Birds That Start With K

15 birds Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 15 birds that start with K, 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.

Fifteen birds sit under K, and a surprising number come from New Zealand. The kiwi, the kea and the kakapo all live there, and both the kiwi and the kakapo are flightless and active at night. The kakapo is even a parrot that cannot fly.

For younger readers, start with the kingfisher and the kite, which are easy to picture. The kookaburra is an Australian kingfisher famous for a loud cackling cry. Notice how many names begin with king: king penguin, kingbird, kinglet and king vulture. The killdeer and the kittiwake both take their names from their calls.

Birds starting with K: 15
Best known: kite, kiwi
Longest name: king penguin

Best-known birds that start with K

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

kite
kiwi
kingfisher
kestrel
king penguin
kookaburra
kakapo
kingbird
kinglet

All birds that start with K

#	Name	What it is
1	kakapo	large flightless nocturnal parrot of New Zealand
2	kaki	blackish stilt of New Zealand sometimes considered a color phase of the white-headed stilt
3	kea	large brownish-green New Zealand parrot
4	kestrel	small North American falcon
5	killdeer	American plover of inland waters and fields having a distinctive cry
6	king penguin	large penguin on islands bordering the Antarctic Circle
7	king vulture	large black-and-white vulture of South America and Central America
8	kingbird	American flycatcher that boldly chases larger birds
9	kingfisher	nonpasserine large-headed bird with a short tail and long sharp bill
10	kinglet	tiny active songbird with a bright crown patch
11	kite	any of several small graceful hawks of the family Accipitridae having long pointed wings and feeding on insects and...
12	kittiwake	small pearl-grey gull of northern regions; nests on cliffs and has a rudimentary hind toe
13	kiwi	nocturnal flightless bird of New Zealand having a long neck and stout legs
14	knot	a sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere
15	kookaburra	Australian kingfisher having a loud cackling cry

Short birds with K

kite
kiwi
knot
kea
kaki

Questions people ask

How many birds start with K?

This list has 15 birds starting with K, from well-known ones like kite, kiwi, kingfisher to rarer kinds.

What birds start with K?

Well-known examples are kite, kiwi, kingfisher, kestrel, king penguin, kookaburra, kakapo, kingbird.

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