Bird Identification Quiz

Can you name the bird?

Ten bird photos, four choices each, no timer. Pick a level.

Easy World famous Birds you could name at the zoo. 10 photos Medium Backyard regulars Common at feeders, easy to mix up. 10 photos Hard Look-alikes Pairs that fool real birders. 10 photos

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This bird quiz shows you 10 photos of wild birds and asks you to name each one from four choices. It works as a bird identification quiz for beginners and a bird ID test for experienced birders: pick Easy, Medium or Hard. After every answer you see the field mark that identifies the bird, so each round teaches you something for the next.

How the bird identification game works

The quiz holds 120 birds, 40 per level. Every round draws 10 of them at random, so no two rounds are the same.

• Easy covers the most famous birds in the world: the Greater Flamingo, Bald Eagle, Emperor Penguin, Keel-billed Toucan and Shoebill. The wrong answers look nothing like the bird in the photo.
• Medium is the North American backyard: the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Cedar Waxwing and Dark-eyed Junco. The wrong answers come from the same family or share the same colors.
• Hard is made of the pairs birders confuse: Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Trumpeter and Tundra Swan. The choices are true look-alikes, and one visible field mark separates them.

Every bird on Hard can be identified from a clear still photo. Pairs that only song or range can separate, such as the American and Fish Crow or the two meadowlarks, are left out.

Score 10 out of 10 to earn the top rank. Share your score and see whether your friends can beat it.

How to identify a bird from a photo

Field guides teach birders to look at a bird in a fixed order. The same order works on a photo.

1. Size and shape. Compare the bird with ones you know: sparrow, robin, crow or goose. Then look at its outline. A long neck and long legs mean a heron or egret. A plump body with a short tail suggests a finch or chickadee.
2. Bill. The bill tells you what the bird eats. A thick cone cracks seeds (finches, sparrows, cardinals). A thin, pointed bill picks insects (warblers, vireos). A hooked bill tears meat (hawks, eagles, shrikes). A chisel drills wood (woodpeckers).
3. Head pattern. Eye rings, eyebrow stripes, crowns and moustache marks separate many look-alikes. A Swamp Sparrow has a rusty cap and gray face. A Lincoln’s Sparrow has fine streaks on a buff chest.
4. Wings and tail. Check for wing bars, wing patches and the shape of the tail tip. The Cooper’s Hawk has a rounded tail tip. The Sharp-shinned Hawk usually has a square one.
5. Color and pattern last. Light changes how color looks in a photo, so trust shape and pattern first. Many males and females also look different, and young birds can look like a different species. A first-year Little Blue Heron is all white and looks like a Snowy Egret.

Identify the birds in your own photos

The quiz uses photos we picked. For a bird at your feeder or on a trail, WunderWild names the species from a photo you take on your iPhone. Every bird you identify goes into your Collection.

Frequently asked questions

How many bird species are there?

The eBird/Clements Checklist lists 11,167 bird species in its 2025 edition. About 1,160 species have been recorded in the United States and Canada, according to the American Birding Association checklist.

What is the best way to practice bird identification?

Learn the 20 or 30 most common birds near your home first. They give you a base to compare new birds against. Then study one look-alike pair at a time, such as Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, until you can name the deciding mark without looking. A photo quiz helps because you can see many birds in a few minutes.

What are the hardest birds to identify?

Gulls, sparrows, fall warblers, small sandpipers and Empidonax flycatchers. Gulls take up to four years to reach adult plumage. Sandpipers like the Least and Semipalmated look almost the same, and the leg color is often the quickest clue. Some flycatchers can only be told apart by voice.

How is a bird ID quiz different from a bird song quiz?

This quiz tests what you see: shape, bill, plumage and field marks. A bird song quiz tests calls and songs. Birders use both, because some species look identical but sing differently.

Are the photos of real birds?

Yes. Every photo shows a wild bird and comes from Wikimedia Commons, iNaturalist, Unsplash or another library of freely licensed images. The photographer and license appear after you answer.

Can I put this bird quiz on my website?

Yes. Click “Embed this quiz” under the game and copy the code into your page. Teachers, nature centers and bird clubs can use it at no cost.

More birds to learn

Practice between rounds with our guides to red birds, yellow birds, black birds and blackbirds, wetland birds, birds of prey and the biggest birds in the world, or browse every species in the A to Z list of birds.