You may have seen many white birds in Florida. But how many of them have you correctly identified? Not sure? Then, this is the only resource you need.
This article lists 24 different white bird species that you can spot in Florida.
List of white birds in Florida
- Great Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Snowy Egret
- White Ibis
- Juvenile Little Blue Heron
- Wood Stork
- American White Pelican
- Whooping Crane
- White-tailed Tropicbird
- Red-billed Tropicbird
- Great Blue Heron (White Morph)
- Rock Pigeon (White Morph)
- Snow Goose (White Morph)
- Ross’s Goose (White Morph)
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Royal Tern
- Forster’s Tern
- Least Tern
- Sandwich Tern
- Caspian Tern
- Bufflehead
- Masked Booby
- White-Tailed Kite
In this article, you can find identification guides for all the above-listed 24 white birds. And, I have grouped them into four groups based on their abundance and appearance.
The first group is common white birds in Florida. The second is white birds that can rarely be seen in Florida. Then, the third group is white morphs of several bird species in Florida. And, the last group is birds that are primarily white but has some other colors in plumage (mostly white birds).
Continue reading to see how many of them you have seen before.
- List of white birds in Florida
- Common White Birds in Florida
- White Birds That Can Rarely Be Seen in Florida
- Birds in Florida That Has White Morphs
- Birds in Florida That Look Mostly White (Primarily White)
- 15. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
- 16. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
- 17. Royal Tern (Thalasseus Maximus)
- 18. Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)
- 19. Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)
- 20. Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
- 21. Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
- 22. Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
- 23. Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra)
- 24. White-Tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
Common White Birds in Florida
These are the common white birds that you can easily see in Florida. If you haven’t seen any of these yet, insert them at the top of your list of birds to see. You should be able to tick them off in no time.
1. Great Egret (Ardea alba)
Great Egrets can be found on every continent except Antarctica. The Great Egret is also one of the most common wading birds in North America. And it can often be seen wading in shallow water or standing in open fields looking for prey. It’s a fairly common heron in Florida.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 35% – year-round (It indicates how often the species is reported on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Great Egret (Quickly)
- Body: All-white bird having a tall and thin body, larger in size than other egrets, S-shaped long neck
- Leg color: Black
- Bill: Yellow color bill (Great Egrets in Americas have yellow bills)
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 39 inches (1 m), Wingspan – about 6 ft (1.8 m)
Bill Shape: long dagger-shaped bill
Appearance: Great Egret is a thin and tall long-necked white heron. It has a long, pointed yellow bill, black legs, and feet. During the breeding season, plumes grow near the tail. Both males and females look similar.
Flight: It flies with regular, deep wing beats.
Food: Small fish, aquatic insects, frogs, crayfish
Habitat and Range: Great Egret forages in shallow ponds, lakes, rivers, and wetlands habitats in search of small fish. They are often seen alone rather than in flocks. However, it breeds in colonies, mostly mixing with other egrets and herons.
Great Egrets are considered non-migrators or partial migrators when it migrates to their North American range. However, they can be seen in Florida year-round.
Similar species of Great Egrets are Snowy Egrets and juvenile Little Blue Herons.
2. Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
In the late 1800s, Snowy Egrets were hunted near extinction for their feathers. But now, they are fairly common widespread species across the United States. Snowy Egrets are often seen mixing with other egrets in estuarine and freshwater habitats.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 23% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Snowy Egret (Quickly)
- Body: All-white small bird with S-shaped neck
- Leg color: Black legs
- Feet color: Bright yellow (non-breeding), Orange-red (breeding)
- Bill: Black color bill with yellow (or range-red in breeding season) patch at the base of the bill
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 24 inches (62 cm), Wingspan – about 42 inches (110 cm)
Bill Shape: Dagger-shaped bill
Flight: It flies with deep wing beats and keeps its legs extended. It glides descent before landing.
Appearance: As the name implies, Snowy Egret is an all-white bird with a black bill and black legs. Also, it has a yellow patch at the base of the bill. Its feet are bright yellow. During the breeding season, it gets long lacy plumes on the head, neck, and back. The patch at the base of the bill and feet turn orange-red in the breeding season. Both males and females look alike.
Food: Aquatic insects and small fish, amphibians, and snakes.
Habitat and Range: Snowy Egrets are common in a variety of wetlands and often mix with other egrets. When searching for food, it uses wing-flicking, foot-stirring, and foot-probing to get its prey moving and actively hunts prey.
All year long, they can be seen in all parts of Florida.
Similar species to Snowy Egrets are Great Egret and juvenile Little Blue Heron.
3. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Cattle Egrets have come from Africa to South America around 1800. But it was first seen in Florida in 1941. Now, it can be seen in over 40 US states. The species is common in Florida, where it can be seen wading in shallow water or walking through fields and pastures.
Cattle Egrets are known for following herds of grazing animals to feed on the insects that are disturbed by the animals.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 14% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Cattle Egret (Quickly)
- Body: All-white small size bird. About half the size of the Great Egret. Comparatively shorter neck and legs. In the breeding season, adults get Oakley yellow feathers on the crown, chest, and back
- Leg color: Yellow or reddish in the breeding season and dark (close to black) in the non-breeding season
- Bill: Yellow bill
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 20 inches (51 cm), Wingspan – about 31 inches (78 cm)
Bill Shape: Stout dagger-shaped bill
Appearance: Both males and females look similar. During the non-breeding season, its plumage is all white with a yellow bill and dark legs. And during breeding, it gets an orange-buff crest, breast, and back. Also, its bill and legs get red-orange. Juveniles have dark bills.
Flight: It flies with its neck crooked and keeps its legs extended.
Food: Insects, spiders, frogs
Habitat and Range: Cattle Egrets are grassland species that rarely get their feet wet. It is mostly seen in dry habitats. Often it associates with livestock feeding insects that are exposed from their feet or following tractors in fields.
They can be seen year-round in Florida but in summer, they can be spotted mostly towards the north.
Similar species to Cattle Egrets are the Great Egret and Snowy Egret. However, out of those three Egrets, Cattle Egret is the smallest. The great Egret is twice as large in size and has a longer neck and larger bill when compared to Cattle Egret. The main distinguishable factors of Snowy Egret are its black bill and yellow feet.
4. White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)
The White Ibis is a very distinctive bird, with its long, curved beak and white plumage. These birds are common in Florida and other parts of the southern United States, where they can be seen wading in shallow water or feeding in fields and marshes.
White Ibises are not shy birds and can often be seen close to humans.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 34% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify White Ibis (Quickly)
- Body: Adults are white with a little black on the wingtips. It has red facial skin.
- Bill: Long downward-curved orange-red bill (distinctive feature)
- Leg color: Pinkish-red
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 25 inches (64 cm), Wingspan – about 38 inches (96 cm)
Bill Shape: long downward-curved bill
Appearance: Male adults are all-white birds having very long, downward-curved orange-red bills. It has pinkish-red legs and red facial skin. Its wing tips are black, but they are only visible in flight. However, immatures are half brown and half white.
Females are similar to males in appearance but smaller in size. And also, their bills are less curved than males.
Flight: It flies with rapid wing beats alternating with glides.
Food: Aquatic insects, crustaceans, fish, frogs
Habitat and Range: It forages in shallow wetlands and saltmarshes. It can be frequently seen flying in groups. And it nests in large colonies. All year long, White Ibis can be seen in Florida. However, in north Florida, they can be mostly seen during summer.
Similar species to White Ibis are Snowy Egret (have a black bill and yellow feet) and Great Egret (are larger in size and have shorter straight bills).
5. Juvenile Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
Adult Little Blue Herons have grayish-blue plumage, not white. But their immature plumage is all-white. Hence, only juvenile Little Blue Heron falls into the white bird category. And they are very similar to Snowy Egret. Hence, continue reading to learn how to ID two species correctly in the field.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 25.3% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird). However, since only juveniles are white, you may not see them this frequently.
How to identify Juvenile Little Blue Heron (Quickly)
- Body: They are similar to Snowy Egret. All-white plumage, S-shape neck, and small in size
- Bill: Only tip of the bill is black (Snowy Egret’s entire bill is black)
- Leg color: Pale greenish (Snowy Egrets have black legs)
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 24 inches (61 cm), Wingspan – about 39 inches (100 cm)
Bill Shape: Dagger-shaped bill
Appearance: Juvenile Little Blue Herons have white plumage. Even though they have black wing tips, it is unnoticeable. Juveniles are quite similar to the Snowy Egrets. But they have pale greenish legs and pale black-tipped bills. And also, the base of the bill is less yellowish than Snowy Egret. Their plumage undergoes drastic change from all-white juvenile plumage to gray-blue adults.
Flight: It flies with deep and continuous wing beats.
Food: It feeds on crayfish, crabs, small fish, insects, and amphibians
Habitat and Range: Juvenile Little Blue Herons can be seen in open wetlands in groups. Its preferred foraging habitats include shallow marshes, lagoons, and other shallow fresh or salt water. When nesting, they mix with other wading species groups.
All year long, Little Blue Herons can be seen in Florida. However, in north Florida, they can be mostly seen during summer.
Similar species to the juvenile Little Blue Heron is Snowy Egret.
6. Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
Wood Stork is a large wading bird. And, it is the only stork that breeds in the North America. It is very distinctive due to its unique appearance.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 17.2% – winter and 11.5% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird).
How to identify Wood Stork (Quickly)
- Body: Head and upper neck of the Wood Stork are featherless and blackish in color. It has a white body with black flight feathers.
- Bill: Long downward-curved dark bill
- Leg color: Blackish gray
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 39 inches (100 cm), Wingspan – about 5 ft (150 cm)
Bill Shape: Long decurved bill. It is blunt at its tip.
Appearance: Wood Storks are unique in their appearance. Its body is white. In flight, the black tips of the flying feathers are clearly noticeable. And it has a short black tail. Its unique feature is its featherless upper neck and head that covers with scaly skin.
But, juvenile Wood Storks have thin grayish feathers on their head. And their bills are also pale yellow in color.
Flight: Usually, it flaps and by using thermals gains greater heights and glides.
Food: Fish, scrab, and insects (aquatic prey). When feeding, it stirs the water bottom from its feet and feels the movement of fish and prey from the bill.
Habitat and Range: Wood Storks mostly forage in coastal areas, swamps, marshes, and forested freshwater. They breed in Florida to North Carolina.
In Florida, you can see Wood Storks year-round. But, the best time to see them is during the winter.
Great Egret and Snowy Egret are somewhat similar species to Wood Stork. However, it should not be hard for you to separate Wood Stork from them even in the field.
7. American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
American White Pelican is an enormous white bird with an oversized, bright yellow-to-orange bill. Hence, you will easily identify them in the field.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 8.5% – winter and 3.8% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird
How to identify American White Pelican (Quickly)
- Body: Large white body and white head with black outer wing feathers
- Bill: Huge long bill with an expandable throat pouch. Breeding adults have a ridge on the bill. Bill is orange-yellow in breeding birds and turns duller yellow in the nonbreeding season.
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 4.5 – 5.5 ft (1.3 – 1.7 m), Wingspan – 7.75 – 9.5 ft (2.4 – 2.9 m)
Bill Shape: Long dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: American White Pelican is a large white pelican with an enormous bright yellow-to-orange bill with an expandable throat pouch. It has yellow legs, yellow feet, and black outer wind feathers. During the breeding season, it has a bright orange bill, legs, and feet. And in the post-breeding period, adults that are feeding young, have a gray-black crown. And, females look the same as males.
Flight: They often soar in flocks and fly with infrequent strong flapping with glides.
Food: Mainly small fish, small amphibians
Habitat and Range: It forages usually in groups on lakes, and slow reservoirs. It swims together and beats its wings in coordinated movements to drive fish into shallow water. They dip their bills simultaneously into the water to catch fish. Most of its population has concentrated in just a small number of large colonies in isolated wetland complexes.
American White Pelicans can fly long distances and it is one of the largest birds to do so. It spends winters in coastal regions from California and Texas to Mexico and Central America. Hence, the best time to see them in Florida is from November to February.
Similar species are Brown Pelican and Wood Stork. Brown Pelicans are dark in color and have gray bills and dark underparts. And Wood Storks are white in color but have curved bills and long thin legs.
White Birds That Can Rarely Be Seen in Florida
Following listed white birds are rare to be seen in Florida since they are either endangered (very less in number) or their range does not substantially cover Florida.
8. Whooping Crane (Grus americana)
Whooping Cranes is the rarest of 15 crane species worldwide. And, it is one of two native cranes in North America. In the mid-20th century, it was endangered with only a few dozen birds.
Due to a number of targeted campaigns such as habitat protection and captive breeding and release, to protect them, now its number has grown to several hundred individuals. However, still it is not so common to see in Florida.
Conservation Status: Endangered – IUCN Red List Category: EN
Frequency in Florida: < 0.2% – winter and < 0.1% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird
How to identify Whooping Crane (Quickly)
- Body: Pure white tall body with a long neck. Distinctive dark red mask behind the bill.
- Bill: Long dark straight bill
- Legs: Long gray-black legs
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 4 – 4.5 ft (1.2-1.4 m), Wingspan – about 7.25 ft (about 2.2 m)
Bill Shape: long dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: Whooping Cranes are large pure white birds. It is one of the tallest birds in North America. Whooping Crane has a long dark bill. Behind the bill, it has a distinctive red crown and red patch. Its wing tips are black, and that can only be seen in flight. And, its legs are gray-black. Both males and females are similar. But juveniles are stained with golden brown and it does not have a red patch on their face.
Flight: It takes by running into wind with outstretched wings. It flies with slow and powerful wing beats.
Food: Insects, small mammals, fish, fruits, seeds
Habitat and Range: Whooping Crane prefers marshy habitats. It is usually in family groups of three or more. It breeds in scattered ponds and prairies in a very small region of Canada. Whooping Cranes migrate along a narrow route to winter in coastal areas around Texas. Since it is an endangered bird species it is less common to see in Florida.
Similar species are White Ibis and Sandhill Crane. Differentiating characteristics of those two are White Ibis has a downward curved long bill and Sandhill Crane is grayer in color.
9. White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus)
There are three species of Tropicbirds. White-tailed Tropicbird is the smallest one among them. And also, it is the most common tropicbird in North America. However, Florida is the most reliable place to see them.
White-tailed Tropicbird is a seabird and often soars to greater heights. So, if you see it from distance, it will appear to be an all-white bird even though it has black marks on the top of the wing.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: < 0.1% – From April – August (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify White-tailed Tropicbird (Quickly)
- Body: White body with distinctive black marks on top of the wings and black stripe through the eyes. Long white tail streamers are visible from distance (only in adults).
- Bill: Orange to yellow bill
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 15 inches (38 cm), Wingspan – about 37 inches (94 cm)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped slightly decurved bill
Appearance: White-tailed Tropicbird is a tern-shaped small white bird. Adults have unique delicate long tail streamers that help for their identification in the field. And it has black eye lining, black distracted stripes on wings, and black wing tips. Its bill is orange-yellow in color.
Flight: It produces strong forceful flight with rapid wingbeats.
Food: It feeds on flying small fish, surface-feeding fish, crabs, squids
Habitat and Range: The habitat of White-tailed Tropicbirds is mainly tropical ocean islands. During the non-breeding season, they fly far out to sea and spend most of their time there. They do nesting mostly on rocky cliffs where they find safe enclosures with overhead cover to ensure safety for eggs and chicks.
The range of the White-tailed Tropicbird includes the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. And it is spotted off the coast of the southeastern United States. If you want to tick this glamorous bird, coastal Florida is one of the best places to check.
Similar species to White-tailed Tropicbird are the Red-tailed Tropicbird and Red-billed Tropicbird. But, the Red-tailed Tropicbird has a red tail streamer and red bill and adults do not have black stripes on their wings. And also, it is larger in size than White-tailed Tropicbird.
Red-billed Tropicbirds have red bills and scattered black pattern on the wings which makes them distinct from White-tailed Tropicbirds.
10. Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus)
Similar to other tropicbirds, the Red-billed Tropicbird is also a seabird that can rarely be seen on land. So, the chances of you seeing them in Florida are low.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: < 0.1% – From April – August (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Red-billed Tropicbird (Quickly)
- Body: White body with black barring on wings. It has black eye lining and black wing tips. Similar to White-tailed Tropicbird, it has long white tail streamers visible from distance (only in adults).
- Bill: Red slightly decurved bill
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 20 inches (50 cm), Wingspan – about 40 inches (100 cm)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped slightly decurved bill. The color is red.
Appearance: Red-billed Tropicbird is a pigeon-size white bird. Similar to White-tailed Tropicbird, it too has unique white long tail streamers that help for its identification in the field. Similarly, black eye lining is also quite identical in the two species. However, the barred black and white back of the Red-billed Tropicbird is a differentiating factor.
Immatures have yellowish bills and do not have long tail streamers, instead, they have short black tails. The tail streamer is longer in males than in females.
Flight: They fly with strong, rapid wingbeats with occasional gliding or soaring.
Food: They do plunge-diving and catch flying fish and squids.
Habitat and Range: Tropicbirds are seabirds and mostly they stay in the sea. They prefer tropical oceans. They rest on the sea with raised tail and their waterproof plumage facilitate that.
Usually, they nest in rocky cliffs. They are unable to walk on the land. Instead, they push the body along on the breast. Hence, they require greater effort to take off from the ground.
Red-billed Tropicbirds can be seen towards the gulf stream off the east coast. Occasionally, birders spot them in the Gulf of Mexico.
Similar species to the Red-billed Tropicbird are the Red-tailed Tropicbird and White-tailed Tropicbird. But, White-tail tropic birds are smaller in size and have distinctive black stripes on wings. And Red-tailed Tropicbirds have red tail streamers.
Birds in Florida That Has White Morphs
Some bird species have multiple color morphs. Hence, you may see a white morph of a bird in Florida and may find it difficult to correctly identify them. So, the following section provides an ID guide for all Florida birds that has a white morph.
11. Great Blue Heron (White Morph) (Ardea herodias)
The Great Blue Heron is one of the largest herons in the world and the largest in North and South America. White morphs of Great Blue Herons are also called Great White Heron and sometimes it is treated as separate species.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 28.7% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird). However, the frequency of reporting white morphs is much lower than this.
How to identify Great Blue Heron (White Morph) (Quickly)
- Body: All white plumage. Large body with an S-shaped long neck.
- Bill: yellow heavy bill
- Legs: Grayish yellow in color (This helps to separate them from Great Egrets that have entire black legs)
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 2.45 – 4.25 ft (0.9 – 1.3 m), Wingspan – 5.25 – 6.5 ft (1.6 – 2 m)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped large heavy bill. The color is yellow.
Appearance: White morph of Greate Blue Heron (also known as Great White Heron) has entirely white plumage. It has a sizeable tall body with an S-shaped long neck. Its appearance is quite similar to Great Egret. But, Great White Heron is larger in size and has grayish yellow color legs whereas the Great Egret has entire black legs with yellow feet. Additionally, Great White Herons have heavy larger bills than Great Egrets.
Immatures of Great White Herons have mostly yellow bills with a darker maxilla.
Flight: They fly with regular wing beats with the deep flapping of wings.
Food: They prefer fish.
Habitat and Range: Great White Herons can be seen in wetlands such as marshes to swamps, but primarily in saltwater habitats. Great Whites are mostly concentrated in southern and central Florida. Usually, you can spot them individually. But, when the food is plentiful, they can be seen as flocks.
Similar species to Great White Heron is the Great Egret.
12. Rock Pigeon (White Morph) (Columba livia)
Rock pigeons were introduced to North America in the 17th century by European colonists. Now it has widely spread all-overs the continent. Feral pigeons can be seen in abundance in even urban setup such as streets and public squares eating waste food from bird feeders.
Among the most common blue-gray pigeon with black wing bars, you can spot other varieties with variable plumage in colors such as black, white, rusty-red, and variations of those.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: Reported value is 7% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird). However, you shouldn’t have missed them even in an urban setup.
How to identify Rock Pigeon (White Morph) (Quickly)
- Body: Size is a little smaller than crows. Appeared tubby due to a heavy chest. White plumage in white morphs.
- Bill: Dark shorter bills
- Legs: Short reddish legs
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 11 – 14 inches (28 – 36 cm), Wingspan – 20 – 26 inches (51 – 67 cm)
Bill Shape: Short dark color stout bill
Appearance: Rock Pigeons have a tubby body with a broad chest. Its size is smaller than a crow and larger than Morning Dove. Typical pigeon plumage is bluish-gray with two black wing bars. But, you can spot pigeons with mostly white plumage that made them listed here.
It has shorter reddish legs that made them look bulky. If you have not seen a white-colored pigeon, just be more conscious when you walk around the city.
Flight: They fly strong and straight with continuous wing flapping.
Food: They mostly feed them with seeds and fruits. But, you will see them even eating discarded human food such as bread, peanuts, and farm crops in cities.
Habitat and Range: Usually, they can be seen in many urban setups. Flocks of pigeons in public places are not a rare sight in most cities. But, their original habitat is sea cliffs.
Similar species to Rock Pigeons are the White-crowned Pigeon (which has a distinctive white crown) and Band-tailed Pigeon (which has a band on the nape and a yellow bill with a dark tip).
13. Snow Goose (White Morph) (Anser caerulescens)
There are two completely different color morphs of Snow Goose; blue and white. Since white morph is more common, you have a greater chance to see them. But, they are somewhat rare birds to be seen in Florida.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: < 0.3% – Winter and < 0.1% year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird). However, this frequency includes sightings of both morphs.
How to identify Snow Goose (White Morph) (Quickly)
- Body: It has a medium size white body with a long neck. The head is white and looks extended. Wing tips are black
- Bill: Black patch on the pink long bill
- Legs: Pink legs
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 27 – 33 inches (69 – 83 cm), Wingspan – 4.25 – 5.5 ft (1.3 – 1.7 m)
Bill Shape: Long pink color straight bill
Appearance: Snow Goose (white morph) is a medium size goose with white plumage. But its wing tips are black and they are clearly visible in flight. Additionally, you can see a yellowish strain on the face in most of them.
Adults have a pink long bill that has a clearly visible black patch on it. Its legs are pink too.
Since juveniles have a grayish smudge on the body and wings, they do not look white.
Flight: Most of the time you will see a V-shaped flock of them flying. They fly with moderate wing beats.
Food: They feed on stems, leaves, seeds, and roots of different grass species in aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Habitat and Range: Marshes, ponds, bays, and agricultural fields are usual habitats of Snow Goose. When migrating, they fly as flocks in thousands in number. They breed in the arctic tundra, near Hudson Bay. They winter in coastal and inland areas towards the south. However, it is not common to see them in Florida.
Similar species to Snow Goose is Ross’s Goose. But Ross’s Goose is comparatively smaller in size and has a short triangular shape bill.
14. Ross’s Goose (White Morph) (Anser rossii)
Ross’s Goose also has blue and white color morphs. And also, similar to Snow Goose, blue form is rare and white form is comparatively common.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: < 0.1% – Winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird). However, this frequency includes sightings of both morphs.
How to identify Ross’s Goose (White Morph) (Quickly)
- Body: Smaller white body with black wing tips. Short neck.
- Bill: Short triangular-shaped reddish bill
- Legs: Reddish pink legs
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 22 – 25 inches (57 – 64 cm), Wingspan – about 3.25 ft (about 1.1 m)
Bill Shape: Short straight triangular shape bill. It is reddish in color. It too has a black patch on the bill (similar to Snow Goose). But you may not notice it unless you give a careful look.
Appearance: Ross’s Goose is a comparatively smaller size goose (looks like a smaller version of Snow Goose). They have an all-white plumage with black wing tips. One of the distinctive body features of Ross’s Goose is its shorter neck compared to the long neck of Snow Goose.
And, their bills are also shorter in length and triangular in shape. And also, the base edge of the bill is straight (quite distinctive). Both bill and legs are reddish in color.
Juveniles (white morph) have grayish color in the upper part and have a light gray crown.
Flight: They fly straight with continuous rapid wing beats.
Food: They prefer grasses, and grain.
Habitat and Range: Lakes, Marshes, and ponds are the preferred habitats of Ross’s Goose in migration and winter. And, they breed in the arctic tundra. Mostly, they can be seen as flocks mixing with Snow Gooses. Ross’s Goose is a rare sight in Florida.
Similar species to Ross’s Gooses is Snow Goose. But Snow Goose is comparatively larger in size and has a straight long bill with a clear black patch.
Birds in Florida That Look Mostly White (Primarily White)
Some birds have plumage mixed with two or more colors. But when they are in flight or sight from far, their primary color is prominent and birders, especially beginners, tend to identify them from it.
Hence, I have provided bird identification guides for birds whose primary color is white and appear to be white but not all-white. These are mostly white birds that can be seen in Florida.
15. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Ring-billed Gull is one of the most common birds in North America. You may have probably seen them even in an urban setup.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 8.5 % – year-round and 22% – winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Ring-billed Gull (Quickly)
- Bill: Black band on yellow bill (most distinguishable feature)
- Body: Medium-size gulls. Breeding adults have pure white heads while nonbreeding adults have brown streaks on white heads. Their belly, breast, and underwing are white. They have a gray back and white spots on black wing tips.
- Legs: Pale yellow (nonbreeding) or yellowish or greenish (breeding)
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 17 – 21.5 inches (43 – 54 cm), Wingspan – 4 – 5 ft (1.2 – 1.5 m)
Bill Shape: Long straight bill. Bill is yellow and it has a black band close to the tip
Appearance: Breeding Ring-billed Gulls look whitish than nonbreeding adults. Breeding adults have clean white heads. But nonbreeders have brown smudges on their white heads. Since breasts, bellies, and underparts are white, adults look mostly white. Their upper wings are gray in color and their black wing tips have white spots on them.
Their eyes are pale in color and have red eye-ring. Nonbreeding adults have yellow legs and it turns yellowish to greenish color in the breeding season.
Juveniles are not white due to their heavily mottled back and underparts.
Flight: They fly with deep wing beats and soar on thermals
Food: Small fish, insects, earthworms, grains, and rodents.
Habitat and Range: Ring-billed Gulls can be mostly seen in lakes, ponds, rivers, and beaches. But, it is not rare sight if you see them scavenge in parking lots. They winter in Florida. So, that is the best period to search for them in Florida.
Similar species to Ring-billed Gulls is the Common Gull. Common Gulls have a shorter bill and do not have a black band on the bill. And also they can not be seen in Florida.
16. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Herring Gulls are large size gulls that are also referred to mostly as ‘Seagulls’. Even though now they are common in most states, in the 19th century, they were nearly hunted to extinction for plumage.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 2.9 % – year-round and 6% – winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Herring Gull (Quickly)
- Bill: Large yellow bill with a red spot (distinguishable feature)
- Body: Large-size gulls. Breeding adults have pure white heads while nonbreeding adults have brown streaks on white heads and necks. Their belly, breast, and underwing are white. They have a gray back and white spots on black wing tips.
- Legs: Pink in color
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 22 – 26 inches (56 – 66 cm), Wingspan – 4 – 5 ft (1.2 – 1.5 m)
Bill Shape: Large straight bill. Bill is yellow and it has a red spot on the lower mandible
Appearance: Comparatively, Herring Gull is larger in size. Breeding adult Herring Gulls have white heads and necks and they look mostly white. Non-breeding adults have brown streaked heads and necks. Similar to other gulls like Laughing Gulls, Herring Gull also has white breast, belly, underparts, and black wing tips with white spots on them. Adults have gray backs.
Their eyes turn pale in color during the transition to adults. The legs of adult Herring Gulls are pink.
Immatures are not mostly brown in color due to their mottled brown back and barred brown body.
Flight: They fly with regular slow wing beats. Often they soar and glide too.
Food: Small fish, crustaceans, mollusks, worms. They scavenge garbage and carrion.
Habitat and Range: Herring Gulls occur in coastal areas and islands water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers. They breed in the northeastern US and Canada and migrate to the southern region in winter. Therefore, look for them in Florida in winter.
Similar species to Herring Gull is the Ring-billed Gull. But Ring-billed gull has a black band on their yellow bill and they are comparatively smaller in size than Herring Gulls.
17. Royal Tern (Thalasseus Maximus)
Royal Tern is a comparatively large Tern that distinguishes them from the most of other terns. But they look quite similar to Caspian Tern. Sometimes, it is trickier to ID them correctly for even experienced birders if they can not get a closer look. Since both Terns can be seen in Florida, read the following quick ID guide to identify two species correctly.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 9.8 % – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Royal Tern (Quickly)
- Body: Large-size Tern. They have a light gray back and white underparts. They get an entirely black forehead and crown and shaggy crest at the beginning of the summer and have a white forehead for the rest of the year.
- Bill: Variable bill color from orange to red. If the bill color is orange, then it is Royal Tern. But sometimes, they get reddish bills similar to Caspian Tern. But Caspian Tern has a thicker bill and Royal Tern has a thin bill.
- Legs: Black
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 17.5 – 19.5 inches (45 – 50 cm), Wingspan – 4 – 4.25 ft (1.2 – 1.3 m)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: Royal Tern is comparatively larger Tern, only slightly smaller than Caspian Tern. Similar to several other Terns, it has light gray upper parts and white underparts. They have a white forehead for most of the year except at the beginning of the summer when they get a full black cap with a shaggy crest.
Royal Terns have a forked tail and darker gray tips on outer flight feathers. Their bill color varies from orange to red. Since Caspian Terns also have a red bill, look out for the thin bill in Royal Terns and white forehead to distinguish them.
Flight: It flies with shallow, powerful wing beats.
Food: Fish, crabs, and barnacles. They do plunge-diving and catch prey while flying.
Habitat and Range: The feeding grounds of Royal Terns are mostly coastal beaches and salt marshes. They can be seen mixing with other species and breeding in dense colonies. In Florida, you can see them year-round.
Similar species are Caspian Tern and Elegant Tern. But, the Caspian Tern does not have a white forehead and it is slightly larger than Royal Tern. And, the Elegant Tern has a thinner long slightly curved bill and they do not occur in Florida.
18. Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)
Forster’s Tern is a medium-sized tern quite similar to Common Tern. But it has a comparatively long tail than Common Tern. English botanist Thomas Nuttall identified these two terns as two species in 1834.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 5.2 % – year-round and 9% – winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Forster’s Tern (Quickly)
- Body: Medium-size Tern. They have pale white feathers. Breeding adults have black caps and napes. Nonbreeding adults have a unique black ear patch. They have a forked tail.
- Bill: Orange-red bill with dark tip (breeding) or entirely black bill (non-breeding)
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 13 – 14 inches (33 – 36 cm), Wingspan – 29 – 32 inches (73-82 cm)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: Forster’s Tern is also a white and gray tern. Breeding adults have black caps and napes. Their bill is in orange-red color with a dark tip. They have a deeply forked tail. During the non-breeding season, bills of adults become entirely black and wings turned plain gray. Instead of a black crown, in this season it gets a large black ear patch. Juveniles are also quite similar in appearance, but they too only have a black ear patch. Both males and females are similar.
Flight: It flies with shallow, quick wing beats.
Food: Insects and small fish
Habitat and Range: To find food, it hovers over bays, ponds, and lakes. They dive headfirst into the water to catch small fish. It nests in shallow water marshes. Usually, they can be seen in small colonies. Even though Forster’s Terns are spotted all year long in Florida as per checklists submitted to eBird, it is comparatively more common in winter.
Similar species are Common Tern and Arctic Tern. Both of them have red bills. But Arctic Tern’s bill and legs are comparatively shorter. Further, the Common Tern has a shorter tail.
19. Least Tern (Sternula antillarum)
The Least Tern is the smallest tern in North America. It was an endangered species in North America since it was killed by thousands to get its feathers in the early 1900s. But, with conservation measures, its population has grown now.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 3.7 % – year-round and 8.6 % – April to August (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Least Tern (Quickly)
- Body: Smallest Tern in North America. Breeding adults have black caps and white foreheads. Non-breeding adults have black nape and dark shoulder bars. They have a forked tail.
- Bill: Yellow (breeding) or mostly dark (blackish) (nonbreeding)
- Legs: Yellow
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 8.5 – 9 inches (21 – 23 cm), Wingspan – 19 – 21 inches (48 – 53 cm)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: Least Tern is a white and gray tern. Breeding adults have a white forehead and a black cap. They have yellow bills and feet. Nonbreeding adults have black bills and dark shoulder bars. Their deeply forked short tail of them can only be seen in flight. Juveniles also have dark bills and partial black caps during the first summer. They look like a browner version of adults. Females are also the same as males in appearance.
Flight: It flies with rapid wing beats.
Food: Insects and fish
Habitat and Range: Least Tern breeds along both coasts, lakes, major rivers, and wetlands. It nests in large colonies. Least Terns lunges into water or skims over the surface of the water body to hunt small fish and insects.
In Florida, it can be seen along the coastal belt, especially in summer.
Similar species are Common Tern and Forster’s Tern. From them, Common Tern is larger in size overall and it has a black-tipped red bill. And Forster’s Tern has a black-tipped orange bill and a comparatively longer tail.
20. Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
Sandwich Terns are most commonly found on beaches. Usually, it is mixed with other terns. It was named after the town of Sandwich in Country Kent, England since that is the location where it was first described.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 4.4 % – year-round and 6.6 % – August to November (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Sandwich Tern (Quickly)
- Body: Medium-szie tern. Breeding adults have black caps and a shaggy crest. Non-breeding adults have a white forehead and they do not have a shaggy crest.
- Bill: Black bill with pale yellow tip (distinguishable feature)
- Legs: Black legs
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 13.5 – 17.5 inches (34 – 45 cm), Wingspan – 37 – 40 inches (95 – 105 cm)
Bill Shape: Long dagger-shaped straight bill
Appearance: Sandwich Tern is a medium-sized white-and-gray tern. It has a black bill with a pale yellow tip. Its legs and feet are all black. Breeding plumage has a black cap and shaggy crest while non-breeding has a white forehead with an incomplete black cap and lacks the shaggy crest. Immatures have dark spots on wings and pale foreheads. Both males and females look similar.
Flight: It flies with shallow, quick wing beats.
Food: Aquatic insects and small fish
Habitat and Range: Sandwich Tern breeds along the southeastern US coast. It usually breeds on barrier beaches, and barrier islands. Sandwich Tern rarely goes far from salt water. In Florida, they can be seen along areas near the coastal line.
Gull-billed Tern and Roseate Tern are two similar species to Sandwich Tern. They both do not have a yellow tip at the end of their bills.
21. Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia)
Caspian Tern is the largest tern in the world and is well known for its aggressive behavior. It tends to steal prey from other seabirds and even hunts chicks and snatches eggs of other gulls and terns. Even though Caspian Terns occur in all states of the US, its sight is not so common.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 2.6 % – year-round and 3.6% – Winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Caspian Tern (Quickly)
- Body: Largest Tern. Looks quite similar to Royal Tern. Light gray back and white underparts are common in both Terns. But Caspian Tern does not get a white forehead. Instead, they have streaked dark crown in nonbreeding season. Breeding adults have slightly crested black caps.
- Bill: Red strong bill. Thicker than Royal Tern. And also there’s a dark mark near the tip of the bill.
- Legs: Black
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 18.5 – 21.5 inches (47-54 cm), Wingspan – 4.25 – 5 ft (1.3 – 1.5 m)
Bill Shape: dagger-shaped thick strong bill. It is red in color and has a dark mark at the tip.
Appearance: Caspian Tern is the largest Tern. During the breeding season, it has a less crested black cap and nonbreeding adults have streaked dark crowns. This separates them from Royal Terns since they have a shaggy crest with a black cap in breeding and a white forehead in the non-breeding season. Their legs are black.
Similar to Royal Terns, Caspian Terns also have pale gray back, white underparts, and dark tips on outer flight feathers.
Juveniles do not look white since they have dark markings on their upper parts.
Flight: Their flight is strong with heavy powerful wing beats.
Food: Fish, crabs, and barnacles. They rob prey from other birds.
Habitat and Range: Coastal and inland lakes and rivers are their typical habitats. During migration, they can be seen near marshes and lakes. They can be seen year-round in Florida and with higher occurrences in winter.
Similar species to Caspian Tern are Royal Tern and Elegant Tern. But, the Royal Tern has a white forehead in nonbreeding and a shaggy crested black cap in breeding. And, the Elegant Tern has a thinner long slightly curved bill and they do not occur in Florida.
22. Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
Bufflehead is the smallest diving duck in North America. They made this list due to the mostly white appearance of male Buffleheads. You can easily identify them due to their distinctive white area at the back of the large head.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 3% – year-round and 11% – Winter (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Bufflehead (Quickly)
- Body: Small in size. Their head is large for the body. Male Buffleheads have a luminous green and purple gloss in the front parts of the head and neck. And, a large white patch on the back of the head is quite distinctive.
- Bill: Small gray bill.
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 12.5 – 15.5 inches (32 – 39 cm), Wingspan – 21.5 – 24 inches (54 – 61 cm)
Bill Shape: small narrow gray bill.
Appearance: Buffleheads are small and compact. Male Buffleheads are mostly white in color while females and juveniles look mostly gray-brown. Male Buffleheads have a unique white patch at the back of the head but females have a brown head with a white patch on the cheek. Iridescent green and purple gloss on the front parts of the head and neck in males is quite unique.
They have pinkish-orange legs. In flight, they look mostly white.
Flight: They fly with very rapid wing beats.
Food: Arthropods in fresh water and, shrimps, crabs, amphipods (small crustaceans) in salt water
Habitat and Range: Typical habitats of Buffleheads are small lakes and ponds in inland and coastal bays. They forage in small flocks. Buffleheads are cavity nesters and nest near water. They can be seen in Florida year-round but the best time to look for them is in winter.
Similar species to Buffleheads is Hooded Merganser (breeding males). Hooded Mergansers are also small diving ducks but breeding male adults have a white cheek patch. They are overall brown in color.
23. Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra)
Masked Booby is the largest of boobies that can be seen in North America. It is a seabird in the tropical ocean and is less common in Florida.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: 0.2% – April to May (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird)
How to identify Masked Booby (Quickly)
- Body: Large mostly white seabird. The whole body is snowy white except the black outer wing, black tail, and blackish mask at the base of the bill. They have yellow eyes.
- Bill: Yellow stout bill
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – about 32 inches (82 cm), Wingspan – about 5.25 ft (1.6 m)
Bill Shape: Strong stout yellow bill.
Appearance: Large size seabird that looks a bit similar to Northern Gannet. Adult Masked Boobies have a snowy white body. They are quite distinguishable with black outer wing feathers, black tails, and blackish mask skin at the base of the bill.
Juveniles have a dark head, neck, back, and white belly. They look brownish.
Food: Mostly fish and squids.
Habitat and Range: Masked Boobies forage mixing with other seabirds in open tropical oceans. They roost and breed on coral sand beaches in south Florida Key.
Similar species to Masked Booby are Red-footed Booby and Northern Gannet. Distinguishable features of them are Red-footed Booby has bright red feet and adult Northern Gannets has a cream-colored head.
24. White-Tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
The white-tailed Kite is also a mostly white bird, especially looking more whitish in flight. It was called “Black-shouldered Kite” before it got its current name.
Conservation Status: Secure – IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC)
Frequency in Florida: < 0.1% – year-round (recorded on complete checklists submitted to eBird
How to identify White-Tailed Kite (Quickly)
- Body: White-Tailed Kite has a falcon-like shape. Their head, neck, tail, and underparts are white. And, wings and back and gray. And also, they have black shoulders and dark wrist marks which are quite distinctive. Adults have orange eyes.
- Bill: Sharp black bill.
Descriptive Guide
Size: Length – 13 – 15 inches (33 – 38 cm), Wingspan – 39 – 42 inches (1 – 1.1 m)
Bill Shape: Shredder-like sharp black bill.
Appearance: White-Tailed Kites are falcon shaped and have gray upper parts and black triangular shoulder marks. They look mostly white due to the white head, neck, tail, and underparts. They also have dark gray wing tips and dark wrist marks. Adults have orange eyes. If you see them in flight, it looks very much white.
Juveniles have splashes of brownish-red marks on the neck and breast and have pale eyes.
Flight: They fly with shallow fast wing beats mixed with glides.
Food: They capture rodents, lizards, birds, and insects.
Habitat and Range: White-Tailed Kites can be found in open grasslands and over agricultural fields. It is a rare sight in Florida.
Similar species to White-Tailed Kites is Mississippi Kite. Mississippi Kites are mostly gray due to dark wings and bodies and have deep red eyes.
So, that completes the list. Let me know how many of the listed white birds you have seen and where you saw them.
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