Identifying birds in Florida

Surfacing from their dives to chase fish, anhingas, with their long necks, look like snakes at attention, which is why they are known as snakebirds, or water turkeys.

With an unusual color and shape compared to most ducks you see, the black-bellied whistling duck is surprisingly common throughout all of Florida.

The brown pelican is one of two species of pelicans found in Florida, the white pelican being the other. They have distinctive pouches under their bills and cannot be mistaken for the white pelican due to the size and color difference.

An unusual-looking Florida raptor, the crested caracara is Mexico’s national bird. They are members of the falcon family, but their heads look very parrot-like—a red face and a thick curved bill offset their black-and-white plumage.

A colonial nesting bird, the cattle egret is often seen in large flocks overhead in morning and evening, heading to and from their roosts and nests in shrubs along shorelines.

One of the most common birds you'll see in Florida's marshes, coots are among the noisiest. When they take off, they look like they're running on water before they launch into the sky.

Cormorants can be easily confused with the anhinga, but are a more social bird. You’ll see them hanging out in groups.

Seen in very specific scrub habitats with smaller trees, the Florida scrub-jay is only found in Florida, its population in decline and severely limited by lack of habitat.

A distinctive sight along Florida’s waterways, the great blue heron is the tallest of the blue-hued wading birds you’ll see hunting along the shorelines.

The largest of the white-colored wading birds in Florida, the great egret is frequently seen in wetlands areas and along waterways.