Whether you are looking for a trivia answer or just like to learn, we’ve got an interesting list for you. In this article we will look at 15 birds with 10 letters in their name. These birds are found across the globe and all have unique appearances and behaviors.
15 Birds with 10 Letters
Let’s get right into it and learn about these 15 interesting species.
1. Arctic Skua
Scientific Name: Stercorarius parasiticus
The Arctic skua, known as the parasitic jaeger in North America, is a gull-like seabird known for its strange feeding behavior. It is a master kleptoparasite, which is the term for an animal that steals food from other animals. They will harass other birds mid-flight usually over the ocean, until the bird drops its catch and the skua will swoop in and grab it. Skuas also eat small mammals, berries, carrion, and the eggs and young of many other shorebird species.
2. Arctic Tern
Scientific Name: Sterna paradisaea
The Arctic tern is an elegant looking white and gray bird with a black cap. These amazing birds migrate long distances each year from the Arctic, where they spend the breeding season, to Antarctica, where they spend the summer. This journey totals 25,000 miles.
Small herring, cod, smelt, and other fish make up their diet. They can nab these fish from the surface or plunge-dive just below the surface to catch them. They are graceful in the air, and can hover fairly still in the air while looking down to spot fish below the surface.
3. Budgerigar
Scientific Name: Melopsittacus undulatus
The budgerigar is a small parrot native to Australia. They are also known as the common parakeet or budgie. Budgerigars are colorful and sociable birds and are popular pets. Though they are native to Australia, wild populations can be found on the west coast of Florida due to pets escaping and establishing local groups.
4. Cape Petrel
Scientific Name: Daption capense
The cape petrel is a seabird found in the Southern Ocean with striking black and white patches all over its body. They spend their days feeding on krill, fish, and squid and can be found scavenging for discarded fish near fishing boats. During the breeding season, they feed around Antarctica, then head further north for the winter. These petrels nest in small colonies on the ground or cliffs close to the ocean. Nests are made of pebbles, usually underneath a rocky overhang for protection.
5. Chiffchaff
Scientific Name: Phylloscopus collybita
The chiffchaff is a type of warbler known for its distinctive “chiff-chaff” song. These small birds are olive green along their heads and back with brown feathers mixed in. Their bellies are a lighter buff color. Chiffchaff are insectivores, especially all types of flies. Butterfly and moth eggs and larvae are also eaten. It is estimated they require one-third of their weight in insects daily, and they spend much of the autumn eating non-stop to put on extra fat reserves for their winter migration. Find chiffchaffs in Europe, Russia and parts of Africa and India.
6. Crested Tit
Scientific Name: Lophophanes cristatus
The crested tit, also known as the European crested tit, is a songbird with light brown and white feathers along its body with black markings on the head. Its most distinctive features are is its black and white head crest and short beak. They are vocal birds, keeping up a constant chatter of their “zee-zee-zee” song. Insects and seeds make up their diet, and they like to nest in cavities found within rotting stumps.
7. Grey Parrot
Scientific Name: Psittacus erithacus
This large parrot is gray all over with a pale face and red tail. The grey parrot also goes by the name African grey parrot or Congo grey parrot. As those names suggest, this species can be found in equatorial regions of Africa. Grey parrots are extremely intelligent and very good at mimicking human speech. For these reasons, they are a very common parrot species for people to keep as pets. To remain happy in captivity they require a lot of attention, mental stimulation and social enrichment.
8. Grey Plover
Scientific Name: Pluvialis squatarola
The grey plover is a shorebird that spends its winter in North America, Europe, and parts of South America and its breeding season in the Arctic Circle. They are also known as the black-bellied plover. The two names distinguish their winter plumage, which is gray and mottled, from their breeding plumage, which is black and white. Plovers look for food along beaches and tidal flats, picking small mollusks, crustaceans, worms and insects from the sand.
9. Harpy Eagle
Scientific Name: Harpia harpyja
The harpy eagle is one of the largest and most powerful eagles in the world. Found in the rainforests of Central and South America, it is a formidable predator with distinctive crests on its head. Full grown adults are considered to be at the top of the food chain in their territory, and they hunt large tree-dwelling animals like sloth, monkeys and sometimes parrots. Unfortunately, because of habitat loss, their populations are dwindling, with less than 50,000 individuals left.
10. Hooded Crow
Scientific Name: Corvus cornix
The hooded crow is a common crow species found throughout Europe and Asia. These crows are light gray with black wings. They also have black feathers covering their head, which resembles a black “hood.” A fun fact about these birds is that they used to be considered the same species as carrion crows, but in 2002, they were separated into two different species. Like other crow species, they are very smart and can figure out interesting ways to obtain food using tools.
11. Sand Martin
Scientific Name: Riparia riparia
The sand martin, also called bank swallow, is a small brown and white bird with a forked tail. This species spends its winters in Africa and its summers in the UK. They are known for burrowing into sandy cliffs near the water to build their nests. Anywhere from 12 to 100 pairs may nest close together, laying eggs in a chamber at the end of a tunnel that can be a few inches to a few feet long.
12. Song Thrush
Scientific Name: Turdus philomelos
The song thrush has brown feathers on its back and head with a cream-colored chest that features brown triangle-shaped spots. As their name suggests, they are beloved for their very melodious, flute-like song usually repeated 2-4 times. Widespread among woodland, garden and scrub habitat, they migrate between Europe and Africa. When the ground is soft they like to feast on earthworms. When earthworms become hard to get, they turn their attention to snails and smack them against stones to crack open the shell.
13. Sunbittern
Scientific Name: Eurypyga helias
The sunbittern has a brown and gray mottled body, but when it spreads its wings, its true colors show. When its wings are spread, you can see a striking pattern of yellow, red, and black feathers. They also have a distinctive face with white stripes that radiate from the beak to the back of the head and red eyes. Sunbitterns are found from Guatemala south through Brazil. Usually found near water, they are one of only a few species known to fish by using bait or lures to attract their prey within striking distance. Their diet is varied, including insects, crabs, spiders, shrimp, worms, fish, frogs and lizards.
14. Tufted Duck
Scientific Name: Aythya fuligula
The tufted duck is a diving duck commonly found in Europe and Asia. Males are striking with black and white color-blocked plumage and a noticeable tuft trailing from their head. Females have no tuft and their plumage is shades of brown, but both sexes have golden colored eyes. They dive for their meals, which include aquatic insects, molluscs and plants. Freshwater mussels are a particular favorite.
15. Dickcissel
Scientific Name: Spiza americana
The Dickcissel is a bird native to North America. They leave their wintering grounds in South America, Central America and Mexico and arrive in the central United States in spring. Their preferred habitat is grasslands, prairies, and agricultural areas. They have a sparrow-like look to them, with brown backs, white bellies and yellow chests. Males have a black V-shaped patch on their chest. Their unusual name comes from their call, described as a high-pitched “dick-dick-dick” followed by a buzzing “ciss, ciss, ciss”.
Mary is an outdoor enthusiast, nature lover, and amateur birdwatcher that enjoys sharing her knowledge and experiences with others.