Welcome to the fascinating bird world that starts with S! From the cheerful chirp of the Sparrow to the elegant glide of the Swan, these birds draw our interest and wonder.

This blog will guide you through the lives of 15 commonly seen S birds, providing insights into their habits, habitats, and unique traits.

Moreover, we will explore 90 additional birds, beginning with S, expanding your knowledge of these avian species.

Join us as we discover these birds’ interesting characteristics and stories, enhancing your appreciation for nature’s diverse flyers.

15 Most Common Birds Starting with S

1. Sparrow

Sparrows are small, plump birds known for their adaptability to various environments. Often found in urban areas, these birds are both wild and common sights in backyards, adapting well to human presence.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
• Physical Description: Brown and gray with short tails and stout beaks.
• Habitat: Urban areas, farms, and forests.
• Geographical Range: Worldwide, except in the polar regions.
• Interesting Facts: Sparrows are social and often found in flocks; they can use human-made structures to build their nests.

2. Swallow

Swallows are agile birds, recognized for their long, pointed wings and streamlined bodies. They are excellent fliers and spend most of their time in the air.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica
• Physical Description: Glossy blue backs, red throats, and pale underparts.
• Habitat: Open areas like fields and parks, near water.
• Geographical Range: Found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
• Interesting Facts: Swallows migrate thousands of miles each year, showcasing remarkable navigational skills.

3. Starling

Starlings are medium-sized passerines, notorious for their iridescent feathers and vocal mimicry. They are highly social and can form massive flocks.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Common Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
• Physical Description: Shiny black plumage with a metallic sheen and a short tail.
• Habitat: Varied; including urban areas, farmland, and coastlines.
• Geographical Range: Native to Eurasia but widely introduced to other regions such as North America, Australia, and South Africa.
• Interesting Facts: Starlings can mimic a wide range of sounds, from car alarms to human speech patterns.

4. Swan

Swans are large waterbirds, known for their graceful appearance and long, curved necks. Symbolic of love and fidelity, swans are often featured in cultural and literary works.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
• Physical Description: White feathers with an orange bill bordered with black.
• Habitat: Lakes, ponds, and rivers.
• Geographical Range: Native to much of Europe and Asia; introduced to North America.
• Interesting Facts: Swans are monogamous, often staying with their partners for life.

5. Sandpiper

Sandpipers are a large family of shorebirds, known for their long legs and beaks, which they use to probe the sand for food. They are commonly seen running along beaches, following the ebb and flow of the waves.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Common Sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
• Physical Description: Brown upperparts with white underparts and a distinctive white wingbar in flight.
• Habitat: Sandy or muddy shorelines, estuaries, and riverbanks.
• Geographical Range: Breeds in Europe and Asia; winters in Africa and southern Asia.
• Interesting Facts: Sandpipers have a characteristic ‘teetering’ motion, bobbing their tails up and down as they move along the ground.

6. Stork

Storks are tall, long-legged birds known for their migratory habits and association with childbirth folklore. They are excellent fliers, often seen soaring on thermals.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: White Stork, Ciconia ciconia
• Physical Description: Large birds with white plumage and black wingtips, long necks, and long red legs and beak.
• Habitat: Wetlands, savannahs, and farmlands.
• Geographical Range: Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• Interesting Facts: Storks are silent because they lack the typical vocal organs; instead, they communicate by clattering their bills.

7. Shrike

Shrikes are small to medium-sized birds known as “butcher birds” due to their habit of impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire as a food cache.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus
• Physical Description: Grey upperparts and white underparts with a distinctive black mask across the eyes.
• Habitat: Open fields and bushy areas.
• Geographical Range: North America, particularly in southern regions of Canada and the United States.
• Interesting Facts: Shrikes are fierce predators capable of taking down birds and small mammals despite their small size.

8. Swift

Swifts are highly aerial birds, spending most of their lives flying. They have crescent-shaped wings and are larger than swallows, which they resemble.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Common Swift, Apus apus
• Physical Description: Dark, sooty brown all over, with a small body and very long wings.
• Habitat: Open skies, often in urban areas.
• Geographical Range: Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa.
• Interesting Facts: Swifts can eat, sleep, and even mate while flying; they only land to nest.

9. Swamphen

Swamphens are large rail birds with bright plumage. They are known for their robust size and the remarkable ability to walk through dense marsh vegetation.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio
• Physical Description: Vivid purple-blue coloring with a red bill and frontal shield.
• Habitat: Wetlands and marshes.
• Geographical Range: Widely found across Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
• Interesting Facts: Swamphens are known for their aggressive territorial behavior and complex social structures.

10. Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey, adept at navigating through dense foliage to catch small birds and insects. They are known for their incredible agility in flight.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
• Physical Description: Males have bluish-grey upperparts and orange-barred underparts; females are larger and browner.
• Habitat: Woodlands and forest edges.
• Geographical Range: Found across Europe and Asia.
• Interesting Facts: Despite their fierce hunting skills, sparrowhawks are often preyed upon by larger birds of prey such as eagles and goshawks.

11. Skylark

Skylarks are small, brown, unassuming birds, celebrated for their beautiful singing performance, especially noted during their high, hovering flight.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Skylark, Alauda arvensis
• Physical Description: Brown streaked upperparts and pale underparts, with a small crest on the head.
• Habitat: Open farmland and grasslands.
• Geographical Range: Across Europe and Asia, with introduced populations in Australia and New Zealand.
• Interesting Facts: The skylark’s song is often so prolonged that the bird can be heard singing non-stop for up to an hour without landing.

12. Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl is a large, striking bird, predominantly white with sparse black markings, known for its role in the Harry Potter series as Hedwig.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus
• Physical Description: Large white owl with varying amounts of black or brown spotting.
• Habitat: Arctic tundra and open fields.
• Geographical Range: Circumpolar regions across the Arctic.
• Interesting Facts: Unlike most owls, Snowy Owls are diurnal, actively hunting both day and night.

13. Seagull

Seagulls are medium to large birds, commonly associated with coastal areas, though they are increasingly found inland and known for their loud squawking and opportunistic feeding habits.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
• Physical Description: Generally gray or white with black markings on the head or wings.
• Habitat: Coastal regions, beaches, and inland water bodies.
• Geographical Range: Found worldwide, predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Interesting Facts: Seagulls have complex and highly developed communication methods and a social hierarchy structure.

14. Spoonbill

Spoonbills are large, wading birds, named for their distinctive spoon-shaped bills, which they use to sweep through shallow water for food.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja
• Physical Description: Vibrant pink feathering, long legs, and a flat, spoon-shaped bill.
• Habitat: Coastal lagoons, marshes, and mangrove swamps.
• Geographical Range: From the southeastern United States to Argentina and Chile.
• Interesting Facts: Spoonbills are often mistaken for flamingos but are identifiable by their bill shape, which is crucial for their feeding technique.

15. Snipe

Snipes are elusive wader birds, well-camouflaged against their marshy habitat. Known for their unique “drumming” sound, produced by their tail feathers during the courtship flight.

• Common Name and Scientific Name: Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago
• Physical Description: Long, slender bill and cryptic brown and black plumage.
• Habitat: Marshes, wet meadows, and moorlands.
• Geographical Range: Found across Europe, Asia, and North America.
• Interesting Facts: The snipe’s drumming is a form of communication during mating displays, creating a resonant, haunting sound as they dive through the air.

90 Additional Birds Starting with S

16. Scarlet Ibis
17. Snow Goose
18. Spotted Owl
19. Secretary Bird
20. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
21. Spotted Dove
22. Sooty Tern
23. Scaled Quail
24. Spotted Sandpiper
25. Screech Owl
26. Stonechat
27. Shoebill
28. Sanderling
29. Sunbird
30. Spurfowl
31. Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
32. Sharp-tailed Grouse
33. Shelduck
34. Swainson’s Hawk
35. Sooty Albatross
36. Spotted Nutcracker
37. Silver Gull
38. Snow Partridge
39. Superb Starling
40. Spangled Drongo
41. Siberian Jay
42. Siberian Crane
43. Silvereye
44. Short-toed Eagle
45. Speckled Mousebird
46. Summer Tanager
47. Scarlet Tanager
48. Spectacled Owl
49. Satin Bowerbird
50. Striped Owl
51. Striated Heron
52. Siberian Rubythroat
53. Saffron Finch
54. Southern Lapwing
55. Sapphire-throated Hummingbird
56. Seriema
57. Snow Bunting
58. Sabine’s Gull
59. Stilt Sandpiper
60. Scaly-breasted Munia
61. Surf Scoter
62. Spotted Crake
63. Slate-throated Redstart
64. Steller’s Sea Eagle
65. Siberian Tit
66. Spotted Redshank
67. Sociable Lapwing
68. Southern Ground Hornbill
69. Spotted Flycatcher
70. Silky-flycatcher
71. Streaked Scrub Warbler
72. Sedge Warbler
73. Striped Kingfisher
74. Saffron-cowled Blackbird
75. Spot-flanked Barbet
76. Speckled Pigeon
77. Sand Martin
78. Streaked Spiderhunter
79. Splendid Fairywren
80. Streaked Xenops
81. Smooth-billed Ani
82. Stilt
83. Swallow-tailed Kite
84. Steppe Eagle
85. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
86. Seedeater
87. Scarlet Macaw
88. Stripe-breasted Woodpecker
89. Streamertail
90. Sulphur-bellied Warbler
91. Shining Sunbeam
92. Stripe-tailed Yellow Finch
93. Slaty-backed Forest Falcon
94. Silver-throated Tanager
95. Snowy Egret
96. Spotted Antbird
97. Short-billed Pigeon
98. Southern Anteater Chat
99. Slender-billed Gull
100. Spotted Thick-knee
101. Sharpbill
102. Scaled Antpitta
103. Steller’s Jay
104. Spot-breasted Oriole
105. Short-toed Tree Creeper

Summing Up

In wrapping up, our journey through the world of birds, starting with S, has revealed various insights into their lives. Here are the three main areas we explored.

• Habitats and Living Conditions: We examined the diverse environments these birds occupy and their survival strategies.
• Distinct Features: We focused on each bird’s unique physical attributes, from the Swallow’s aerodynamic form to the Spoonbill’s distinctive bill.
• Behaviors and Social Structures: We explored interesting behaviors like Snipe’s unique sound production during mating displays.

We hope this blog inspired you to discover more about the bird diversity present on our planet.

To continue learning about the wonders of bird life, look at other blogs about birds on our website!