Which are the longest bird names? [Quick List]

Birds are extremely dynamic creatures that can be categorized differently, with each species standing out due to their adroit names. In some cases, however, the names turn out to be more striking than the birds themselves. Bird enthusiasts have for a long time debated on which recognized bird name is the longest. For the record, there are many long bird names that span up to 37 characters long.

Some birds such as the Tawny-Shouldered Blackbird, Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant, and Yellow-Crowned Night Heron have long names. The Southern Blue-eared Glossy-Starling is also known to have one of the longest official bird names.

Are you looking for long bird names in English? If yes, this is the right place to be. This post features a list of bird names grouped according to the type. You can find most of these birds worldwide, so it shouldn’t amuse you if you come across any of them. 

List of Bird Names

There are numerous different bird types, and for this reason, you may find it quite overwhelming to try learning all the long names of birds in English. However, with the list I have prepared below, it needn’t be a challenge anymore.

With thousands of different bird species in existence, you are sure to come across various birds’ names that can leave you in awe. However, a much simpler way of learning all the names is to remember at least five names each day. Although this procedure appears to bear slow progress, adding new bird names to your vocabulary helps give you an upper hand to maintain conversations related to birds. 

The list below uses common bird names sorted by their broader type and the famous names of that type. However, this is not a comprehensive list, and it doesn’t include all the bird names in existence.

Nuthatches

· White-Breasted Nuthatch

· Red-Breasted Nuthatch

· Brown-Headed Nuthatch

· Eurasian Nuthatch

Woodpeckers

· Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

· Grey Headed Woodpecker

· Downy Woodpecker

· Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Blackbirds

· Tawny Shouldered Blackbird

· Yellow-Headed Blackbird

· Red-Winged Blackbird

· Cuban Blackbird

· Eurasian Blackbird

· Tricolored Blackbird

· Brewer’s Blackbird

· Cuban Blackbird

Chickadees

· Chestnut Backed Chickadee

· Gray Headed Chickadee

· Black-Capped Chickadee

· Mountain Chickadee

Hawks

· Sharp-Shinned Hawk

· Red-Shouldered Hawk

· Rough-legged Hawk

· Red-Tailed Hawk

· Broad Winged Hawk

· Ferruginous Hawk

· Zone Tailed Hawk

· Ferruginous Hawk

· Whiten Tailed Hawk

Hummingbirds

· Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

· Black-Chinned Hummingbird

· Rufous Hummingbird

· Calliope Hummingbird

· Bee Hummingbird (The smallest bird in existence)

· Broad Tailed Hummingbird

· Costa’s Hummingbird

· Anna’s Hummingbird

· Allen’s Hummingbird

Ostriches

· Common Ostrich (This is the biggest bird!)

· North African Ostrich

· Southern Africa Ostrich

Seabirds

Similar to game birds, there are different types of seabirds.

· Albatross sea bird

· Booby sea bird

· Cormorant sea bird

· Stuhlmann’s Double-collared Sunbird

Doves

· African Collard Dove

· Common Ground-Dove

· European Turtle Dove

· Eurasian Collared Dove

· White Winged Dove

· White Tipped Dove

· Oriental Turtle Dove

Herons

· Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

· Whooping Crane Heron

· Roseate Spoonbill

· Little Blue Heron

· Tricolored Heron

· American Bittern

· Great Blue Heron

· Sandhill Crane

· Great Blue Heron

· Green Heron

· Great Egret Heron

· Glossy Ibis Heron

· Wood Stork Heron

· Cattle Egret Heron

· Snowy Egret Heron

· White Ibis Heron

Warblers

· Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler   

– Blue-Winged Warbler

· Arctic Warbler

· Kentucky Warbler

· Common Yellowthroat

· Palm Warbler

Ducks

· White Faced Whistling Duck

· Eastern Spot-Billed Duck

· Western Spot-Billed Duck

· Plumed Whistling Duck

· Australian Wood Duck

· Black Headed Duck

· Spotted Whistling Duck

· American Black Duck

· Wandering Whistling Duck

· Black Headed Duck

· African Black Duck

· Ring-Necked Duck

· Pacific Black Duck

· White Backed Duck

· Pacific Black Duck

· Yellow-Billed Duck

Falcons

· Red Necked Falcon

· Orange Breasted Falcon

· Dickinson’s Kestrel

· New Zealand Falcon

· Red Footed Falcon

· Mauritius Kestrel Falcon

· Eurasian Hobby Falcon

· Spotted Kestrel Falcon

· Seychelles Kestrel Falcon

· Elenora’s Falcon

· Malagasy Kestrel Falcon

· Banded Kestrel Falcon

· Grey Kestrel Falcon

· Australian Kestrel

· Oriental Hobby Falcon

· African Hobby Falcon

· Greater Kestrel Falcon

· Sooty Falcon

· Fox Kestrel Falcon

· Lesser Kestrel Falcon

· Rock Kestrel Falcon

Thrushes

· Gray Cheeked Thrush

· Bicknell’s Thrush

· Eastern Bluebird Thrush

· Wood Thrush

· American Robin Thrush

Finches

· Brambling Finch

· Common Redpoll Finch

· Crossbill flinch

· Common Rose Finch

· Lesser Redpoll Finch

· Parrot Crossbill Finch

· Siskin Finch

· Scottish Crossbill Finch

Flycatchers

· Whooper Swan Flycatcher

· Mexican Flycatcher

· North American Flycatcher

· Eurasian Flycatcher

Game Birds

This group includes birds that people eat. Although most game birds may fit better in other categories, below are some of those that do not have a better place.

· Ringneck Pheasant

· Sharp-tailed Grouse

· Bobwhite Quail

· Grey Partridge

· Bobwhite Quail

· Ruffed Grouse

· Wild Turkey

Swifts

· Antillean Palm Swift

· White Collared Swift

· Edible Nest Swift

· Common Swift

· Chimney Swift

Geese

· North American Goose

· Red-Breasted Goose

Gulls

· Swallow-Tailed Gull

· Mediterranean Gull

· Andean gull

· Common Gull

· Red Billed Gull

Jays

· Henderson’s Ground Jay

· Florida Scrub Jay

· California Scrub Jay

Shorebirds

· Baird’s Sandpiper

· American Golden Plover

· Sanderling shorebird

Sparrows

Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver

· Eurasian Tree Sparrow 

· Spanish Sparrow

Swallows

· Violet Green Swallow

· Bank Swallow

· Purple Martin Swallow

What Are Some Of The Lousiest Bird Names?

While several bird names make sense, most do not. And by sense, the name of a bird should match its qualities or characteristics. For instance, the Acorn Woodpeckers feed on acorns, and the red-winged Blackbird is a blackbird with red wings. Similarly, you can find the Australian Towhee almost exclusively in California.

However, specific bird names stand out for their sheer frivolousness. Whether misleading, inappropriate, vaguely goofy, or just plain vulgar, they bring about the question: “Who named the birds, and what were they thinking when doing so?” 

A famous phrase by a British birder called Patrick Baglee suggests that he believes there is nothing sillier than most real names of birds. Moreover, he further added that bird names made by people of the goof are less goofy than some of the actual bird names used. According to a panel of experts, below are some of the common lousy bird names, including columnists from BirdWatching.

Ring-necked Duck

Bird watchers who can attain a close-up view (in ideal light and probably intense squinting) might have a glimpse of the Ceylon cinnamon band around the neck of a male ring-necked duck. However, many people consider the unremarkable little collar on this diving duck insignificant as a field mark. Even more mystifying is that both sexes of the duck have a prominent and more visible field mark not so far out of sight- a white ring close to the tip of the bill.

Bird enthusiast and author Laura Erickson, who writes the Attracting Birds column in the BirdWatching magazine and doubles as a radio personality, suggests that much like everyone else, she’d prefer if the name changed to Subtly-purple-ring-around-the-neck Duck or the Ring-billed Duck.

More interesting, however, is the fact that hunters refer to the duck as Ringbill, which has still failed to get the American Ornithological Society (responsible for publishing the official checklist) on board. It is even heartbreaking to hear that the North American classification committee rejected a proposed idea of changing the duck’s name, citing its policy to retain engrained names. Unfortunately, the policy extends to retaining monikers regardless of being appropriate. 

Smew

If anything, bird names on other continents are even more ludicrous than those in North America. This could probably be due to the lack of a governing body or a standardizing measure. For instance, take the Eurasian duck known as smew. The bird, a closer relative to mergansers, reportedly had actors of “The Big Year” Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black fall over with a laugh due to its weird name. This spurred concerns on whether the name was appropriate or there should be changes to fix it.

Tinkling Cisticola

Ken Chaya, a bird and tree enthusiast, recently traveled to South Africa and noted this name, citing that it sounded more of a refreshing soft drink. Besides the Tinkling Cisticola, other cisticola names are just as peculiar and intriguing. Noah Strycker, the legendary bird watcher who struck the headlines by breaking an ultimate world record by seeing 6,042 species of birds in one year alone. 

I think he might be right considering what heck one has to go through to keep the Wailing, Singing, Tinkling, Churring, Winding, Rattling, Croaking, Chirping, Sniffling, Whistling, and Bubbling Cisticolas straight.

Fluffy Backed Tit-Babbler

When asked, Audubon’s LeBaron Geoff couldn’t agree more that there wasn’t a sillier name regarding the brown Fluffy-backed Tit-Babbler. You can find these brown songbirds in the lowland woodlands in Southeast Asia.

Tropical Boubou

“Make sure that you clean and put a Band-Aid on it,” Chaya made this joke on the black and white African species, which is also a member of the bush shrike family. So naturally, this led to a series of name-changing requests for the bird’s name.

Kentish Plover

According to Baglee, it is unapologetically true that the bird’s name or whoever named it suffers from a dreadful lack of ambition. Baglee further pointed out that it is a dejectedly accurate way for British birders to describe the Kentish Plover species. One could boldly argue that the Plover is not really a bird of Kent, probably just Kent-ish since it is barely a yearly occurrence in Kent these days. This is true despite the fact that Kent was at one point a breeding zone for the birds.

How Do We Categorize Birds? What Are They?

Birds are fascinating creatures that have wings, are warm-blooded, and have wings. Additionally, I think of them as the only creatures with feathers. It should amaze you that there are more than 10,000 different bird species. That is a whole lot of different kinds of birds. 

Bird enthusiasts and watchers have also discovered several fun facts that you would like to know. One such fun fact puts it out that the lightest bird weighs lighter than a coin while the largest of birds weigh as much as three hundred pounds.  

There are various kinds of birds, so it calls for many different ways to sort birds based on different aspects. This post focuses on some of the few ways of sorting the birds differently.

Common Name

One of the most typical ways of sorting birds includes grouping them according to their common name. Earlier in this post, I had listed some of the common names used to categorize different types of birds. For instance, instead of the scientific name for falcons, I will list some common and popular parrot subspecies altogether.

Flighted vs. Flightless

Another typical way to sort birds is based on whether they or not they can fly. When thinking of birds, most people wrongfully think of them as flying creatures. However, there are more than sixty different species of birds without flight. However, this is a small group considering that there are around 10,000 species of birds in total. Flightless birds include ostriches, penguins, kiwis, and emus. On the other hand, the flighted category includes birds such as parrots, Hawks, Eagles, Wrens, Falcons, and Hummingbirds.

Pets Vs. Wild Birds

It is a fact that most birds make excellent pets. Similarly, some birds are rather suited for the wild, or at best, in a zoo or conservatory. Some of the birds that make good pets are cockatiels, parrots, doves, parakeets, and cockatoos. On the other hand, ravens, hawks, eagles, kites, and vultures are better off in the wild. In addition, some birds are more working animals than pets but are usually mistaken and even treated as pets. This includes hunting birds and messenger birds such as falcons and pigeons.

Conclusion

Bird watching is an enjoyable hobby. It is even more enjoyable if you can memorize the names of different birds and name them as they migrate about. Bird enthusiasts think that long bird names are rather inappropriate since they require a lot of studying to decipher them. However, renaming them could allegedly affect the naming nomenclature. So, guess bird watchers will have to stick with that and learn all the longest bird names.