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Common Poorwill Common Raven Common Redpoll Common Tern Common Yellowthroat Connecticut Warbler Cooper’s Hawk Cordilleran Flycatcher Costa’s Hummingbird Couch’s Kingbird Crescent-chested Warbler Crested Caracara Crissal Thrasher Curve-billed Thrasher Dark-eyed Junco Dickcissel Double-crested Cormorant Dovekie Downy Woodpecker Dunlin Dusky Flycatcher Dusky Grouse Eared Grebe Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Towhee Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Wood-Pewee Elegant Tern Elf Owl Emperor Goose Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Tree Sparrow Eurasian Wigeon European Starling Evening Grosbeak Ferruginous Hawk Field Sparrow Fish Crow Flammulated Owl Florida Scrub-Jay Forster’s Tern Fox Sparrow Franklin’s Gull Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glossy Ibis Golden Eagle Golden-cheeked Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Warbler 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Nashville Warbler Neotropic Cormorant Northern Bobwhite Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Fulmar Northern Gannet Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Northern Hawk Owl Northern Mockingbird Northern Parula Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Northern Waterthrush Northwestern Crow Nuttall’s Woodpecker Oak Titmouse Olive-sided Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Orchard Oriole Osprey Ovenbird Pacific Golden-Plover Pacific Loon Pacific-slope Flycatcher Painted Bunting Painted Redstart Palm Warbler Pectoral Sandpiper Pelagic Cormorant Peregrine Falcon Phainopepla Philadelphia Vireo Pied-billed Grebe Pigeon Guillemot Pileated Woodpecker Pine Grosbeak Pine Siskin Pine Warbler Pinyon Jay Piping Plover Plain Chachalaca Plumbeous Vireo Prairie Falcon Prairie Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Purple Gallinule Purple Martin Purple Sandpiper Pygmy Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia Razorbill Red Crossbill Red Knot Red Phalarope 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Grouse Short-billed Dowitcher Short-eared Owl Slate-throated Redstart Smith’s Longspur Smooth-billed Ani Snail Kite Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Egret Snowy Plover Solitary Sandpiper Song Sparrow Sooty Grouse Sora Spotted Owl Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Towhee Sprague’s Pipit Spruce Grouse Steller’s Jay Stilt Sandpiper Summer Tanager Surf Scoter Surfbird Swainson’s Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Swainson’s Warbler Swallow-tailed Kite Swamp Sparrow Tennessee Warbler Thick-billed Murre Townsend’s Solitaire Townsend’s Warbler Tree Swallow Tricolored Heron Tropical Kingbird Trumpeter Swan Tufted Puffin Tufted Titmouse Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Upland Sandpiper Varied Bunting Varied Thrush Vaux’s Swift Veery Verdin Vermilion Flycatcher Vesper Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Virginia Rail Virginia’s Warbler Warbling Vireo Western Bluebird Western Grebe Western Gull Western Kingbird Western Sandpiper Western Screech-Owl Western Tanager Western Wood-Pewee Western-Meadowlark Whimbrel White Ibis White-breasted Nuthatch White-crowned Pigeon White-crowned Sparrow White-eyed Vireo White-faced Ibis White-headed Woodpecker White-rumped Sandpiper White-tailed Hawk White-tailed Kite White-tailed Ptarmigan White-throated Sparrow White-throated Swift White-tipped Dove White-winged Crossbill White-winged Dove White-winged Scoter Whooping Crane Wild Turkey Willet Williamson’s Sapsucker Willow Flycatcher Willow Ptarmigan Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Plover Wilson’s Snipe Wilson’s Warbler Winter Wren Wood Duck Wood Stork Wood Thrush Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Worm-eating Warbler Wrentit Yellow Rail Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Magpie Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Zone-tailed Hawk

Birds With Long Legs

Sam Crowe
Updated: April 24, 2023
Search by Body Shape
Birds With Long Legs

Hello, bird enthusiasts!

Today we’re going to take a closer look at some of the most fascinating creatures in the avian world – birds with long legs. These feathered friends come in all shapes and sizes, from the majestic stork to the colorful flamingo.

Why do birds have long legs?

Birds have long legs for several reasons:

  • To wade in water: Some birds, such as herons and storks, have long legs that enable them to wade in shallow water in search of food.
  • To reach food: Birds with long legs can reach into taller vegetation to find food more easily.
  • For better balance: Birds with longer legs have a larger base of support, which helps them maintain balance while perching or moving around.
  • For easier running: Some birds, such as ostriches and emus, have long legs that help them run quickly and efficiently.
  • In general, long legs are adaptations that help birds be more successful in their environments by allowing them to access food, move around more easily, and avoid predators.

In this article, we’ll explore the unique characteristics, habitats, and behaviors of birds with long legs. We’ll also discuss the conservation efforts being made to protect these remarkable creatures, some of which are considered endangered species.

So, grab your binoculars and join us as we embark on a journey into the world of birds with long legs. Get ready to be amazed by the beauty and diversity of these fascinating creatures!

 

Egrets and Herons – Family Ardeidae

great blue heron

The Great Blue Heron is the largest heron in the United States.

little blue heron

The Little Blue Heron can be confused with the Reddish Egret.

tri-colored heron

The Tricolored Heron Is primarily a coastal species, from Texas to Maryland. Found throughout Florida.

 

Ibises and Spoonbills – Family Threskiornithidae

glossy ibis

The Glossy Ibis is primarily a bird of the coast, from Texas to Florida, north to Maine. Range overlaps with very similar White-faced Ibis in parts of Texas.

white ibis

The White Ibis is a can’t miss species, common along the Gulf Coast and Florida. Juvenile birds are brown on the back and head.

roseatte spoongbill

The Roseate Spoonbill has an orange tail. Note the flat, rounded tip to the bill. Common along the Texas, Louisiana and Florida coasts. Sometimes confused with a flamingo by inexperienced bird watchers.

 

Stilts and Avocets – Family Recurvirostridae

american avocet

The American Avocet nests inland in the western half of the United States. Winter plumage on the right.

black-necked stilt

The Black-necked Stilt is an easy species to identify. The brownish back indicates this is probably a female.

 

Sandpipers – Family Scolopacidae

greater and lesser yellowlegs

Two common long-legged shorebirds are the Greater Yellowlegs (left) and Lesser Yellowlegs.

long-billed curlew

The Long-billed Curlew is well-named, and long-legged. Compare with the Whimbrel.

 

Other Characteristics

 

About the Author

Sam Crowe
Sam is the founder of Birdzilla.com. He has been birding for over 30 years and has a world list of over 2000 species. He has served as treasurer of the Texas Ornithological Society, Sanctuary Chair of Dallas Audubon, Editor of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All About Birds" web site and as a contributing editor for Birding Business magazine. Many of his photographs and videos can be found on the site.

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