Do you like to watch birds in your backyard? Many people enjoy feeding and observing birds around their homes and in the woods or parks. How many common song birds can you identify? Use a field guide to birds to see pictures and find information about each bird. Try your hand at drawing and coloring some of these bright backyard birds.
Some favorite colorful song birds in the US
- Cardinals
- Blue Jays
- American Goldfinches
- Indigo Buntings
- Cedar Waxwings
Many of these birds are used as state birds, are featured on postage stamps, and are seen in artwork and in illustrations. Song birds are the small birds that usually come to bird feeders or nest in neighborhoods where people often see them.
Cardinal
The Cardinal is one of the all time favorites. With its bright red feathers and black markings it is easy to spot and most people know the bird. The female is a rusty brown color with a red tuft of feathers on its head and red wing edges. One reason they are favorites may be because they are so easily recognized. Even small children know them. Also, they are so bright they liven up the landscape, especially in winter against those dreary browns or the white of snow.
Blue Jay
Jays are easy to spot and a favorite because of their magnificent blue feathers trimmed with black and white. Some birdwatchers dislike this bird because of its pushy behavior, but no one can call the Blue Jay an ugly bird. Few can resist his pretty colors. He usually looks huge next to other birds at feeders. The Blue Jay gained his name by the most common sound he makes a Jaaaay, like a squawk. Notice the way he tilts his head inquisitively at things. Scrub-Jays, Stellar’s Jays, and Gray-Jays are some of the other types of Jays.
American Goldfinch
American Goldfinches are one of the late winter and early spring favorites. They love feeders and will show up in large numbers. They especially love to eat black thistle seeds. The male’s feathers change in summer to bright yellow and a cap of black and black wings and tail with white bars. The rest of the year the males are yellowish gray or pea-soup-green like the females. Goldfinches have a light song like a canary’s and are tiny birds – fun to watch.
Indigo Bunting
The Indigo Bunting is a small bird at flies almost like darting. The males are brilliant blue – indigo (cyan) blue all except for the wing’s trailing edges and the tail tip. In fall they turn brown with only some blue on the wings. The females are brown all year. They will come to feeders if there is not too much traffic and if your yard has trees and slow running water (like a creek or stream) nearby. The bunting has a short shiny silver-colored bill for cracking seeds.
Cedar Waxwing
The Cedar Waxwing is such a beautiful bird that people are fascinated by his colors. They have a small tuft of feathers on their head like the cardinals. Black and white markings around the face and throat make them appear to be wearing a mask. The head tuft and the body and back are brown and gray with wing and tail tips of bright red and yellow and spots of bold white. The under belly is yellow. Waxwings love berries, and when eating, they line up on a tree branch or a berried scrub and pass a berry along from beak to beak before one is rude enough to eat it up!
North America is home to many colorful birds. The common favorites are usually the most colorful birds, like jays, waxwings, goldfinches, cardinals, and buntings. But birds of any colors are interesting to watch and study.
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