Many species of beautiful and fascinating birds live in, or visit, North Carolina. Ranging in size from tiny Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds to impressively large Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons, birds fill North Carolina’s landscape with beauty, grace, and fabulous action scenes.
Explore the various kinds of birds found throughout North Carolina with this guide.
Introducing Birds
What Are Birds?
Birds are a type of animal that have feathers, wings, and beaks. Most birds can fly, though some, like ostriches and penguins (which aren’t found in North Carolina naturally), cannot. Birds lay eggs, and their babies grow inside the eggs before hatching. They have a backbone and are warm-blooded, meaning they can keep their bodies warm no matter the weather outside.
Birds come in all sizes, from tiny hummingbirds to huge eagles. They live throughout North Carolina, so can be found in every area from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic coast. Some types of birds live everywhere in the state, while others live only in certain areas. Other birds may only visit the state during certain parts of the year.
Birds help pollinate plants, spread seeds, and control pests by eating insects—many of which sting or bite humans, and eat our agricultural crops. Birds are an interesting and diverse group of animals that play a big role in the world around us and are extremely fun to watch in the wild!
North Carolina Birds By Name
Click below to discover the beautiful and varied birds that fly through North Carolina’s sky.
To see the full list of every animal included in Now I Wonder, please visit the Index Page.
Don’t forget to check out my Blog, for lots of fun facts and posts about how these animals live and behave.
North Carolina Birds By Type
North Carolina Songbirds
Songbirds are those North Carolina bird species that communicate with musical calls that sound attractive to our human ears. Many of these birds visit backyard feeders, or are common and widely distributed.
Many of these birds are easy to identify, even for young children. And the willingness of many songbirds to come into suburban areas—sometimes even very near humans—make them among the easiest animals to observe, appreciate, and enjoy.
North Carolina Raptors and Owls
Meet the raptors of North Carolina. The informal term “raptor” refers to birds such as eagles, hawks, and owls that share certain characteristics. These birds hunt live prey, capture or kill prey with their sharply taloned feet, often carry their food away before eating it, and have sharp, strong, hooked beaks to rip flesh.
Vultures behave differently from raptors such as eagles, hawks, and owls. Instead of killing live prey with their talons and hooked beaks, vultures feed on dead, decaying animals. However, since vultures do have hooked beaks and eat meat, they have been included in the informal “raptors” group historically.
North Carolina Water Birds
Waterbirds are those bird species in North Carolina that live near sources of water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and the coast. An informal grouping, waterbirds come in all shapes and sizes, and include birds that swim, fly, and walk around their watery habitats.
Many casual observers recognize different types of birds in a general sense, such as recognizing ducks, geese, and herons. Observing North Carolina’s waterbirds can be great fun, especially as they are often out in the open.
- Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
- American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)
North Carolina Land Birds
North Carolina is home to many species of birds that don’t fall easily into familiar categories, like songbirds, water birds, or birds of prey.
These birds are usually fairly large, robust, and live diverse lifestyles. Many larger land birds live near humans, especially in suburban areas, and thus are familiar to even casual observers. Some may even visit backyard bird feeders.
Like “songbirds”, North Carolina’s larger land birds communicate through sound. Unlike songbirds, the calls made by these species don’t sound musical or pleasing necessarily to human ears.
But don’t discount either the noises these birds make or the birds themselves. These birds can be some of the most exciting to observe, and their calls provide a lot of information about their activities to those who take the time to appreciate them.
