Birds in crosswords: 117 answers with clues | Crossword Path

Bird names are crossword staples: many are short, vowel-rich and easy to cross, and clues tend to describe a habit, a colour or a call rather than name the group. Watch for names that double as verbs or other nouns; the sense of the clue settles which one you want.

Most of them have 7 / 6 letters. The first letters that occur most often are P, S, B. Each answer links to its own page with more clues.

This list has 117 answers, from 3 to 10 letters; 60% of them have five to seven. In crosswords the category is usually signalled by a short opener such as “small”, “large”, “crested”, so the clue narrows the family before the crossings do. The members that catch solvers out are the rarer ones: SISKIN (Small finch), WAXWING (Crested songbird) and COWBIRD (Brood parasite).

Answer	Clue
ANI	Black cuckoo bird
BABBLER	Noisy songbird
BANTAM	Small chicken
BAYA	Indian weaverbird
BIRD	Animal with feathers
BLACKBIRD	Dark songbird
BLUEBIRD	Azure flier
BOBOLINK	North American songbird
BUDGIE	Small pet parakeet
BUNTING	Grain-field bird
BUSTARD	Large ground bird
BUZZARD	Soaring scavenger
CANARY	Small yellow bird
CARDINAL	Main or red bird
CATBIRD	Mimic thrush
CHICKEN	Clucking farm bird
COCKATIEL	Crested pet bird
COCKATOO	Crested parrot
CONDOR	Andean soarer
COWBIRD	Brood parasite
CROW	Bird with a caw
DAW	Black bird
DIPPER	Small stream bird
DODO	Extinct bird
DOVE	Peace-symbol bird
DRONGO	Fork-tailed bird
DUCK	Bird that quacks
EAGLE	Bald national bird
EMU	Australian runner bird
FALCON	Fast bird of prey
FINCH	Cone-billed bird
FOWL	Barnyard bird
GOLDFINCH	Tiny yellow singer
GOOSE	Honking bird
GOSHAWK	Falconer's bird
GRACKLE	Glossy black songbird
GREBE	Small diving bird
GROSBEAK	Big-billed finch
GUAN	Tropical forest bird
HARRIER	Marsh-hunting hawk
HAWK	Raptor
HEN	Barnyard egg layer
HERON	Long-legged wading bird
HOOPOE	Crested Old World bird
HORNBILL	Tropical casque bird
JAY	Noisy crested bird
JUNCO	Winter finch
KESTREL	Hovering falcon
KINGFISHER	Bright river bird
LARK	Field songbird
LINNET	Small finch
MACAW	Colorful parrot
MARTIN	Swallow-like bird
MAVIS	Song thrush
MEADOWLARK	Yellow songbird
MERLE	Blackbird
MERLIN	Small falcon
MINA	Asian starling
MOA	Giant flightless bird
NANDU	Large flightless bird
NUTHATCH	Bark-clinging songbird
ORIOLE	Orange songbird
OSPREY	Fish-hunting raptor
OSTRICH	Large flightless bird
OWL	Big-eyed night bird
OWLET	Young owl
PARAKEET	Caged chatterer
PARROT	Repeats without thinking
PARTRIDGE	Small field bird
PEACOCK	Showy male bird
PEEWEE	Tiny flycatcher
PELICAN	Large pouch-billed bird
PENGUIN	Flightless polar bird
PEREGRINE	Fast falcon
PHEASANT	Long-tailed game bird
PHOEBE	Small flycatcher
PIGEON	City square bird
PIPIT	Ground songbird
PITTA	Colorful tropical bird
PLOVER	Shore bird
POULTRY	Domestic fowl
QUAIL	Small game bird
RAPTOR	Bird of prey
RAVEN	Black bird
REDSTART	Orange-tailed bird
RHEA	Ostrich-like bird
ROBIN	Red-breasted bird
ROC	Mythical giant bird
ROOSTER	Barnyard crower
SEAGULL	Coastal bird
SHRIKE	Hook-billed bird
SISKIN	Small finch
SKIMMER	Water-surface bird
SKYLARK	Songbird over fields
SNIPE	Marsh bird
SNOWBIRD	Winter finch
SONGBIRD	Melodious feathered singer
SPARROW	Small brown bird
STARLING	Glossy black songbird
SWALLOW	Small bird or gulp
SWAN	Graceful water bird
TANAGER	Colorful songbird
THRUSH	Speckled songbird
TITMOUSE	Tiny crested bird
TOUCAN	Tropical beaked bird
TUI	New Zealand bird
TURKEY	Holiday bird
TURTLEDOVE	Carol bird
VIREO	Olive-gray songbird
VULTURE	Scavenging bird
WADER	Marshland bird
WAGTAIL	Old World bird
WARBLER	Small active singer
WAXWING	Crested songbird
WILDFOWL	Game bird
WOODPECKER	Bark-drilling bird
WREN	Tiny songbird

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