Ways to use this list
- Window birdwatch bingo: press UK garden birds or US backyard birds, spin five, and tick off each one you see this week.
- Beak science: spin a bird and work out what its beak is built for, from the pelican's scoop to the hummingbird's nectar straw and the eagle's hook.
- Three-colour painting: paint the bird you land on with just three paints, then compare how close everyone gets to its real feathers.
- Migration stories: write a journey from the bird's point of view; the Arctic tern, which flies from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year, makes an epic one.
- Bird showdown: set Winners to 2 and debate which of the pair is faster, heavier or louder, then look up the answer together.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (50 entries)
- Bald eagle
- Golden eagle
- Peregrine falcon
- Barn owl
- Snowy owl
- Andean condor
- Secretary bird
- Emperor penguin
- Atlantic puffin
- Albatross
- Arctic tern
- Pelican
- Flamingo
- Heron
- White stork
- Shoebill
- Mute swan
- Mallard
- Canada goose
- Ostrich
- Emu
- Cassowary
- Kiwi
- Kakapo
- Peacock
- Pheasant
- Wild turkey
- Roadrunner
- Toucan
- Scarlet macaw
- Cockatoo
- Budgerigar
- Kookaburra
- Lyrebird
- Hornbill
- Resplendent quetzal
- Hummingbird
- Kingfisher
- Woodpecker
- Raven
- Magpie
- Blue jay
- Northern cardinal
- Barn swallow
- Starling
- Nightingale
- Wren
- Goldfinch
- House sparrow
- Pigeon
Questions people ask
What is the fastest bird?
The peregrine falcon. In a hunting dive it has been timed at more than 300 km/h (over 180 mph), which makes it the fastest animal of all. On the ground the ostrich wins, running at about 70 km/h (43 mph).
Why does a robin look different in the UK and the US?
They are two different birds. The European robin is small and round with an orange face and breast. The American robin is a much bigger thrush with a rusty breast, named by settlers after the bird they knew from home.
Which birds cannot fly?
Press Flightless birds to see them: ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, kiwis, the kakapo and takahe of New Zealand, and the penguins, which "fly" underwater with wings shaped like flippers.
How many kinds of bird are there?
Scientists count roughly 11,000 species, found on every continent including Antarctica. This wheel keeps 50 that are easy to picture, and the quick lists add common garden visitors and birds of prey.
Which are the biggest and smallest birds?
The ostrich is the tallest and heaviest, at up to about 2.7 metres. The wandering albatross has the widest wings of any living bird, up to about 3.5 metres tip to tip, while the bee hummingbird of Cuba is only about 5 centimetres long.