Birds that start with C

List of Birds That Start With C

1

Canary

Serinus canaria

A small yellow finch native to the Canary Islands — domesticated for centuries as a singing pet, used historically in coal mines as gas detectors, and now bred in dozens of color and song varieties.

2

Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

A vivid red songbird of the eastern and central United States, the official bird of seven U.S. states, with a distinctive crest and a year-round musical presence.

3

Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs

Britain's second most common bird and one of Europe's most abundant — the male in spring is a strikingly handsome bird with a pink-red breast, slate-blue head, and bold white wing bars; males sing a loud, rattling song ending in a distinctive flourish that varies in dialect between regions.

4

Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus (Black-capped); Poecile carolinensis (Carolina)

A small, fearless North American songbird with distinctive black cap and bib — beloved feeder birds known for sophisticated alarm calls that encode information about predator size and danger level.

5

Chicken

Gallus gallus domesticus

The most numerous bird on Earth — over 30 billion at any given time — domesticated from the Southeast Asian red junglefowl about 8,000 years ago and now central to every poultry-eating cuisine on Earth.

6

Cockatoo

Cacatuidae (family)

A loud, intelligent Australasian parrot with a distinctive crest of feathers — including the most affectionate parrot species and some of the most ecologically destructive flocks, with several species critically endangered.

7

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).

8

Cormorant

Phalacrocoracidae (family)

A diving water bird with non-waterproof feathers — visible drying with spread wings on rocks and pilings, used for centuries by Asian fishermen as living fishing tools, and now ecologically critical fish-eaters across coastal and inland waters worldwide.

9

Corn Bunting

Emberiza calandra

The largest British bunting — a large, streaky, plain-brown bird of arable fields with no distinctive markings but an utterly unmistakable song, often described as jangling keys; the corn bunting has declined severely across Britain as intensive farming reduced the cereal stubble, rough grassland, and insect-rich field margins on which it depends; polygamous males may mate with up to 18 females in a season.

10

Crane

Gruidae (family)

A tall, long-legged wading bird famous for elaborate courtship dances, lifelong pair bonds, and distinctive trumpeting calls — 15 species worldwide, with several critically endangered and others recovered through dedicated conservation.

11

Crossbill

Loxia curvirostra

A finch with a uniquely crossed bill — the upper and lower mandibles overlap like a pair of scissors, allowing it to prise open pine and spruce cones and extract the seeds inside with precision; crossbills can breed in the depths of winter when cones are ripe, sometimes nesting in snow.

12

Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

A large, all-black corvid widespread across North America — among the most intelligent of all birds, with sophisticated tool use, problem-solving, and individual face recognition.

13

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus (common cuckoo)

A medium-sized bird famous for its distinctive call (the basis of cuckoo clocks) and brood parasitism — laying eggs in other species' nests to be raised by unwitting foster parents.

14

Curlew

Numenius arquata

Europe's largest wading bird — recognised by its extraordinarily long, downcurved bill and haunting bubbling call; a moorland and coastal bird facing serious population decline across its range due to habitat loss and predation of ground nests.