Marsh Birds

Marshes are low-lying wetlands that provide a vibrant habitat for many different animals, including avifauna. Birds living in marshes are suited to living in an aquatic environment and have a diet primarily of fish and other water-dwelling creatures like amphibians, crustaceans, etc. Some of these, like the Great Blue Heron and the Greater Yellowlegs, have long legs for wading through the mud while foraging for food. Interestingly, marsh birds will not fly as often, preferring to swim or dive underwater when they feel threatened.

Many of these birds are generally classified as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN and are relatively common, but as marshes become scarce each year, almost all of them are at risk of habitat loss.

List of Birds That Live in Marshes

Bird Species	Where Are They From?	Notable Characteristics
American Coot	Pacific and southwestern United States and Mexico	Despite their similar appearances, these birds are not related to appearances
American Oystercatcher	The Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States	As its name suggests, it primarily feeds on oysters
Anhinga	Worldwide	While swimming, this bird’s head and neck are the only visible parts, giving it the appearance of a snake
Belted Kingfisher	Throughout North America	This kingfisher makes a rattling call while active. This call has led to a group of these birds being called a ‘kerfuffle.’
Black-crowned Night-heron	Worldwide	These birds are ambush predators and are even known to use bait to attract prey
Black Tern	Canada and the northern United States, western Asia, and most of Europe	These birds stay very close to the water, with some even nesting on floating material
Clapper Rail	Atlantic coasts of North America	It is rarely seen in flight, possibly due to its large size
Common Gallinule	Throughout the Americas	It remains the most common species of rail in North America
Common Moorhen	Eurasia and Africa	It is the most common rail species in Europe
Eared Grebe	Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas	While this bird generally avoids flying, it will migrate to a saline lake after breeding to molt, with these journeys often covering distances close to 4000 miles
Forster’s Tern	Central and North America, as well as the Caribbean	It practices plunge diving over open water while hunting
Great Blue Heron	Throughout the Americas, as well as the Caribbean and Galapagos Islands	It is an apex predator and at the top of the food chain in its environment
Greater Yellowlegs	Throughout the Americas	As its name indicates, this bird can be identified by its bright yellow legs
Jabiru	South America, except the west Andes and Mexico	This stork has a contrasting appearance, with a black head and white feathers
Least Bittern	Throughout the Americas	It is one of the smallest bitterns alive today
Limpkin	From Florida to northern Argentina	It gets its name from the way it walks, which looks like it is limping
Marsh Wren	North America	Males will ‘gurgle’ to announce their territory
Northern Jacana	Mexico, the Caribbean, and Panama	These birds can walk on floating vegetation in water bodies
Osprey	Worldwide	These birds of prey predominantly feed on fish
Pied-billed Grebe	Throughout the Americas	They have a call similar to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Red-necked Grebe	Throughout Eurasia and western North America	Like most grebes, it prefers swimming over flying and chooses to dive underwater when faced with danger
Red-winged Blackbird	North and Central America	The males are covered entirely in black plumage, except for their wings which are bright red
Saltmarsh Sparrow	The Atlantic coast of the United States, from North Carolina to Florida	It is similar to the Nelson’s Sparrow but has a bigger beak
Sandhill Crane	North America and Siberia	These are social birds that undergo migrations over long distances
Seaside Sparrow	Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from New Hampshire to Texas	It has a song similar to the Red-winged Blackbird
Snowy Egret	Throughout the Americas	They get along with other birds in their surroundings and often forage in mixed groups
Sora	Throughout North America	Its common name comes from one of the sounds it makes -‘sor-ah’
Swamp Sparrow	Eastern North America	It is closely related to the Song Sparrow
Virginia Rail	Central America and the Southern United States	It prefers to run away from predators rather than fly away
Western Grebe	Western North America	This bird is known to perform a ‘rushing ceremony’ where the birds run on water as part of their mating rituals
Wilson’s Phalarope	Western Canada to Argentina	This bird is halophilic, i.e., it loves saline environments
Wilson’s Snipe	Throughout North America	They fly in a zigzag pattern to confuse predators
Yellow Rail	Canada and part of the United States (Oklahoma, North Carolina)	They are elusive and are hard to see, but their vocalizations are often heard
Yellow-headed Blackbird	Central America and the United States	It is entirely black except for its head, which is bright yellow