Bird names that start with L span nearly every corner of the avian world, from Australian rainforest mimics to Arctic tundra shorebirds. This list of bird names that start with L covers 36 species found across the United States and beyond, with notes on habitat, range, and the field marks that help separate one “L” bird from the next.
Whether you keep a life list, run a backyard feeder, or just want a solid bird identification guide for your next walk, this roundup moves from familiar backyard visitors to birds most people will never see outside a field guide photo. Each entry includes the scientific name and a few details worth remembering before your next outing.
1. Lapwing
The lapwing group belongs to the genus Vanellus, a collection of ground-nesting plovers known for loud alarm calls and tumbling display flights. The Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, is the species most Europeans picture when they hear the name, and it rarely strays into eastern Canada or the northeastern United States except during major winter storms.
Across the Americas, the Southern Lapwing fills a similar niche. Its eyes are bright red with a pinkish eye-ring, and the species carries bony wing spurs it flashes at rivals during territorial disputes. If you enjoy spotting birds with red eyes, the Southern Lapwing is a strong example outside North America’s usual lineup.
2. Lyrebird
Few birds earn a reputation like the Superb Lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, a ground-dwelling songbird native to the forests of southeastern Australia. Up to 70-80% of a male’s vocalizations consist of imitations of other species, and researchers have found females are skilled mimics too, copying cockatoos, parrots, and even wingbeats.
During courtship, the male builds a mound of leaf litter and performs an elaborate display, fanning his lyre-shaped tail feathers over his body while singing. The superb lyrebird is one of only two lyrebird species found in Australia, and its mimicry is accurate enough that other birds sometimes respond to the copy as if it were the real call.
3. Lark
The Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, is the lark species most American birders encounter, favoring bare fields, airports, and shortgrass prairie across the continental United States. Small black “horns” of feathers give the species its name, though they are only visible at close range during breeding season.
Larks forage on the ground for seeds and insects, often walking rather than hopping, and males deliver a thin, tinkling song during high circling flight displays. This ground-first lifestyle makes them easy to overlook despite being one of the more widespread L-named songbirds in North America.
4. Lovebird
Lovebirds belong to the genus Agapornis, a group of small, short-tailed parrots native to Africa and Madagascar. The Peach-faced Lovebird, Agapornis roseicollis, is the most common pet species in the United States, prized for its rosy face and compact size.
In the wild, lovebirds form tight pair bonds and often perch huddled together, which inspired the common name. Pet owners should take care with houseplants, since many common species are toxic to parrots; a quick check of plants that are poisonous to birds is worthwhile before bringing a lovebird home.
5. Leafbird
Leafbirds, genus Chloropsis, are small, brightly colored songbirds native to South and Southeast Asia. The Blue-winged Leafbird, Chloropsis cochinchinensis, shows mostly green plumage that blends seamlessly into forest canopy, broken by a blue wing patch and, in males, a black throat.
These birds feed on nectar, fruit, and insects while moving through dense foliage, and their calls often include snippets of other species’ songs, a trait that makes field identification tricky even for experienced birders working in their native range.
6. Lazuli Bunting
The Lazuli Bunting, Passerina amoena, breeds across the western United States and is named for the vivid blue plumage of the male, which echoes the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. Females and juveniles are soft brown with faint wing bars, making the sexes easy to confuse with other bunting species.
Lazuli Buntings favor brushy hillsides, streamside thickets, and open scrub, where males sing a bright, varied song from exposed perches. They winter in Mexico, making them a seasonal highlight for birders across states like Colorado, California, and Arizona.
7. Lilac-Breasted Roller
The Lilac-breasted Roller, Coracias caudatus, is one of the most photographed birds in sub-Saharan Africa thanks to a color palette that includes turquoise, lilac, green, and rufous feathering. It gets its common name from the acrobatic rolling flight display males perform during courtship.
These birds hunt from exposed perches in savanna and open woodland, dropping down to catch insects, small reptiles, and even scorpions. Its combination of bold colors has made it a national symbol in several East African countries, including Kenya and Botswana.
8. Limestone Wren-Babbler
The Limestone Wren-babbler, Napothera crispifrons, is a secretive songbird found in Southeast Asia, where it specializes in the karst limestone outcrops of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and parts of Myanmar. Its reddish-brown plumage and short tail help it stay hidden among rocky crevices.
Because this species depends on a narrow habitat type, limestone quarrying poses a real threat to local populations. Birders who want to see it typically need to visit protected karst reserves, since the species rarely strays far from its rocky home range.
9. Lanceolated Warbler
The Lanceolated Warbler, Locustella lanceolata, is a small, heavily streaked passerine that breeds in the swampy open forests and reedbeds of Northeast European Russia, Siberia, and northern Japan. The streaked, lance-shaped markings on its breast and flanks give the species its common name.
This warbler is notoriously skulking, preferring to run through dense ground cover rather than fly when disturbed. Vagrant records occasionally turn up far from the breeding range, making any sighting a notable event among dedicated rarity chasers.
10. Little Owl
The Little Owl, Athene noctua, is a small, compact owl native to Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, later introduced to the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Its flat-topped head and piercing yellow eyes give it a famously stern expression, and it remains active during the day far more often than most owl species.
Unlike many nocturnal owls, the Little Owl often hunts at dusk and dawn, perching on fence posts and low branches to scan open farmland for beetles, earthworms, and small rodents. Fans of raptors with striking stares may also enjoy browsing birds with big eyes for more species built around exceptional vision.
11. Little Stint
The Little Stint, Calidris minuta, is one of the smallest sandpipers in the world, breeding on the Arctic tundra of Scandinavia and Siberia before migrating to wintering grounds in Africa and southern Asia. Its small size and rapid, mechanical feeding action separate it from similar peeps at a mudflat.
During migration, Little Stints form mixed flocks with other small shorebirds, probing wet mud and shallow water for insects and tiny invertebrates. North American birders occasionally record vagrant individuals along the Atlantic coast, usually mixed in among more common Calidris sandpipers.
| Species | Typical Size | Primary Habitat | US Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Stint | 12-14 cm | Mudflats, shorelines | Rare vagrant, Atlantic coast |
| Little Egret | 55-65 cm | Wetlands, coastal marshes | Rare, Atlantic and Gulf coasts |
| Little Blue Heron | 60-70 cm | Marshes, ponds, mangroves | Southeastern and Gulf states |
| Least Sandpiper | 13-15 cm | Mudflats, marshes | Widespread, coast to coast |
12. Little Egret
The Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, is an elegant white heron common across Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a growing presence in the Americas after a natural range expansion in the 20th century. Breeding adults display delicate plumes on the head, chest, and back, along with black legs and bright yellow feet that contrast against dark mud.
Little Egrets stalk shallow water with slow, deliberate steps before striking at fish, amphibians, and crustaceans. Their all-white plumage makes them a favorite subject for anyone interested in birds with white wings, especially in flight when the wings open against a dark marsh background.
13. Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea, the Little Blue Heron, is a slate-blue wading bird found throughout the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Juveniles are almost entirely white, a plumage quirk that causes frequent confusion with Snowy Egrets until the birds molt into adult blue-gray feathering over their first year.
This heron forages more slowly and deliberately than many of its relatives, walking through shallow wetlands and tidal flats while hunting small fish, crayfish, and insects. Breeding adults develop a maroon wash on the head and neck, visible mainly up close during the spring nesting season.
14. Least Sandpiper
The Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla, holds the title of the world’s smallest shorebird, weighing roughly as much as a sparrow. Yellowish-green legs distinguish it from the similarly sized Semipalmated Sandpiper, which has black legs, making leg color one of the fastest ways to sort out a mixed peep flock.
These sandpipers breed across the subarctic tundra of Canada and Alaska, then migrate through nearly every US state on their way to wintering grounds as far south as South America. Their habit of feeding at the upper edge of the tideline, away from larger shorebirds, is a useful field clue.
15. Lesser Scaup
The Lesser Scaup, Aythya affinis, is a diving duck common on lakes and reservoirs across North America during migration and winter. Breeding males show a glossy, purple-tinged black head that can look almost two-toned in certain light, a feature shared by several other birds with black heads in the diving duck family.
Lesser Scaup dive to feed on aquatic invertebrates, seeds, and vegetation, often gathering in large rafts on open water during the colder months. The species can be tricky to separate from the closely related Greater Scaup, with head shape and the extent of white in the wing serving as the key identification points.
16. Lesser Flamingo
The Lesser Flamingo, Phoeniconaias minor, is the smallest flamingo species and the most numerous, with massive flocks concentrated on the soda lakes of the East African Rift Valley. Its deep red-and-black bill is adapted for filter-feeding on microscopic cyanobacteria, the same organism responsible for the vivid pink coloring in its feathers. Anyone drawn to distinctively colored bills may enjoy comparing it against other birds with red beaks.
Unlike the larger Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingos feed with their heads almost fully submerged, sweeping the bill side to side through alkaline water. Breeding colonies can number in the hundreds of thousands, making coordinated group displays one of the species’ most striking behaviors.
17. Long-Billed Curlew
North America’s largest shorebird, the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), is instantly recognizable by its dramatically downcurved bill, which can reach nearly eight inches in females. This impressive bill lets the curlew probe deep into mud and soil for earthworms, crustaceans, and even small vertebrates that other shorebirds cannot reach.
Long-billed Curlews breed on the shortgrass prairies and grasslands of the western United States and Canada, nesting directly on the ground in open terrain. Grassland habitat loss has made this species a conservation priority across much of its historic breeding range.
18. Laysan Albatross
The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, spends most of its life gliding over the open Pacific Ocean, coming ashore only to breed on remote islands including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Midway Atoll. Its white body and dark upperwings give it a gull-like silhouette, though its wingspan of nearly seven feet puts it in an entirely different class of flier.
These albatrosses mate for life and perform elaborate, synchronized courtship dances involving bill clacking, head bobbing, and sky pointing. Chicks remain on the nest for months while parents make extended foraging trips that can cover thousands of miles of open ocean.
19. Laughing Kookaburra
The Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is a large kingfisher native to eastern Australia, best known for a call that sounds remarkably like human laughter echoing through the bush at dawn and dusk. Family groups often call together, creating a chorus that can carry for over a kilometer through open eucalypt woodland.
Despite belonging to the kingfisher family, Laughing Kookaburras rarely eat fish, instead hunting insects, small reptiles, and even snakes from a perch before striking prey against a branch. Their unmistakable call has made the species one of the most recognizable entries among birds with weird names and equally weird sounds.
20. Laysan Duck
The Laysan Duck, Anas laysanensis, is one of the rarest waterfowl species in the world, confined almost entirely to a handful of low-lying Hawaiian islands. Habitat loss and introduced predators once pushed the species to the brink of extinction, with the population dropping to just a few dozen birds in the early 20th century.
Conservation efforts, including translocations to predator-free islands, have helped the Laysan Duck recover somewhat, though it remains listed as endangered. These small, dark brown ducks forage on brine flies and invertebrates along shallow lagoons, a specialized diet tied directly to their limited island habitat.
21. Lappet-Faced Vulture
The Lappet-faced Vulture, Torgos tracheliotos, is Africa’s largest vulture species, with a wingspan that can exceed nine feet and a powerful bill capable of tearing through tough hide that smaller scavengers cannot manage. Loose folds of pink skin on the head and neck, called lappets, give the species its name.
At carcasses, Lappet-faced Vultures often dominate smaller vulture species thanks to sheer size and bill strength, frequently opening a carcass before other scavengers can feed. Population declines linked to poisoning and habitat loss have moved the species toward endangered status across much of its African range.
22. Lady Amherst’s Pheasant
Named after a 19th-century patron of natural history, the Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) is native to mountain forests in southwestern China and northern Myanmar. Males display an extravagant combination of iridescent green, white, red, and blue plumage, topped with a long, black-and-white barred tail that can exceed three feet.
These pheasants favor dense bamboo thickets and forest undergrowth, where their striking colors actually help break up their outline among dappled light and shadow. Escaped or released populations have occasionally established small feral groups outside their native range, including historical populations in parts of the United Kingdom.
23. Laggar Falcon
The Laggar Falcon, Falco jugger, is a mid-sized falcon native to the Indian subcontinent, favoring open plains, semi-desert, and agricultural land. Its pale crown, dark eye stripe, and relatively broad wings distinguish it from the closely related Saker Falcon, with which its range partially overlaps.
Laggar Falcons hunt a mix of birds and small mammals, often working in pairs to flush prey from cover. The species has long been used in traditional falconry across South Asia, and wild populations have declined due to habitat conversion and pesticide exposure.
24. Laced Woodpecker
The Laced Woodpecker, Picus vittatus, is a green woodpecker found across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of Indonesia. Fine black-and-white “lacing” on the throat and breast feathers gives the species its descriptive common name, visible at close range in good light.
This woodpecker favors open woodland, mangroves, and forest edges rather than dense closed-canopy forest, a habitat preference that sets it apart from many of its relatives. Like most woodpeckers, it feeds primarily on ants and other insects extracted from bark and rotting wood.
25. La Sagra’s Flycatcher
La Sagra’s Flycatcher, Myiarchus sagrae, is a Caribbean species found primarily in Cuba and the Bahamas, with occasional records drifting into South Florida. Its pale gray breast, yellowish belly, and upright perching posture are typical of the Myiarchus flycatcher genus, which can be notoriously difficult to identify by sight alone.
Birders often rely on voice rather than plumage to confirm La Sagra’s Flycatcher, since its calls differ reliably from similar species like the Great Crested Flycatcher. Any Florida sighting typically draws attention from local rare bird alert networks given how infrequently the species crosses from the islands.
26. La Selle Thrush
The La Selle Thrush, Turdus swalesi, is a rare songbird restricted to high-elevation forests in the Dominican Republic and historically Haiti, named for the Massif de la Selle mountain range. Dark plumage, an orange bill, and orange legs set it apart from other Caribbean thrush species sharing similar montane forest habitat.
Deforestation across Hispaniola has sharply reduced suitable habitat, pushing the La Selle Thrush onto international conservation watch lists. Sightings require hiking into remaining patches of cloud forest, making this one of the more difficult L-named birds for any birder to add to a life list.
27. Lapland Longspur
The Lapland Longspur, Calcarius lapponicus, breeds across the Arctic tundra of North America, Europe, and Asia before migrating south to open farmland and grassland in the United States during winter. Breeding males show a bold black face and throat patch bordered by chestnut, a pattern that disappears entirely in the streaky brown winter plumage.
- Forms large mixed flocks with Horned Larks and Snow Buntings in winter fields
- Named for its long hind claw, a trait shared with other longspur species
- Breeds on open tundra, nesting directly on the ground
- Feeds mainly on seeds and insects picked from bare or sparsely vegetated ground
28. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Dryobates minor, is Europe’s smallest woodpecker, barely larger than a sparrow and easily overlooked high in the forest canopy. Males show a small red cap, while both sexes display the black-and-white barred back pattern typical of the genus.
This species favors mature deciduous woodland with old or dead wood, where it drums softly and forages for insects hidden under bark. Populations have declined across parts of its range in recent decades, a trend linked to the loss of old-growth woodland habitat.
29. Little Penguin
The Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor, is the smallest penguin species in the world, standing just over a foot tall and found along the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand. Slate-blue upperparts give the species an alternate common name, the Blue Penguin, in parts of its range.
Little Penguins nest in burrows or rock crevices near the shore, coming ashore after dark to avoid predators, a behavior that has made dusk “penguin parades” a popular tourist attraction at colonies like Phillip Island. They feed on small fish and squid caught during short dives close to shore.
30. Loon
Loons, family Gaviidae, are diving waterbirds best represented in North America by the Common Loon, Gavia immer, a species closely tied to the clear northern lakes of Canada and the northern United States. Its haunting, wavering call has become a signature sound of summer wilderness across the upper Midwest and New England.
Loons are built for diving rather than walking, with legs set far back on the body that make them nearly helpless on land but extremely efficient underwater hunters of fish. Striking black-and-white checkered plumage during the breeding season gives way to plain gray-brown feathering once birds move to coastal wintering waters.
31. Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, or Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), is one of the most unusual raptors in the world, feeding almost entirely on bone marrow rather than flesh. It carries large bones to great heights and drops them onto rocks to shatter them, then swallows the splintered fragments whole, digesting them with highly acidic stomach fluid.
Found in mountainous regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Lammergeier intentionally stains its white feathers with iron-rich mud, turning them a rusty orange color believed to signal status to other individuals. Reintroduction programs across the European Alps have helped restore populations after the species was nearly eliminated by persecution in the 20th century.
32. Long-Tailed Tit
The Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus, is a tiny, highly social songbird found across Europe and parts of Asia, instantly recognizable by a tail that makes up more than half its total body length. Flocks of a dozen or more birds move together through hedgerows and woodland edges, constantly calling to stay in contact.
These tits build remarkable domed nests woven from moss, spider silk, and feathers, often taking several weeks to complete a single structure. Cold winters can be especially hard on such a small bird, and flocks huddle together on branches overnight to conserve body heat.
33. Lake Duck
The Lake Duck, Oxyura vittata, is a South American stiff-tailed duck closely related to the Ruddy Duck of North America, found on freshwater lakes and marshes from Peru south to Argentina and Chile. Breeding males show a bright blue bill that contrasts sharply against rich chestnut body plumage.
Lake Ducks hold a notable distinction in the bird world for having one of the longest documented bird penises relative to body size, a trait studied by ornithologists researching sexual selection in waterfowl. Beyond that biological curiosity, the species behaves much like other stiff-tails, diving for aquatic invertebrates and holding its spiky tail upright while resting on the water.
34. Lagden’s Bushshrike
Lagden’s Bushshrike, Malaconotus lagdeni, is a brightly colored, secretive songbird found in the forests of Central Africa, including parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Olive-green upperparts and a yellow underside help it blend into dense canopy foliage, where it spends most of its time well hidden from view.
This bushshrike is heard far more often than it is seen, delivering a distinctive whistled call from thick cover. Its reclusive habits and limited range mean it remains poorly studied compared to many other African forest birds.
35. La Perouse’s Megapode
La Perouse’s Megapode, also known as the Micronesian Megapode (Megapodius laperouse), is a ground-dwelling bird found on a handful of islands in the Mariana and Palau island chains in the western Pacific. Rather than incubating eggs through body heat, megapodes bury them in warm volcanic soil or decomposing vegetation, letting environmental heat do the work of incubation.
This species has suffered steep population declines due to introduced predators such as cats and rats, along with habitat loss on its limited island range. Conservation programs on islands like Guam and Saipan now focus on predator control to give remaining populations a chance to recover.
36. Least Pauraque
The Least Pauraque, Siphonorhis brewsteri, is a small nightjar endemic to the island of Hispaniola, found in dry forest and scrubland across parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Cryptic brown and gray plumage provides near-perfect camouflage against leaf litter and bark during the day, when the bird rests motionless on the ground.
Active only after dark, the Least Pauraque hunts flying insects on short sallies from a low perch, relying on its large eyes to track prey in dim light. Habitat loss across Hispaniola has made this already localized species increasingly difficult to find, even within its historic range.
Bringing It All Together
From the tundra-breeding Lapland Longspur to the rainforest mimicry of the Lyrebird, bird names that start with L cover an unusually wide range of habitats, continents, and survival strategies. Some, like the Little Egret and Lesser Scaup, show up regularly in US wetlands, while others, like the Lagden’s Bushshrike or La Selle Thrush, require real effort and travel to ever see in person.
This list works as a starting point rather than a finish line, since dozens of additional species beginning with L exist beyond these 36. For birders working through the alphabet, related guides covering bird names that start with K, bird names starting with I, birds that start with Q, and even bird names that start with Z round out a full ornithology reference from one end of the alphabet to the other.