Odd Man in Animal Refuge17 Black Birds With Yellow Beaks: How to Properly Identify Each Kind

1. Black Crake (Zapornia flavirostra)

Black crake, Zapornia flavirostra, waterbird in the rail and crake family, walk in the green water vegetation. Bird in the nature habitat, Murchinson Fall NP, Uganda in Africa. Black crake, wildlife Uganda.
The black crake inhabits freshwater wetlands across Sub-SaharaAfrica

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The black crake is 19.0 – 23.0 cm (7.5 – 9.1 in) long. Both sexes have slaty black plumage with a slight wash of olive-brown on the wings and upperparts (usually not visible in the field). Their beaks are bright yellow, but the irises, eye rings, legs, and feet are all red. The red legs and feet become even brighter during the breeding season.

2. Black Thrush (Turdus infuscatus)

The black thrush is native to montane forests in Mexico and Central America.

The black thrush is 21.5 – 24.0 cm (8.5 – 9.4 in) long. Only the male has all-black plumage and a yellow to orange-yellow beak, while the female is brown with a dark bill. However, both sexes have yellow eyerings, dark irises, and yellowish legs and feet.

3. Chiguanco Thrush (Turdus chiguanco)

Chiguanco thrush (Turdus chiguanco)
The Chiguanco thrush is native to western South America, with color differences between northern and southern populations.

The Chiguanco thrush is 25.0 – 30.0 cm (9.8 – 11.8 in) long. While both sexes in northern populations are olive gray-brown, southern populations are blacker with yellow eyerings. Both sexes in both populations also have yellow to orange-yellow beaks, legs, and feet, along with red to chestnut irises.

4. Chinese Blackbird (Turdus mandarinus)

The Chinese blackbird is a species of thrush native to China and Indochina.

The Chinese blackbird is 28.0 – 29.0 cm (11.0 – 11.4 in) long. Only the male is sooty black above and brownish-black below with a yellow to orange beak and eyerings, while the female is slightly browner with a brownish beak with a bit of dull yellow at the base. Both sexes also have dark irises, legs, and feet.

5. Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula)

The Eurasian blackbird, also known as the common blackbird, is native to areas of Afro-Eurasia and has also been introduced to Australia and New Zealand.

The Eurasian blackbird is 24.0 – 27.0 cm. (9.4 – 10.6 in) long. Only the male has all-black plumage with a yellow to orange-yellow beak and eyerings, while the female is mostly brown with a brownish beak. Both sexes also have dark irises, legs, and feet.

6. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also known as the European starling, or in the British Isles just the starling, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae.
While the European starling, also known as the common starling, was originally native to areas of Afro-Eurasia, it has been introduced widely elsewhere and is now one of North America’s most abundant species.

The European starling is 20.0 – 25.0 cm (7.9 – 9.8 in) long. Both sexes have similar glossy black plumage with a strong metallic iridescence which becomes spangled with white spots post-breeding season; however, the female is a bit less glossy overall. Additionally, the beaks are only yellow during the breeding season and turn dark after. Irises are dark brown, and legs and feet are reddish brown.

7. Great Myna (Acridotheres grandis)

Side view of the great myna on ground
The great myna is a starling species native to lowlands and foothills in Southeast Asia.

The great myna is 24.5 – 27.5 cm (9.6 – 10.8 in) long. Both sexes have black plumage with bits of white on the wings and tail and a sparse head crest. The beak, legs, and feet are also all yellow, while the irises are reddish brown.

8. Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus)

close-up of Javan Myna birds perching on rooftop, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
The Javan myna is originally native to Java and Bali but has been introduced into other areas of Southeast Asia.

The Javan myna is 21 – 25 cm (8.3 – 19.8 in) long. Both sexes have plumage similar to their great myna cousins, including the head crest and white patches, but their plumage is a mix of basic black, ashy black, slaty black, and brownish-black. They also have lemon-yellow irises and orange-yellow beaks, legs, and feet.

The IUCN Red List currently lists this species as Vulnerable.

9. Pale-Eyed Thrush (Turdus leucops)

The pale-eyed thrush inhabits montane forests in areas of northern and western South America.

The pale-eyed thrush is 18.0 – 23.5 cm (7.1 – 9.3 in) long. Only the male has all-black plumage, along with a yellow to orange beak, legs, and feet, as well as bluish-white irises. In contrast, the female is duller overall, with an olive-brown plumage, duller yellowish bill and legs, and pale gray-brown irises.

10. Sooty Thrush (Turdus nigrescens)

Sooty Robin photo taken in the Savegre Valley, Costa Rica.
The sooty thrush is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama.

The sooty thrush is 24 – 25.5 cm (9.4 – 10.0 in) long. Only the male has brownish-black plumage with sooty-black lores, orbital area, wings, and tail, while the female is browner and sometimes has dark streaks on the throat. Both sexes also have yellow-orange beaks, white irises, and orange eyerings, legs, and feet.

11. Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)

The spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor)
Spotless starlings are native to the western Mediterranean region.

The spotless starling is 22.0 cm (8.7 in) long. Both sexes have glossy black plumage with a strong metallic iridescence, although the female is a little less glossy overall. The male has dark brown irises and pink to reddish-pink legs and feet, while the female has brown irises and brownish-pink legs and feet. Like their cousins the European starlings, the beaks of both sexes are only yellow during the breeding season and dark the rest of the year.

12. Tibetan Blackbird (Turdus maximus)

Tibetan thrush on grass drinking water
The Tibetan blackbird is a species of thrush native to theHimalayan

region.

The Tibetan blackbird is 23.0 – 28.0 cm (9.1 – 11.0 in) long. The male has a black head, breast, wings, and tail, with more brownish-black plumage elsewhere, while the female has blackish-brown upperparts and browner underparts. The male’s beak is a dull orange-yellow, while the female’s is a more dusky yellow. Both sexes also have dark irises, legs, and feet.

13. Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca)

The velvet scoter, also called the velvet duck, is a migratory species native to Eurasia.

The velvet scoter is 51.0 – 58.0 cm (21.0 – 22.8 in) long. During the breeding season, the male’s plumage is a glossy black with white wing bars visible during flight; off-season, it appears duller with pale-mottled flanks. The male also is the one with a yellow to yellowish-orange beak that has a pinkish-orange to reddish-orange nail and black knob, along with gray-white irises and red-pink legs and feet with blackish webbing. In contrast, the female has mostly brown plumage, with a dull gray to black beak, brown irises, and dull reddish legs and feet.

The IUCN Red List currently lists this species as Vulnerable.

14. Yellow-Billed Cacique (Amblycercus holosericeus)

Yellow-billed caciques inhabit forests in portions of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

The yellow-billed cacique is 20.5 – 21.5 cm (8.1 – 8.5 in) long, with females on the smaller end of the range. The male’s plumage is rich black, while the female’s is slightly less so (described as more slaty). In both sexes, the chisel-shaped beak is yellow, the irises pale yellow, and the legs and feet dark gray.

15. Yellow-Billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

Amazing Mountain Animal: Alpine Chough
The yellow-billed chough, also known as the alpine chough, is a corvid species that is found in high mountains across areas of Afro-Eurasia.

The yellow-billed chough is 34.0 – 38.0 cm (13.4 – 50.0 in) long. Both sexes have entirely black plumage with a slight gloss and a lemon-yellow beak. The irises are dark brown, and the legs and feet are reddish.

16. Yellow-Billed Nunbird (Monasa flavirostris)

Yellow-billed Nunbird (Monasa flavirostris), Sani Canopy Tower, Ecuador
The yellow-billed nunbird is found in the western Amazon Basin of South America.

The yellow-billed nunbird is 23.0 – 25.0 cm (9.1 – 9.8 in) long. Both sexes have predominantly sooty-black plumage with a very dark gray belly and green-black tail, and a bit of white on the wings. They also both have yellow beaks, along with dark irises, legs, and feet.

17. Yellow-Legged Thrush (Turdus flavipes)

Yellow-legged thrush, Platycichla flavipes, single bird on branch, Brazil
Yellow-legged thrushes have a spotty distribution across northern and eastern South America and a few Caribbean islands.

 

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