Birds That Start With J

9 birds Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 9 birds that start with J, 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.

J is a small but colorful corner of the bird world, with nine entries. The jay is the one most children know, a crested bird that is largely blue, and the jackdaw is a grey and black Eurasian bird with a reputation for stealing.

The rest reward curious readers. A jacana walks across floating leaves on long toes, and the jabiru is a big, mostly white Australian stork. The jungle fowl is a small Asian wild bird thought to be the ancestor of farmyard chickens, which makes a great quiz question. The junco is a little North American finch seen mostly in winter.

Birds starting with J: 9
Best known: jay, jackdaw
Longest name: jackass penguin

Best-known birds that start with J

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

jay
jackdaw
jacamar
jacana

All birds that start with J

#	Name	What it is
1	jabiru	large mostly white Australian stork
2	jacamar	slender bright tropical bird with a long thin bill
3	jacana	tropical wading bird that walks on floating leaves
4	jackass penguin	small penguin of South America and southern Africa with a braying call
5	jackdaw	common black-and-grey Eurasian bird noted for thievery
6	jaeger	rapacious seabird that pursues weaker birds to make them drop their prey
7	jay	crested largely blue bird
8	junco	small North American finch seen chiefly in winter
9	jungle fowl	small Asiatic wild bird; believed to be ancestral to domestic fowl

Short birds with J

jay
junco

Questions people ask

How many birds start with J?

This list has 9 birds starting with J, from well-known ones like jay, jackdaw, jacamar to rarer kinds.

What birds start with J?

Well-known examples are jay, jackdaw, jacamar, jacana.

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