Birds that end with R

List of Birds That End With R

1

Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

A brilliantly colored aerial hunter that catches bees, wasps, and other stinging insects in mid-flight — then systematically beats the insect against a perch and wipes the stinger clean before swallowing.

2

Condor

Gymnogyps californianus (California); Vultur gryphus (Andean)

Two massive vulture species — the California condor (rescued from near-extinction in 1987 with only 27 birds remaining) and the Andean condor (the world's largest flying bird by combined wingspan and weight).

3

Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

The only aquatic songbird — a compact brown-and-white bird that walks along the riverbed submerged, using its wings to swim against the current and find invertebrates in fast-flowing streams.

4

Kingfisher

Alcedo atthis

A small, jewel-bright Eurasian fishing bird that hovers above water and dives at over 40 km/h to catch small fish, the inspiration for the bullet train's nose cone design.

5

Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Britain's largest harrier — a spectacular bird of prey of reedbeds and marshes, the male has a striking grey wing patch contrasting with russet body and black wingtips; it quartered over British reedbeds for centuries but was driven to extinction by hunting and egg collection, with only one pair breeding by 1971; a successful conservation recovery has produced over 600 pairs today.

6

Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

A cryptically camouflaged nocturnal bird that rests motionless on the ground or along tree branches during the day, invisible against bark and leaf litter — famous for its churring mechanical song heard across heathlands at dusk.

7

Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegus

A boldly pied coastal wader with a long, bright orange bill used as a hammer and lever to open bivalves — conspicuous, loud, and one of the most recognisable shorebirds of rocky coastlines worldwide.

8

Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleuca

The black-and-white summer visitor of ancient oak woods — the male pied flycatcher is crisply black above and white below with a bold white forehead patch; the female is brown and white; they arrive from West Africa in late April to breed in old oak trees and nest boxes, making sallying flights to catch insects and raising a brood before departing in late summer.

9

Plover

Charadrius and Pluvialis spp.

A family of compact, fast-running shorebirds found on beaches, mudflats, and grasslands worldwide — famous for the killdeer's broken-wing distraction display that lures predators away from the nest.

10

Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus (greater roadrunner)

A long-legged ground cuckoo of southwestern North America that runs fast rather than flies — eats lizards, snakes (including rattlesnakes), and forms the basis for the Looney Tunes character chasing Wile E. Coyote.

11

Roller

Coracias garrulus

A brilliant blue and chestnut European and African bird named for its spectacular rolling display flight — one of the most colourful birds of open Mediterranean and African habitats.

12

Sandpiper

Scolopacidae (family)

A diverse family of small to medium shorebirds with long bills probing for invertebrates in mud and sand — many species undertake some of the longest non-stop bird migrations on Earth, sometimes 11,000+ km in a single flight.

13

Treecreeper

Certhia familiaris

A tiny, mouse-like bird that spirals methodically up tree trunks probing crevices for insects with its long, curved bill — always ascending, never descending, flying to the base of a new tree to start over; its brown and white bark-pattern plumage makes it nearly invisible on oak and ash bark.

14

Warbler

Parulidae (New World)

Small, often brightly colored songbirds — the "wood warblers" of the New World contain over 110 dazzling species, while "Old World warblers" comprise different families with different characteristics, both crucial for migration and forest insect control.

15

Weaver

Ploceidae (family)

Small African songbirds famous for elaborate woven nests — males construct intricate hanging structures, often with multiple chambers and entrances, to attract females and rear young in colonies.

16

Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

A migratory chat with a flash of white rump that arrives on British uplands each spring from sub-Saharan Africa — one of the earliest summer migrants, sometimes appearing in late February; the male has a grey back and black eye mask; it undertakes one of the most remarkable migrations of any small bird, with Greenland birds crossing the entire Atlantic non-stop.

17

Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

A large, crow-sized woodpecker with a vivid red crest, the model for Woody Woodpecker; chisels rectangular holes deep into wood with a series of head-snapping impacts.

18

Yellowhammer

Emberiza citrinella

A bright yellow European bunting whose distinctive song is often transcribed as "a little bit of bread and no cheeeese" — a familiar farmland bird in the British Isles, declining with the loss of mixed agriculture.