Birds That Start With S

42 birds Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 42 birds that start with S, 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.

S is a giant letter for birds, with 42 names. Swan, sparrow, swallow, starling and seagull are everyday birds, so beginning readers will spot plenty of names they know. The swift is noted for rapid flight and looks a lot like a swallow.

Compound names fill much of the list: snowy owl, spotted owl, sea eagle, snow goose and song sparrow. The secretary bird is a long-legged African bird of prey that eats reptiles. The skimmer flies low over the water, and the stint is a tiny sandpiper. Shorebirds such as the snipe and the stilt add more variety.

Birds starting with S: 42
Best known: swallow, swan
Longest name: secretary bird

Best-known birds that start with S

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

swallow
swan
sparrow
starling
seagull
stork
skylark
sandpiper
snowy owl

All birds that start with S

#	Name	What it is
1	sacred ibis	African ibis venerated by ancient Egyptians
2	sage grouse	large grouse of sagebrush regions of North America
3	sand grouse	pigeon-like bird of arid regions of the Old World having long pointed wings and tail and precocial downy young
4	sand martin	swallow of the northern hemisphere that nests in tunnels dug in clay or sand banks
5	sanderling	small sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and migrates southward along sandy coasts in most of world
6	sandpiper	any of numerous usually small wading birds having a slender bill and piping call; closely related to the plovers
7	scaup	diving ducks of North America having a bluish-grey bill
8	scoter	large black diving duck of northern parts of the northern hemisphere
9	screamer	gooselike aquatic bird of South America having a harsh trumpeting call
10	screech owl	small North American owl having hornlike tufts of feathers whose call sounds like a quavering whistle
11	scrub-bird	small fast-running Australian bird resembling a wren and frequenting brush or scrub
12	sea eagle	large harmless hawk found worldwide that feeds on fish and builds a bulky nest often occupied for years
13	seagull	mostly white aquatic bird having long pointed wings and short legs
14	secretary bird	large long-legged African bird of prey that feeds on reptiles
15	serin	any of various brown and yellow finches of parts of Europe
16	shearwater	long-winged oceanic bird that in flight skims close to the waves
17	sheldrake	Old World gooselike duck slightly larger than a mallard with variegated mostly black-and-white plumage and a red bill
18	shoveler	freshwater duck of the northern hemisphere having a broad flat bill
19	shrike	any of numerous Old World birds having a strong hooked bill that feed on smaller animals
20	siskin	small yellow-and-black Eurasian finch with a sharp beak
21	skimmer	gull-like seabird that flies along the surface of the water with an elongated lower mandible immersed to skim out food
22	skua	gull-like jaeger of northern seas
23	skylark	brown-speckled European lark noted for singing while hovering at a great height
24	snipe	Old or New World straight-billed game bird of the sandpiper family; of marshy areas; similar to the woodcocks
25	snow bunting	white Arctic bunting
26	snow goose	blue goose in the white color phase
27	snowy owl	large white owl of the Arctic tundra
28	song sparrow	small songbird common in North America
29	song thrush	common Old World thrush noted for its song
30	sparrow	any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects
31	sparrow hawk	small hawk of Eurasia and northern Africa
32	spoonbill	wading birds having a long flat bill with a tip like a spoon
33	spotted owl	a large owl of North America found in forests from British Columbia to central Mexico
34	spruce grouse	North American grouse that feeds on evergreen buds and needles
35	starling	gregarious birds native to the Old World
36	stilt	long-legged three-toed wading bird of brackish marshes of Australia
37	stint	smallest American sandpiper
38	stork	large mostly Old World wading birds typically having white-and-black plumage
39	swallow	small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations
40	swamp sparrow	North American finch of marshy area
41	swan	stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
42	swift	a small bird that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight

Short birds with S

swan
stork
swift
stint
snipe
stilt
skua
scaup
serin

Filter all 42 birds that start with S

Narrow the full list by ending, letters inside and length. The list updates as you type.

Ends with Contains Length Sort

Questions people ask

How many birds start with S?

This list has 42 birds starting with S, from well-known ones like swallow, swan, sparrow to rarer kinds.

What birds start with S?

Well-known examples are swallow, swan, sparrow, starling, seagull, stork, skylark, sandpiper.

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