Field Guide

Explore the Field Guide to learn about more than 350 species of birds, fish, insects, algae, invertebrates, mammals, plants, reptiles and amphibians that live in the Chesapeake Bay region.

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Showing: 10 of 10

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

The American avocet is a medium sized bird with a rust-colored head, upturned bill and long legs. It lives in open areas with little vegetation and shallow waters, and can be found throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed during the winter months.

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American avocets wade in shallow water to find prey.
Birds

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

The black-crowned night heron is a small, stocky wading bird that lives year-round in marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

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A black-crowned night heron stands in a shallow stream, its red eye looking toward the camera and its yellow feet gripping a rock under the water's surface.
Birds

Eastern Black Rail

Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis

Black rail is a small, secretive marsh bird. It is approximately the size of a sparrow with black, white-spotted feathers and red eyes. 

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A close-up view of a hand holding an eastern black rail, showing its red eye, gray head and chest, and white speckled wing feathers.
Birds

Glossy Ibis

Plegadis falcinellus

The glossy ibis is a heron-like wading bird with dark green and purple plumage. It visits Chesapeake Bay marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

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A breeding adult glossy ibis, wading in a body of water amidst vegetation.
Birds

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

The great blue heron is a tall, bluish-gray wading bird with a long, pointed bill and a graceful, S-shaped neck. It lives year-round in marshes and wetlands throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

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A great blue heron flies in front of a forest, with its legs and wings outstretched and its neck tucked into its body.
Birds

Great Egret

Ardea alba

The great egret is a large, white wading bird with long, lacy plumes on the back. It visits the Chesapeake Bay region’s marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

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A great egret wades in calm water.
Birds

Green Heron

Butorides virescens

The green heron is a small, crow-like wading bird with a chestnut neck and grayish-green back. It visits the Chesapeake Bay region’s marshes and wetlands from spring through autumn.

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A green heron holds a fish in its bill. It is perched on a branch in a thickly vegetated wetland.
Birds

Least Bittern

Ixobrychus exilis

The least bittern, the smallest heron found in the Americas, lives in marshes among thick vegetation. This bird visits the Chesapeake region in warmer months to breed and raise young.

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A least bittern sits on a branch. This least bittern does not have clear vertical stripes on its side or underbelly.
Birds

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

The snowy egret is a medium-sized white heron with a slender black bill and distinctive yellow feet. It visits the Chesapeake Bay’s marshes, wetlands and shallow waters from spring through autumn.

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Snow goose flies slowly over the water with its feet out ready to catch a fish.
Birds

Virginia rail

Rallus limicola

The Virginia rail is a small bird with a pig-like grunting call that can be found in the fresh and brackish marshes of the Chesapeake region year-round.

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Virginia rail peeks out of tall grass.
Birds