Millions of birds of various shapes, sizes, and colors may be found all over the world. We chose 15 species for our list of birds whose names begin with the letter F.
Birds That Start with F – List of Birds Begins with the Letter ‘F’
From flickers to flycatchers, the letter F is home to some incredibly distinctive and interesting birds from throughout the world.
Let us take a look!
Flamingo
Phoenicopteridae is the scientific name for the family of birds.
Lives in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
The flamingo is one of the most identifiable birds due to its big size, long neck, and pink hue. They wade through the water on their lengthy legs, dipping their beaks in to sift out brine shrimp, mollusks, algae, and crustaceans to feed. Their pink tint is caused by red and orange pigments in their food.
Mirrors have been employed in zoos to improve flamingo breeding behavior. The mirrors are claimed to give the flamingos the illusion of being part of a larger flock than they actually are.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus savana is the scientific name for this plant.
Currently resides in Central and South America.
Brown wings, white underparts, a black crown, and unusually long forked tail feathers distinguish the fork-tailed flycatcher. Females have shorter tails than males. They eat mostly insects, as the name implies, but they also eat fruit on occasion. Their long tail lets them execute fast spins while flying, allowing them to keep up with their insect food.
Fulvous Owl
Strix fulvescens is its scientific name.
Lives in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
The Guatemala Barred Owl is a bold member of Central American cloud forests. It has a spherical head with no ear tufts, barring on its back, and streaking along its abdomen. The feet and beak are yellow. This species can only live in the world’s highest mountain ranges. It stays at elevations ranging from 3,900 to 10,000 feet. Despite its nightly habits, it is occasionally spotted during the day.
This owl is regarded as a “messenger of death” in some parts of Mexico.
Falkland Steamer Duck
Tachyeres brachypterus
Falkland Islands, South Atlantic Ocean
The Falkland Steamer Duck has dark gray plumage with a white stripe behind its eye. Males have a brilliant orange bill, while females and children have an olive-yellow bill. Their wings are so short that they cannot fly. They prefer to congregate near rocky islands as well as safe inlets and bays.
Interesting fact: its flapping wings and leg movements resemble those of a paddle steamer, hence its name.
Field Sparrow
Spizella pusilla is the scientific name for this plant.
Currently resides in the eastern United States, with pockets in Mexico and Canada.
Field sparrows have a buffy gray body, wing striping of brown and white, a pink beak, a brown cap, and a brown mark behind the eye. These small sparrows can be found in the eastern half of the United States on prairies, grasslands, and fields that are overgrown. Unfortunately, their numbers have plummeted in many locations as wide fields have been converted into suburbs, where they cannot nest.
Field sparrows will reproduce multiple times in a season, each time constructing a new nest. Each nest is taller than the one before it, with the first nest of the year starting on the ground.
Familiar Chat
Oenanthe familiaris is the scientific name.
Lives in southern Africa and a few regions of central Africa.
The familiar chat is a tiny bird with a gray-brown back and head and orange-brown rump and tail feathers. They breed south of the Sahara in rocky and mountainous terrain. They are quite gentle and have little fear of approaching people.
Interesting fact: They will consume anything they can get their hands on, even human food scraps along with pet food.
Fan-tailed Raven
Corvus rhipidurus is the scientific name for this species.
These birds live in Arabia, North Africa, the Middle East, and as far south as Sudan and Kenya.
While the fan-tailed raven seems black in general, in bright light, their feathers have a shiny metallic shine with blue and purple hues. When the bird’s plumage is weathered, it can take on a faint coppery brown tint. They also have a white feather patch at the base of their neck, which is typically hidden.
Interesting fact: They enjoy flying and playing in thermal updrafts.
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Cacomantis flabelliformis is the scientific name for this plant.
Lives on Australia’s southwestern and eastern coasts, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
These birds have a gray back and head, a buffy orange breast, an unusual yellow spot around the eye, and a white and black barring along the tail. Fan-tailed cuckoos are mostly found in mangrove swamps, temperate woodlands, tropical or subtropical montane forests, pastures, orchards, and gardens.
Interesting fact: The fan-tail cuckoo, like several other cuckoo species in Australia, usually lays an egg in the nest of some other species of bird. The cuckoo baby will hatch before the other eggs and may push out the other eggs or chicks, ensuring that the cuckoo chick is cared for.
Flammulated Owl
Psiloscops flammeolus is the scientific name for this plant.
Western United States, Mexico, southern British Columbia, and southern Alberta are where the bird calls home.
Flammulated owls are about the size of a Coke can. They can be brown or gray, and their feathers are beautifully patterned to simulate the bark of trees, where they are exceptionally effective at camouflaging. These owls spend their time searching for insects at the summits of tall pine and fir trees.
They have a big windpipe in comparison to their little size, which makes their hoot sound higher in pitch. It is thought that this helps potential predators assume it is a much larger owl.
Flicker
Colaptes auratus is the scientific name for this species.
Currently resides throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America.
The flicker is a medium to large woodpecker that is commonly found in backyards. They are also, in my opinion, among the most colorful birds in North America. The black dots on their tummies, dark black bibs, necks that have a red patch, and barred black and gray wings help you identify them. Males have a “mustache” next to their beaks on their faces. The main color groups are “yellow-shafted” in the east and “red-shafted” in the west. There are also hybrids and minor regional variants.
Flickers primarily eat insects and, unlike other woodpeckers, prefer to find them flying near the ground rather than in trees.
Fawn-breasted Bowerbird
Chlamydera cerviniventris is the scientific name for this plant.
New Guinea and Northern Australia are where they call home.
Bowerbirds are remarkable in that the males will construct a structure out of diverse materials such as sticks, flowers, leaves, and anything else that has a pleasing color or sheen. They methodically constructed this building in order to impress a female and gain her approval for mating. This species can be found in tropical forests, mangroves, savannas, and forest boundaries. The majority of their diet consists of insects, fruits, and figs. Males and females have a grayish-brown speckled back and warm brown underparts.
Fascinating fact: The fawn-breasted bowerbird constructs its bower in the shape of a “U” and decorates it with leaves and green fruits.
