60 Bird Names That Start With M: From Backyard Favorites to Madagascar Rarities
October 24, 2026
No other letter of the alphabet produces quite as much variety in the bird world as M. Within a single list you can find a duck that nests in trees, a stork that scavenges alongside vultures, and an eagle so rare that fewer than 300 individuals have ever been counted in a single survey. This collection of bird names that start with M moves from familiar backyard species across North America to some of the most threatened endemics on the island of Madagascar.
Whether you are building a bird identification guide for a classroom, researching for a birding trip, or simply curious how many species share this one letter, the following 60 entries cover songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, pheasants, and a few birds so obscure that most field guides give them only a paragraph. Each entry includes the bird’s scientific name, where it lives, and what makes it recognizable in the field.
1. Macaw
Macaws are the largest members of the parrot family, instantly recognizable by their long tails, bare facial patches, and saturated plumage. The blue-and-gold macaw (Ara ararauna) is one of the most widely kept and photographed species, native to the forests and savannas of South America from Panama to Bolivia. Most macaws travel in noisy pairs or small flocks and use their powerful hooked bills to crack open palm nuts that few other birds can open.
Several macaw species, including the Spix’s macaw, have become critically endangered or extinct in the wild due to habitat loss and the pet trade, making conservation breeding programs essential to the genus’s survival.
2. Magpie
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a strikingly patterned corvid with glossy black-and-white plumage and an iridescent sheen on its long tail. Found across Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa, magpies are known for their intelligence, complex social behavior, and tendency to cache food for later use. Birders often spot them by their harsh chattering call before seeing the bird itself.
Their bold black-and-white head pattern makes them easy to pick out even at a distance, a trait shared by several other birds with black heads covered elsewhere on this site.
3. Myna
The common myna (Acridotheres tristis) is a medium-sized starling relative native to South Asia, now established as an invasive species across much of Australia, the Middle East, and parts of the United States. Mynas are highly adaptable, thriving in cities and farmland alike, and are known for mimicking sounds ranging from car alarms to human speech. Their bright yellow eye patch and bill make them easy to distinguish from true starlings.
4. Mandarin Duck
Few waterfowl rival the mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) for sheer visual drama. Native to East Asia, the male sports an ornate crest, orange “sail” feathers along its back, and a patchwork of purple, green, and white plumage used to attract mates each winter. Females are far more subdued, with mottled gray-brown feathers that provide camouflage while nesting in tree cavities.
The male’s fiery orange flank feathers put it in the same visual category as other birds with orange wings, a pattern that tends to signal breeding condition in waterfowl.
5. Mallard
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is likely the most recognizable duck in the Northern Hemisphere and the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds. Males display a glossy green head, white neck ring, and chestnut breast, while females wear mottled brown plumage suited for nesting camouflage. Mallards are dabbling ducks, tipping forward to graze on aquatic plants, seeds, and small invertebrates in shallow water.
Pro Tip: Bread is a poor food choice for mallards and other park ducks. If you want to feed local waterfowl, cracked corn or commercial waterfowl feed is a safer option, and it is worth checking which plants are poisonous to birds before landscaping near a pond.
6. Mockingbird
The northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) earns its name honestly, capable of learning and reproducing the songs of dozens of other bird species, as well as insect calls and mechanical sounds. This gray-and-white songbird is common across the United States, often perching prominently on fences, wires, and rooftops while singing for extended stretches, sometimes well into the night. Mockingbirds are fiercely territorial and will dive at cats, dogs, and even humans that approach their nests too closely.
7. Mourning Dove
The mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds in North America, recognized by its soft, grayish-brown plumage, black spots on the wings, and a mournful cooing call that gives the species its name. These doves are fast, direct fliers capable of quick bursts of speed when startled. They are also a popular game bird in many states, with regulated hunting seasons managed by state wildlife agencies.
8. Mountain Bluebird
The mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is a thrush relative found across open rangeland, meadows, and high-elevation grasslands of western North America. Males are a brilliant sky blue overall, lacking the rusty breast of the eastern and western bluebird species, while females show a more muted gray-blue wash. They are cavity nesters, often relying on old woodpecker holes or nest boxes placed along fence lines in ranching country.
9. Magnolia Warbler
The magnolia warbler (Setophaga magnolia) is a small, boldly patterned songbird named after the magnolia tree where an early specimen happened to be collected, though the bird has no particular preference for that species. Breeding males show a black mask, yellow underparts streaked with black, and a distinctive white wing patch visible even in flight. They breed in coniferous forests across Canada and the northern United States before migrating to Central America and the Caribbean for winter.
10. Marabou Stork
The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) is one of the largest and least conventionally attractive birds in Africa, with a bald pink head, a massive bill, and a pendulous throat sac used in both display and thermoregulation. Standing nearly as tall as a person, marabou storks are opportunistic scavengers often seen alongside vultures at carcasses, as well as hunting fish, insects, and small animals in wetlands.
Key Insight: The marabou stork’s unusual bare head and bulging throat pouch place it firmly among the birds with weird names and stranger appearances that regularly surprise first-time visitors to African wetlands.
11. Merlin
The merlin (Falco columbarius) is a compact, fast-flying falcon that hunts small birds in open country across North America, Europe, and Asia. Despite its small size, the merlin is an aggressive and direct hunter, chasing down sparrows and shorebirds in low, rapid pursuit flights rather than the high dives used by larger falcons. Medieval falconers prized merlins, historically favored by noblewomen for hunting skylarks.
12. Macaroni Penguin
The macaroni penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is named for its flamboyant yellow-orange crest feathers, a nod to the elaborately plumed “Macaroni” fashion of 18th-century England. These penguins breed in enormous colonies on sub-Antarctic islands, including South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, where they feed primarily on krill and small fish. Macaroni penguins are among the most numerous penguin species by population, though they remain vulnerable to shifts in Southern Ocean krill availability.
13. Magellanic Penguin
The Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) breeds along the coasts of Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, nesting in burrows dug into coastal scrubland rather than on open ice. Adults display a black band across the chest and a black-and-white facial pattern that distinguishes them from related species like the Humboldt penguin. Named after explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who documented the species during his circumnavigation, these penguins migrate north along the South American coast during the non-breeding season.
| Feature | Macaroni Penguin | Magellanic Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Sub-Antarctic islands | Coastal South America |
| Nesting style | Open colonies on rocky slopes | Burrows in coastal scrub |
| Key marking | Yellow-orange head crest | Black chest band |
14. Mute Swan
The mute swan (Cygnus olor) is instantly identifiable by its pure white plumage, gracefully curved neck, and bright orange bill topped with a black knob. Native to Europe and Asia, mute swans have been introduced widely in North America, where they can be aggressively territorial toward other waterfowl during the breeding season. Their orange bill, one of the most visually striking of any bird with an orange beak, makes them easy to pick out on almost any pond or lake.
15. Madagascar Fish Eagle
The Madagascar fish eagle (Icthyophaga vociferoides, formerly classified as Haliaeetus vociferoides) is one of the rarest raptors on Earth, confined to a narrow coastal strip in the northwest of Madagascar. According to Wikipedia, the Madagascar fish eagle is a medium-sized sea eagle, 60–66 cm (23.5–26 in) long and with a wingspan of 165–180 cm (65–71 in). A 2005–2006 survey published in Bird Conservation International found that in total, 287 individuals were encountered, including 98 breeding pairs, and there was an increase between surveys in 1995 and this study in the number of Madagascar Fish Eagles counted, from 222 to 287.
The Peregrine Fund notes that it has helped establish four important protected areas in Madagascar, including wetlands and dry forest sites that help conserve the critically endangered Madagascar Fish-eagle. The species remains sedentary year-round, relying on lakes, rivers, and mangrove coastlines for fish.
16. Madagascar Ibis
The Madagascar ibis, more formally the Madagascar crested ibis (Lophotibis cristata), is a forest-dwelling ibis found only on Madagascar, easily told apart from wading ibis species by its preference for dense woodland rather than open wetlands. Birding guides to the island, such as Fat Birder, list it among the species more generally distributed species often encountered here include Madagascar Crested Ibis, White-throated Rail, Greater Vasa Parrot, Madagascar Green Pigeon and Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher. Its reddish bill and bare facial skin give it a distinctly different silhouette from the all-white sacred ibis seen elsewhere in Africa.
17. Madagascar Cuckoo
The Madagascar cuckoo (Cuculus rochii) is classified by regional checklists, including Avibase, as a Madagascar Cuckoo, Cuculus rochii, breeding endemic to Madagascar. Like many Old World cuckoos, it migrates seasonally within the region, with some populations wintering on neighboring islands and in parts of mainland Africa. Its call is a repetitive, rising series of notes often heard well before the bird itself is spotted in dense canopy.
18. Malabar Grey Hornbill
The Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) is endemic to the Western Ghats of India, a mountain range known for high levels of endemism among birds and other wildlife. This hornbill lacks the oversized casque seen on many of its relatives, instead showing a simpler curved grey-and-yellow bill. It feeds primarily on fruit, particularly figs, and plays an important role in seed dispersal throughout its forest habitat.
19. Manakin
Manakins are a family (Pipridae) of small, brightly colored tropical birds found throughout Central and South America, best known for the elaborate and often mechanical courtship displays performed by males. Species such as the red-capped manakin perform rapid moonwalk-like movements along branches, accompanied by snapping or buzzing sounds produced by specialized wing feathers. Females, by contrast, are typically plain olive-green, blending into the forest understory.
20. Montezuma Oropendola
The Montezuma oropendola (Psarocolius montezuma) is a large, striking songbird of Central American rainforests, recognized by its chestnut body, black head, and bicolored bill that fades from black to vivid orange-pink at the tip. Oropendolas build long, woven hanging nests that dangle from tree branches in colonies, sometimes numbering dozens of nests in a single tree. Males perform an unusual bowing, gurgling courtship display that is as distinctive as their appearance.
21. Meadowlark
Meadowlarks, genus Sturnella, are grassland songbirds of the Americas best known for their bright yellow underparts marked with a bold black V across the chest. The eastern meadowlark and western meadowlark look nearly identical but are distinguished primarily by song, since the two species rarely interbreed where their ranges overlap. Meadowlarks forage on the ground for insects and seeds, often perching on fence posts to deliver their flute-like songs across open fields.
22. Magnificent Frigatebird
The magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) is a large seabird of tropical and subtropical coastlines in the Americas, famous for the male’s bright red throat pouch, which inflates into a balloon-like structure during courtship displays. These birds have the highest wing-area-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, allowing them to soar for hours with minimal effort. Frigatebirds are also notorious for stealing food directly from other seabirds mid-flight, a behavior known as kleptoparasitism.
23. Masked Booby
The masked booby (Sula dactylatra) is the largest of the booby species, with a predominantly white body set off by a dark facial mask and black flight feathers along otherwise white wings. These seabirds nest on remote tropical islands and plunge-dive from considerable heights to catch fish and squid near the surface. Masked boobies often raise only a single chick per breeding attempt, sometimes practicing a brutal form of sibling competition when two eggs hatch.
24. Mexican Jay
The Mexican jay (Aphelocoma wollweberi) is a sturdy, uniformly blue-gray corvid found in oak and pine-oak woodlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Unlike many jays, Mexican jays live in stable, cooperative family groups year-round, with multiple generations helping to raise young and defend territory. Their harsh, repeated calls are a familiar sound in canyon country from Arizona to Oaxaca.
25. Mississippi Kite
The Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) is a slender, buoyant raptor of the southern and central United States, pale gray overall with a darker tail and an agile flight style built for catching insects on the wing. These kites are long-distance migrants, traveling as far as central Argentina each winter before returning to breed in riparian woodlands, shelterbelts, and even urban parks. Their diet leans heavily on cicadas, dragonflies, and grasshoppers caught mid-air.
26. Mikado Pheasant
The Mikado pheasant (Syrmaticus mikado) is endemic to the mountain forests of Taiwan, where males display deep blue-black plumage with fine white barring and a patch of bare red skin around the eye. This pheasant was long hunted for its striking tail feathers before gaining legal protection, and it now persists mainly in high-elevation reserves. Its red eye-ring places it alongside other birds with red eyes that rely on bare facial skin rather than feathers for visual signaling.
27. Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant
Mrs. Hume’s pheasant (Syrmaticus humiae), also called the bar-tailed pheasant, is native to the hill forests of northeastern India, Myanmar, and parts of southern China. Males show a rich chestnut body, grayish head, and a long, barred tail, while females are more cryptically colored for ground nesting. The species was named in honor of Mary Ann Grindall Hume, wife of the British ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume, who first described it.
28. Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird
Mrs. Gould’s sunbird (Aethopyga gouldiae) is a small, iridescent nectar-feeding bird found across the Himalayas and parts of Southeast Asia. Males display a dazzling combination of crimson, violet, and yellow feathers that shift color depending on the angle of light, a common trait among sunbirds that helps during courtship display. The species was named after Elizabeth Gould, the illustrator wife of naturalist John Gould, who documented many Asian bird species in the 19th century.
29. Meyer’s Goshawk
Meyer’s goshawk (Accipiter meyerianus) is a little-studied forest raptor found across New Guinea and several surrounding Pacific islands. It hunts birds and small mammals from concealed perches within dense rainforest canopy, making it difficult to observe despite its relatively large size among accipiters. Because of its remote range and secretive habits, much of its breeding biology remains poorly documented compared to more widespread goshawk species.
30. MacGillivray’s Warbler
MacGillivray’s warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) is a ground-loving warbler of western North America, named after Scottish naturalist William MacGillivray, who collaborated with John James Audubon. Males show a gray hood, broken white eye crescents, and olive-yellow body plumage, and they tend to stay low in dense shrubby understory rather than foraging in treetops. Their song is a rapid, buzzy series often delivered from deep cover, making them easier to hear than to see.
31. MacQueen’s Bustard
MacQueen’s bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii) is a large ground-dwelling bird of arid deserts and semi-desert plains stretching from the Middle East through Central Asia. Males perform an elaborate courtship display, fanning long white neck plumes over their heads while strutting in open terrain to attract females. The species has faced steep population declines due to hunting and falconry pressure in parts of its range, prompting captive breeding and reintroduction efforts in several Gulf states.
32. Marsh Wren
The marsh wren (Cistothorus palustris) is a small, energetic songbird of North American cattail and bulrush marshes, recognized by its bold white eyebrow stripe and habit of cocking its tail upward while foraging. Males are prolific builders, constructing multiple dome-shaped nests within a single territory, only one of which a female will ultimately use to raise young. Their rattling, mechanical song carries well across open wetlands, often the first clue to their presence.
33. Mountain Plover
Despite its name, the mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) prefers flat, short-grass prairie and bare ground rather than mountainous terrain, nesting across the shortgrass plains of the western United States. These plovers rely on large, wide-set eyes to spot insect prey while walking across open ground, a trait shared with many plover species. Their pale, sandy plumage blends almost perfectly with dry prairie soil, making nests nearly invisible to passing predators.
34. Mistle Thrush
The mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is one of Europe’s largest thrushes, named for its fondness for mistletoe berries, which it defends aggressively from other birds during winter months. Its pale, heavily spotted underparts and bold, upright posture distinguish it from the smaller, more secretive song thrush. Mistle thrushes are known for singing from exposed treetops even in stormy weather, earning them the old folk name “stormcock” in parts of the United Kingdom.
35. Mediterranean Flycatcher
The name Mediterranean flycatcher is used regionally for small Old World flycatchers that breed in woodland and scrub habitats around the Mediterranean basin, a group that includes species closely related to the spotted and semi-collared flycatchers. These birds typically perch upright on low branches, darting out to snatch flying insects before returning to the same spot, a hunting style known as sally-and-return foraging. Like most Old World flycatchers, they are quiet, understated birds easily overlooked outside the breeding season.
36. Murre
Murres, genus Uria, are heavy-bodied seabirds that nest in densely packed colonies on narrow sea cliff ledges across the Northern Hemisphere. Both the common murre and thick-billed murre lay a single, uniquely patterned pointed egg designed to roll in a tight circle rather than off the ledge if disturbed. Murres are excellent divers, using their wings to swim underwater in pursuit of fish, more closely resembling penguins in function than most other flying seabirds.
37. Macgregor’s Bird-of-Paradise
Macgregor’s bird-of-paradise (Macgregoria pulchra) is a high-altitude species found only in the mountain forests of New Guinea, unusual among birds-of-paradise for its relatively plain blackish plumage and orange wattles around the eye rather than extravagant display plumes. It feeds largely on fruit at high elevations where few other birds-of-paradise are found, occupying a cooler, more isolated niche than its flashier lowland relatives. Its restricted range makes it one of the least-observed members of the family.
38. Macgregor’s Bowerbird
Macgregor’s bowerbird (Amblyornis macgregoriae) is a New Guinea highland species renowned for the males’ elaborate maypole-style bowers, towers of sticks built around a central sapling and decorated with colorful fruits, fungi, and other objects to attract females. Unlike many showy birds, the male himself is relatively plain olive-brown, investing his display energy into architecture rather than plumage. Bower quality, rather than appearance, is the primary factor females use to judge potential mates.
39. Mackinnon’s Shrike
Mackinnon’s shrike (Lanius mackinnoni) is a grayish, black-masked shrike found across forest edges and woodland clearings in Central and West Africa. Like other shrikes, it hunts from exposed perches, dropping down to catch insects, small reptiles, and occasionally small birds, sometimes impaling prey on thorns for storage. Its range overlaps with several similar-looking shrike species, making precise field identification a challenge even for experienced birders.
40. Macleay’s Honeyeater
Macleay’s honeyeater (Xanthotis macleayanus) is a tropical rainforest bird restricted to a narrow stretch of northeastern Queensland, Australia. It shows a distinctive combination of dark plumage, orange-tinted cheek patches, and a streaked throat that separates it from more widespread honeyeater species sharing its range. Like most honeyeaters, it feeds on a mix of nectar, fruit, and insects, foraging actively through the mid and upper rainforest canopy.
41. Madagascar Bee-Eater
The Madagascar bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) is a slender, graceful bird with greenish plumage, a black mask, and a long central tail projection typical of bee-eaters worldwide. Found across Madagascar and parts of mainland East Africa, it hunts dragonflies, bees, and other flying insects from exposed perches near open water and grassland. Despite the name, this species is not strictly endemic to Madagascar, occurring across a broader swath of the western Indian Ocean region.
42. Madagascar Blue-Pigeon
The Madagascar blue-pigeon (Alectroenas madagascariensis) is a richly colored fruit pigeon found in forests across Madagascar, showing deep blue body plumage contrasted against a bright red face and throat. Photographic surveys of Madagascar’s forests, including those compiled by naturalist galleries documenting the island’s wildlife, regularly feature this species among the island’s most visually striking forest pigeons. It feeds almost exclusively on fruit, playing a role in forest seed dispersal similar to many tropical pigeon species.
43. Madagascar Bulbul
The Madagascar bulbul (Hypsipetes madagascariensis) is a common, adaptable songbird found in forests, gardens, and scrubland throughout Madagascar and several nearby islands. Its plumage varies considerably between populations, ranging from mostly brown to much darker forms, which has led taxonomists to debate how many distinct subspecies or species the complex actually contains. Bulbuls of this group are vocal and conspicuous, often the first bird heard calling at dawn in Malagasy forest edges.
44. Madagascar Buttonquail
The Madagascar buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis) is a small, secretive ground bird native to Madagascar, notable because females rather than males display the brighter plumage and take the lead in courtship, a reversal of typical bird roles. According to Wikipedia, the Madagascar buttonquail is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but has been introduced on the Mascarenes. Males take on most incubation and chick-rearing duties once eggs are laid, a pattern shared by all buttonquail species worldwide.
45. Madagascar Buzzard
The Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus) is the island’s most common and widespread diurnal raptor, filling a similar ecological role to the many Buteo hawks found across the Americas and Eurasia. Wildlife documentation from Madagascar notes that the Madagascan buzzard is endemic to Madagascar, found in a wide variety of habitats, but is less common in the deforested central plateau. It hunts rodents, reptiles, and large insects, often perching conspicuously on roadside trees and poles.
46. Madagascar Cisticola
The Madagascar cisticola (Cisticola cherina) is a small, streaky brown warbler found in grasslands and marshy habitats across Madagascar, closely resembling many other cisticola species found throughout Africa and Asia. Like its relatives, it is identified more reliably by song and habitat than by plumage, since cisticolas as a group are notoriously difficult to separate visually in the field. It builds a finely woven, domed grass nest low in dense vegetation.
47. Madagascar Coucal
The Madagascar coucal (Centropus toulou), also known as the Malagasy coucal, is a large, long-tailed member of the cuckoo family found across Madagascar and several neighboring islands. Unlike true cuckoos, coucals build their own nests and raise their own young rather than relying on brood parasitism. Field observations note that the Madagascar coucal is a cuckoo found in the Comoros, Mayotte, and Madagascar, typically favoring dense scrub and forest edge habitat near water.
48. Madagascar Flufftail
The Madagascar flufftail (Sarothrura insularis) is a small, secretive rail-like bird found in the dense understory of Madagascar’s humid forests. Checklists compiling the island’s endemic species, including those from lntreasures.com, list the species among Madagascar’s forest-floor specialists that are rarely seen but occasionally heard. Its soft, repetitive call is far more often detected than the bird itself, which tends to stay hidden in leaf litter and thick vegetation.
49. Madagascar Grebe
The Madagascar grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii) is a small waterbird found only in the lakes and wetlands of western and central Madagascar. According to Wikipedia, it is classified as endangered by the IUCN, with a population of less than 5,000, threatened by habitat loss, predation by carnivorous fish, and competition with introduced species. Like other grebes, it dives to catch small fish and aquatic invertebrates and rarely ventures onto land.
50. Madagascar Green-Pigeon
The Madagascar green-pigeon (Treron australis) is a fruit-eating pigeon with soft green plumage that blends easily into forest canopy. Wildlife surveys note that the Madagascan green pigeon is found in Madagascar, Comoros, and Mayotte, making it one of the few pigeon species shared across these western Indian Ocean islands. It forages quietly in fruiting trees, often detected by falling fruit debris before the bird itself is spotted.
51. Madagascar Harrier-Hawk
The Madagascar harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus), sometimes called the Madagascar gymnogene, is a specialized raptor with unusually flexible legs that let it reach into tree cavities and crevices to extract nestlings, eggs, and small prey. Birding references to the island describe it among the notable raptors present, noting that raptors abound, including the very rare Madagascar Fish Eagle, Madagascar Gymnogene, Madagascar Buzzard, Madagascar Sparrowhawk and Frances’s Sparrowhawk. Its bare, yellow facial skin can flush with color during moments of excitement or aggression.
52. Madagascar Hoopoe
The Madagascar hoopoe (Upupa marginata) closely resembles the widespread Eurasian hoopoe but is restricted entirely to Madagascar, where it forages on the ground for insects using its long, slightly curved bill. Its cinnamon-and-black barred wings and erectile crest make it instantly recognizable whenever it is flushed from open woodland or grassland. Though less studied than its Eurasian relative, it shares the same probing foraging technique, pushing its bill into soil and leaf litter to extract hidden prey.
53. Madagascar Jacana
The Madagascar jacana (Actophilornis albinucha) is a wetland bird with notably long toes and claws that distribute its weight across floating vegetation, allowing it to walk on lily pads and other aquatic plants without sinking. As with other jacana species, females are larger than males and mate with multiple partners, leaving the males to incubate eggs and raise chicks alone. This unusual role reversal makes jacanas one of the more behaviorally distinctive wetland bird families worldwide.
54. Madagascar Kestrel
The Madagascar kestrel (Falco newtoni), also widely known as the Malagasy kestrel, is a small falcon found throughout Madagascar as well as the Aldabra and Comoro islands. It hunts insects, small reptiles, and rodents from low hovering flight, a hunting technique shared with kestrel species on nearly every continent. Unlike the Madagascar fish eagle and several other island raptors, the kestrel remains relatively common and adaptable across a wide range of habitats.
55. Madagascar Lark
The Madagascar lark (Mirafra hova) is a plain, streaky brown songbird of open grassland and cultivated fields across Madagascar’s central highlands. Like many larks worldwide, it relies on cryptic coloration to stay hidden while foraging and nesting directly on the ground, making its rising, musical song a more reliable identification clue than its appearance. It is one of the few native songbirds well adapted to the island’s heavily altered agricultural landscapes.
56. Mangrove Whistler
The mangrove whistler (Pachycephala cinerea) is a quiet, grayish-brown songbird specialized for life in the mangrove forests of Southeast Asia, from the Malay Peninsula through parts of Indonesia and the Philippines. Its plain plumage reflects its dense, shaded habitat, where camouflage matters more than display. Whistlers as a family are named for their clear, often surprisingly loud songs, which carry well through dense mangrove canopy despite the bird’s otherwise unremarkable appearance.
57. Manipur Bush Quail
The Manipur bush quail (Perdicula manipurensis) is a small, rarely seen quail native to grassland patches in northeastern India, considered one of the region’s most threatened gamebirds due to habitat conversion and hunting pressure. Its scaled, mottled brown plumage provides excellent camouflage in tall grass, where it prefers to run rather than fly when disturbed. Because of its secretive habits and shrinking habitat, confirmed sightings remain uncommon even among dedicated regional birders.
58. Many-Spotted Hummingbird
The many-spotted hummingbird (Taphrospilus hypostictus) is found along forest edges and river valleys in the eastern Andean foothills of South America, including parts of Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. Its name comes from the dense spotting pattern across its underparts, a trait that sets it apart from the more uniformly colored hummingbirds sharing its range. Like other hummingbirds, it feeds primarily on nectar from flowering trees and shrubs, supplementing its diet with small insects for protein.
59. Maleo
The maleo (Macrocephalon maleo) is one of the most unusual birds in the megapode family, endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where it buries its eggs in sun-warmed sand or volcanically heated soil rather than incubating them on a nest. Chicks hatch fully developed and capable of flight almost immediately, digging themselves out of the sand without any parental care. This reproductive strategy, rare among birds, makes the maleo a frequent subject of conservation research into threatened island species.
60. Malia
The malia (Malia grata) is a mid-sized songbird endemic to the forests of Sulawesi, distinctive enough in its anatomy and genetics that ornithologists place it in its own unique family, separate from typical babblers or bulbuls it superficially resembles. It forages in small, active groups through forest mid-levels, feeding on insects and fruit while calling frequently to maintain contact with other group members. Its taxonomic isolation makes it one of the more scientifically interesting entries among Sulawesi’s many endemic birds.
From the mallards paddling across neighborhood ponds to the Madagascar fish eagle clinging to survival along a narrow coastline, these 60 bird names that start with M span nearly every continent and conservation status imaginable. Many of the Madagascar species on this list face genuine, ongoing threats from habitat loss, making careful fieldwork and protected areas essential to their survival. If this list sparked an interest in alphabetical bird exploration, the related guides to bird names that start with K, bird names that start with I, bird names that start with Z, birds that start with X, and birds that start with Q make a solid next stop for any ornithology reference collection.