Birds That Start With C

35 birds Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 35 birds that start with C, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

C offers 35 birds, from backyard regulars to rare giants. The cardinal, crow, chickadee and canary are easy for kids, while the condor and cassowary are much less familiar.

The cassowary is a large flightless bird of the rainforests of New Guinea and Australia. The cockatoo and cockatiel are both crested parrots, a fun pair to compare. The cuckoo is known for its two-note call, and the cormorant dives underwater to catch fish. Several names add a place, such as the cliff swallow and chimney swift.

Birds starting with C: 35
Best known: chicken, crane
Longest name: chipping sparrow

Best-known birds that start with C

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

chicken
crane
cardinal
crow
canary
cuckoo
condor
cockatoo
coot
cormorant
chickadee
cassowary
cockatiel
chukar

All birds that start with C

#	Name	What it is
1	cacique	black-and-red or black-and-yellow orioles of the American tropics
2	cactus wren	large harsh-voiced American wren of arid regions of the United States southwest and Mexico
3	canary	any of several small Old World finches
4	capercaillie	large black Old World grouse
5	caracara	any of various long-legged carrion-eating hawks of South America and Central America
6	cardinal	crested thick-billed North American finch having bright red plumage in the male
7	carrier pigeon	a homing pigeon used to carry messages
8	cassowary	large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest
9	catbird	North American songbird whose call resembles a cat's mewing
10	chaffinch	small European finch with a cheerful song
11	chat	songbirds having a chattering call
12	chickadee	any of various small grey-and-black songbirds of North America
13	chicken	a domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have been developed from the red jungle fowl
14	chimney swift	American swift that nests in e.g. unused chimneys
15	chipping sparrow	small North American finch common in urban areas
16	chukar	gray-brown partridge with bold barred flanks
17	cliff swallow	North American swallow that lives in colonies and builds bottle-shaped mud nests on cliffs and walls
18	cochin	Asian breed of large fowl with dense plumage and feathered legs
19	cockatiel	small grey Australian parrot with a yellow crested head
20	cockatoo	white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds
21	common starling	gregarious bird having plumage with dark metallic gloss
22	condor	the largest flying birds in the western hemisphere
23	coot	slate-black slow-flying birds somewhat resembling ducks
24	cormorant	large voracious dark-colored long-necked seabird with a distensible pouch for holding fish; used in Asia to catch fish
25	courser	swift-footed terrestrial plover-like bird of southern Asia and Africa; related to the pratincoles
26	cowbird	North American blackbird that follows cattle and lays eggs in other birds' nests
27	crake	any of several short-billed Old World rails
28	crane	large long-necked wading bird of marshes and plains in many parts of the world
29	creeper	any of various small insectivorous birds of the northern hemisphere that climb up a tree trunk supporting themselves on...
30	crested penguin	small penguin of the Falkland Islands and New Zealand
31	crested swift	birds of southeast Asia and East Indies differing from true swifts in having upright crests and nesting in trees
32	crocodile bird	African courser that feeds on insect parasites on crocodiles
33	crow	black birds having a raucous call
34	cuckoo	any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail
35	curlew	large migratory shorebirds of the sandpiper family; closely related to woodcocks but having a down-curved bill

Short birds with C

crane
crow
coot
chat
crake

Questions people ask

How many birds start with C?

This list has 35 birds starting with C, from well-known ones like chicken, crane, cardinal to rarer kinds.

What birds start with C?

Well-known examples are chicken, crane, cardinal, crow, canary, cuckoo, condor, cockatoo.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: birds A to Z