perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Laniidae family. They are known for catching other birds and small animals. They sometimes store their food by sticking it on thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.

  • Northern shrike, Lanius borealis

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Corvidae family. This family includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies. Corvids are larger than average perching birds, and some of the bigger species are very intelligent.

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Paridae family. The Paridae are mostly small, plump 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

Larks are in the Passeriformes order and the Alaudidae family. These are small ground-dwelling birds known for their often fancy songs and display flights. Most larks look quite plain. They eat insects and seeds.

Swallows

Swallows are in the Passeriformes order and the Hirundinidae family. This family is 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.

Kinglets

Kinglets are a small family of birds in the Passeriformes order and the Regulidae family. They are very small birds that eat insects. The adult birds have colourful crowns on their heads, which is how they got their name.

Waxwings

Waxwings are a group of perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Bombycillidae family. They have soft, silky feathers and unique red tips on some of their wing feathers. These tips look like sealing wax, giving the group its name. These birds live in northern forests, eating insects in summer and berries in winter.

Nuthatches

Nuthatches are in the Passeriformes order and the Sittidae family. These are small woodland birds. They have a special ability to climb down trees headfirst, unlike most other birds that only climb upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and strong bills and feet.

Treecreepers

Treecreepers are in the Passeriformes order and the Certhiidae family. These are small woodland birds, 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

Gnatcatchers are in the Passeriformes order and the Polioptilidae family. These delicate birds look and act like Old World warblers, moving constantly through leaves to find insects. Gnatcatchers are mostly soft bluish-grey and have the typical long, sharp bill of an insect-eater. Many species have distinct black patterns on their heads (especially males) and long, black and white tails that they often hold upright.

Wrens

Wrens are in the Passeriformes order and the Troglodytidae family. Wrens are small and often hard to see, except for their 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

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Mimidae family. 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 hear outdoors. They usually have dull grey and brown feathers.

Starlings

Starlings are in the Passeriformes order and the Sturnidae family. Starlings are small to medium-sized perching birds from the Old World with strong feet. They fly strongly and directly, and most like to live in large groups. They prefer open areas and eat insects and fruit. Many species have dark feathers with a shiny, metallic look.

Thrushes and Allies

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Turdidae family. Thrushes are a group of perching birds found mostly in the Old World. They are plump, soft-feathered, small to medium-sized birds that eat insects or sometimes both plants and animals. They often feed on the ground. Many thrushes have beautiful songs.

Old World Flycatchers

Old World flycatchers are a large family of small perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Muscicapidae family. These are mainly small birds that live in trees and eat insects, often catching their prey while flying.

Old World Sparrows

Old World sparrows are small perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Passeridae family. Generally, sparrows are small, plump, brownish or greyish birds with short tails and strong, short beaks. Sparrows eat seeds, but they also eat small insects.

Wagtails and Pipits

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Motacillidae family. This family includes wagtails and pipits. They are slender birds that feed on insects on the ground in open areas. They have medium to long tails.

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

Finches are seed-eating perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Fringillidae family. They are small to medium-sized and have strong beaks, usually shaped like a cone. All finches have twelve tail feathers and nine main wing feathers. These birds have a bouncy flight, with periods of flapping and then gliding with their wings closed. Most also sing well.

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Calcariidae family. They were once grouped with New World sparrows but are now in their own family. They are usually found in open grassy areas.

Old World Buntings

Old World buntings are a large family of perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Emberizidae family. They are seed-eating birds with uniquely shaped bills. Many species have distinct patterns on their heads.

New World Sparrows

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Passerellidae family. Until 2017, these species were thought to be part of the Emberizidae family. Most of these birds are called sparrows, but they are not closely related to the Old World sparrows. Many of them have distinct head patterns.

Yellow-breasted Chat

This bird is in the Passeriformes order and its own family, Icteriidae. This species was once thought to be a wood-warbler, but scientists were unsure. In 2017, it was placed in its own family.

Troupials and Allies

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Icteridae family. The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colourful perching birds found only in the New World. They include grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as their main feather colour, often brightened with yellow, orange, or red.

New World Warblers

Dendroica-aestiva-001
Yellow warbler
Dendroica-cerulea-002
Cerulean warbler
Wilsonia citrina (Belize)
Hooded warbler

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Parulidae family. The wood-warblers are a group of small, often colourful, perching birds found only in the New World. Most live in trees, but some spend more time on the ground. Most birds in this family eat insects.

Cardinals and Allies

These birds are in the Passeriformes order and the Cardinalidae family. Cardinals are strong, seed-eating birds with powerful bills. They usually live in open woodlands. Males and females often have different feather colours.

Tanagers

Tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized perching birds in the Passeriformes order and the Thraupidae family. They are found only in the New World, mostly in tropical areas. Many species are brightly coloured. As a family, they eat a variety of foods, but individual species might specialize in eating fruits, seeds, insects, or other things. Most have short, rounded wings.

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