Birds With White Heads

There’s no doubt about it, birds with white heads really stand out. From small to large they are quite a unique bunch. So here are some of the most fascinating white-headed birds and what you’ll want to know about them

White-Headed Vulture

The white-headed vulture is easy to distinguish from all other vultures because of the strong contrast between its white-crested head and dark brown and black body. This species also has pale patches of bare pink skin on the head and a pink beak. It is endemic to Africa. And different from other African vulture species when it comes to the white-headed vulture the females are larger than the males.

Bald Eagle

These birds with white heads and dark bodies are one of the most recognizable species on the planet. That’s because the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and its image symbolizes the strength and freedom of the country. The bald eagle is a large and powerful raptor that feeds mainly on fish and waterfowl.

It actually takes around 5 years for young bald eagles to develop their distinct plumage. Before that birds are mainly brown with dark heads. Bald eagles are not actually bald like their name suggests. Their name comes from an older meaning of the word “bald,” which meant “white-headed”.

White-Headed Duck

White-headed ducks are an unusual-looking duck species with white heads and long tails. Males have a mainly white head with a black crown, blue bill, and a chestnut-colored body. The females are duller in color with darker bills and larger crowns.

These are diving ducks that feed mainly on aquatic vegetation under the water. White-headed ducks are known for both being silent and not typically flying. In fact, when faced with a threat they usually swim away rather than fly.

Blue-Throated Piping Guan

Blue-throated piping guans are large black birds with white heads. They also have a throat patch that while normally blue can also be black or even gray and reddish-colored legs. In appearance, they are sometimes compared to a looking like a turkey.

Unlike turkeys however these south American natives spend most of their time in the trees, rarely coming down to the ground. During the breeding season they can be seen foraging in pairs, however, the rest of the year they are found in groups of up to  around 15 or so birds.

Pied Stilt

The pied stilt is also known as the black-winged stilt, white-headed stilt, and the Australasian pied stilt. It is a long-legged wading bird with a long and fine black beak. The pied stilt’s diet consists mainly of invertebrates such as worms, insects, and smaller-sized mollusks. It mainly feeds and roosts in large flocks. This species is shy and when approached by humans flies away making a yapping alarm call.

Downy Woodpecker

The downy woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker species in North America. It looks incredibly similar to the hairy woodpecker however it is smaller in size and with a smaller beak in proportion to its body. Male downy woodpeckers can be distinguished from females by the small red patch on the back of their necks.

Downy woodpeckers mainly feed on insects. These little birds with white and black heads are a help to farmers because one of those insect species is the European corn borer, a pest moth that not only eats grains but is also very costly to deal with.

Great Egret

These tall and elegant-looking birds are in the heron family. And they don’t just have a white head, the rest of their plumage is totally white too. They can be distinguished from other similar-looking white egrets by their long yellow beak along with their black feet and legs.

Great egrets are wading birds and these hunters use their sharp pointed beaks to spear their food which is mainly fish but also includes amphibians, snakes, small mammals, and insects.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

These small garden birds with black and white heads are a common sight at backyard birdfeeders across North America, and particularly at those that offer suet and sunflower seeds. White-breasted nuthatches have strong feet and are known for being excellent climbers.

They can be seen climbing up and down the trunks and branches of trees as they search for hiding insects. There are 9 subspecies of white-breasted nuthatch that vary slightly in appearance.

White-Crowned Sparrow

White-crowned sparrows are large sparrows with long tails. While they have unremarkable pale gray bodies and pale yellow or pink beaks they have striking white and black striped heads. Their impressive striped heads help to make the white-crowned sparrow one of the easiest sparrow species to identify.

Widespread and common in North America this hardy bird lives in a range of habitats. In areas where they don’t live year-round, they are often seen when on migration and in the winter months. Interestingly young male white-crowned sparrows learn their songs from their environment in the first few months of their lives. And because of this birds from different regions have different dialects.

Osprey

Ospreys are large birds of prey that are found around the world. In fact, they can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Almost their entire diet is made up of fish. Their keen eyesight allows them to spot fish from the air and their long and sharp talons are specialized for snatching them from the water.

These fish hawks build huge stick-lined nests near bodies of water often on structures such as poles or nesting platforms but also on trees, rocky outcroppings, or cliffs. Ospreys have white heads with a wide brown stripe through the eye. From above their plumage is brown while from below it is white.

Armenian Gull

Like many other types of gulls, Armenian gulls are white-headed birds. They belong to a group of gull species collectively known as the “herring gull”. However today the Armenian gull is thought of as a separate species. These coastal birds are found in the Caucasus and the Middle East. They are large gulls with yellow legs and very similar in appearance to the California gull which is found in North America.

African Fish Eagle

While at first glance it may look similar to the bald eagle, the African fish eagle only resides on the African continent. These are large birds with white heads and white tails. They have chestnut bodies and black wings.

African fish eagles feed mainly on fish yet as opportunistic predators they take a variety of prey and may even feed on carrion or steal prey from other birds. It is the national bird of several African countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia among others.

Start Shopping for Birding Gear!