1
Parrot
Psittacus erithacus
A medium-sized grey parrot widely regarded as the most cognitively gifted bird species, capable of imitating human speech and demonstrating reasoning beyond simple mimicry.
If you've been searching for birds that start with P, you'll find 11 detailed birds below. We're not interested in giving you only a list of names — every entry on this page links to a full profile with the kind of detail you'd actually want to know.
For birds, that means taxonomy, habitat, diet, wingspan, migration pattern, and conservation status.
List of Birds That Start With P
2
Partridge
Perdix perdix
A plump, ground-dwelling game bird of European farmland and hedgerows — the "pear tree" bird of the twelve days of Christmas, now in serious decline across much of its range due to agricultural intensification.
3
Peacock
Pavo cristatus
A large pheasant native to South Asia whose male sports a vivid iridescent train and elaborate fan display, the textbook example of sexual selection in evolution.
4
Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis (brown); Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (American white)
A large coastal water bird with a distinctive throat pouch — used as a fishing net during plunge-dives and as a holding bag while feeding chicks, common at coastal fishing piers worldwide.
5
Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
The largest living penguin species and the only animal to breed during the Antarctic winter, enduring the planet's harshest conditions.
6
Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus (common pheasant)
A large game bird native to Asia — introduced to North America and Europe for hunting, with the iridescent ring-necked males and mottled-camouflage females being among the most familiar farmland birds in their introduced range.
7
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.
8
Pigeon
Columba livia
A globally ubiquitous urban bird descended from the rock dove of Mediterranean cliffs — domesticated for over 5,000 years for food, communication, racing, and ornamentation, with feral populations in nearly every city worldwide.
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
Ptarmigan
Lagopus muta
The high Arctic grouse that turns completely white in winter — Britain's only truly alpine bird, confined to the Scottish Highlands above 800 metres; it moults three times a year to match its surroundings (brown in summer, mottled grey in autumn, pure white in winter) and is so well camouflaged that walkers almost step on them before the bird moves.
11
Puffin
Fratercula arctica (Atlantic puffin)
A small black-and-white seabird with a colorful triangular bill — capable of holding 10+ fish in its beak at once, nesting in cliff burrows by the millions, and increasingly threatened by warming oceans.
About birds starting with P
That's our current list of birds starting with the letter P. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite bird starting with P that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try birds that end with P, or contain P anywhere in the name.