This is a list of well-known real birds. For famous fictional birds, see the list of fictional birds.
Birds of prey
Águia Vitória, a bald eagle who serves as the mascot for Portuguese football club S.L. Benfica Barry, a barred owl who lived in Central Park in New York City Challenger, the first bald eagle in history trained to free fly into major sporting events during the American national anthem Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl which escaped from the Central Park Zoo after its enclosure was vandalized in February 2023. Died in 2024 after colliding with a window. Gladys, a Eurasian eagle-owl which escaped from the Minnesota Zoo after a routine exercise and training session. Died in 2021 after a possible impact involving a vehicle. Goldie, a golden eagle who lived at the London Zoo in the 1960s and caused a sensation when he briefly escaped in 1965 Harriet and Ozzie, a devoted pair of bald eagles in North Fort Myers, Florida, whose lives were followed by people in over 190 countries via the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam Jackie and Shadow, a pair of bald eagles whose nest in Big Bear Valley is live streamed, capturing its egg laying, brooding, and hatching efforts Lady Baltimore, a bald eagle living at the Juneau Raptor Center Mr Rutland, an osprey introduced to England after the species went extinct there in the 1840s Old Abe, an American Civil War bald eagle who was the mascot of a Wisconsin regiment, whose image was adopted in Case Corporation's logo and as the screaming eagle on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division One Wing, a one-winged bald eagle that survived the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill Pag-asa, the first Philippine eagle to be bred and hatched in captivity Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk who lived near Central Park in New York City Peter, a bald eagle who lived at the Philadelphia Mint during the 1830s Rufus, a Harris's hawk used by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their venue
Landfowl Astoria, a wild turkey who has resided in New York City since 2024 Booming Ben, the nickname of the last confirmed Heath hen found on Martha's Vineyard, who was presumed dead after a final sighting in 1932. Matilda, the world's oldest known chicken Mike the Headless Chicken, a Wyandotte rooster of Fruita, Colorado, who lived for 18 months after his head was cut off. The botched decapitation in 1945 missed his brain stem and jugular vein. His owners fed him thereafter with an eyedropper, and took him on tours of the West Coast. He died in 1947. Zelda, a wild turkey who lived at the Battery in New York City from 2003 to 2014
Parrots
Alex, a grey parrot who, in studies by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, demonstrated an ability to count; differentiate categories involving objects, colors, shapes, and materials; and understand the concept of same and different Apollo, a grey parrot and subject of a YouTube channel Bud, an African gray parrot believed to mimic an argument before a murder Charlie, a blue-and-yellow macaw whose owner claimed she belonged to Winston Churchill and had been taught to shout curses at Nazis Cookie, a Major Mitchell's cockatoo who at the time of his death at the age of 83, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living parrot in the world Cosmo, a grey parrot known for knowing over 200 words and being the subject of a book, Conversations with Cosmo Douglas, a scarlet macaw who played the parrot Rosalinda in the 1970 film Pippi in the South Seas Incas, the last Carolina parakeet, who died in 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, reportedly of grief after his mate Lady Jane died a few months before him, in 1917 Louis, a macaw known for preventing development of his owner's estate from 1949 to 1966 Mani, a rose-ringed parakeet living in Singapore, who became famous in 2010 after correctly predicting the winners for all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final ties N'kisi, a grey parrot known for her supposed advanced use of the English language Poll, a pet parrot of Andrew Jackson known for shouting profanities at his funeral Ravachol Parrot, a parrot who lived in Pontevedra, Spain, from 1891 and 1913 and became a symbol of the city Sirocco, a hand-reared kākāpō who became an ambassador for his species and conservation in New Zealand. Snowball, a male Eleonora cockatoo, noted as being the first non-human animal conclusively demonstrated to be capable of beat induction Sparkie Williams, a talking budgerigar who provided the inspiration for an opera by Michael Nyman and Carsten Nicolai Whipper, a budgerigar known for its unusual appearance, caused by a genetic mutation
Passerines Anchorage White Raven, a popular leucistic raven that lived in Anchorage, Alaska Canuck, a northwestern crow who was voted Metro Vancouver's unofficial ambassador Dick the Mockingbird, a mockingbird belonging to Thomas Jefferson and believed to be the first presidential pet to live in the White House Domino Day 2005 sparrow, a house sparrow who was shot and killed after disturbing preparations for Domino Day 2005 Orange Band, the last dusky seaside sparrow. Died on Walt Disney World’s Discovery Island in 1987 Grip, a raven kept as a pet by Charles Dickens which was used as a character by Dickens and likely inspired Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven"
Jimmy, a raven who appeared in more than 1,000 feature films from the 1930s through the 1950s, including It's a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz Mozart's starling, a common starling kept as a pet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Old Blue, a black robin who at one point was the only fertile female of the species Woof Woof, a male tūī that was able to formulate human sounds
Penguins Dindim, a Magellanic penguin who became internationally famous for swimming 5,000 miles every year to visit Joao Pereira de Souza, the Brazilian man who rescued him from an oil spill in 2011. Inspired the film My Penguin Friend. Grape-kun, a Humboldt penguin living at the Tobu Zoo who became famous for his attachment to a cutout of an anime character Nils Olav, a king penguin, mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard Pesto, a king penguin from the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium Pierre, an African penguin who became the first penguin to have bald spots restored Roy and Silo, a same-sex pair of male chinstrap penguins who lived at the Central Park Zoo Sphen and Magic, a same-sex pair of male gentoo penguins who lived at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium
Pigeons
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