15 Types of Green Birds in North America

Imagine waking up to the sweet sound of chirping birds outside your window.

Now, picture these feathered creatures decked in vibrant shades of green, flitting around in the lush forests of North America.

From the Amazon parrots to the tiny, Green Catbird, green birds are some of the most fascinating and beautiful species found in the region.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at 15 types of green birds in North America that are sure to capture your attention and leave you in awe of their stunning beauty.

So, grab your binoculars, and let’s embark on a journey to discover these colorful avian wonders!

ImageName
Amazon parrotsAmazon parrots
Puerto Rican TodyPuerto Rican Tody
Green BroadbillGreen Broadbill
Green HoneycreeperGreen Honeycreeper
Hawaii AmakihiHawaii Amakihi
Green CatbirdGreen Catbird
Fruit DoveFruit Dove
BudgerigarBudgerigar
Double-eyed Fig ParrotDouble-eyed Fig Parrot
Pacific ParrotletPacific Parrotlet
Purple GallinulePurple Gallinule
Shiney IbisShiney Ibis
Magnum MangoMagnum Mango
Northern ShovelerNorthern Shoveler
Greene-Tailed TowheeGreene-Tailed Towhee

Types of Green Birds in North America

1. Amazon Parrots

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits- Wikipedia

The 35 varieties of Amazon Parrots share this characteristic with many other parakeet and parrot species.

Colorful patches of purple, blue, red, maroon, and yellow punctuate the Amazon’s predominant green. 

It appears that the greenest foliage is found in the Andean rainforest, home to the scaly-naped Amazon.

Their body is a vivid grassy green, and their plumage is a deep green having a black tint. 

Green bodies, yellow heads, and red epaulets on the wings characterize the yellow-headed Amazon of south and central America and the Tres Marias Amazon of Mexico’s Islas Marias islands. 

The lilac-crowned amazon of Mexico is an emerald green overall, with a violet-blue crown and a maroon head.

It’s common to see Amazon parrots in homes, and many species are popular as pets.

2. Puerto Rican Tody

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits- Wikipedia

It’s strange that this green bird, which measures just 4.4 inches in length and weighs approximately 19 ounces, is classified as a non-passerine bird. 

Despite its olive green head and back, the Puerto Rican Tody also possesses a white underbelly, yellow sides, and a crimson neck.

Its bill may be as long as its head and has a crimson color all the way down. 

Eye color is the sole reliable indicator of gender in humans.

The male has grayish eyes, while the female has white ones. 

It is possible that the progenitors of the Jamaican Tody and the Caribbean Tody were carried from one territory to the other by storms, causing the two bird populations to become geographically isolated.

3. Green Broadbill

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

The feathers of the Green Broadbill help it to conceal itself effortlessly in the shrubby woodlands.

The small beak of this green Sumatran and the Bornean bird is concealed by a crest on its forehead.

Its feathers are deep, mossy lime green with striking black wing bars and an ear spot.

It has black, round, squinty eyes. 

The Broadbill looks like a nightjar because of its short beak and huge jaws.

Its green coloring blends in well with the deciduous foliage of its natural habitat.

Its fig-eating habits aid in seed dispersal. It sometimes consumes insects as well. 

The green broadbill is in grave danger of extinction because of the destruction of its natural habitat.

4. Green Honeycreeper

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

The Green Honeycreeper can reach the nectar of blossoms with its curved beak.

This tanager, native to South America, Trinidad, and Mexico, is around five inches in length and is either green or has green undertones; the sexes seem quite different. 

The male possesses a black facial mask and a yellow lower beak to contrast with his brilliant green feathers.

The female is as grass-green as it gets, with a little lighter green around her neck. 

The bird can reach nectar deep inside blooms because of its tapering and slightly curved beak.

Berry and bug consumption round out its diet.

The Green Honeycreeper often lives high up in the treetops.

5. Hawaii Amakihi

Types of Green Birds in North America
Captions: Wikipedia

This little bird may be found throughout all of the Hawaiian Islands, yet its shade of green varies from island to island.

The birds of the large island have yellowish-green plumage, whereas the birds of the other islands have olive-green feathers. 

Biologists attribute the Amakihi’s low protection priority to the bird’s versatility and robustness.

This honeycreeper is adaptable so long as it stays out of direct sunlight and below 8,000 feet in height.

It also has a soft, lovely tune.

6. Green Catbird

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

The Green Catbird’s large beak is an advantageous adaptation for feeding.

This medium-sized bird, native to the woodlands of eastern Australia, uses its robust beak to devour anything from seeds and flowers to buds and shoots, in addition to a wide variety of insects and arthropods like millipedes.

Its upper body is a shiny bright green, and its wings are white with bars of white dots.

In addition to the black, the breast has white dots.

The head has olive green spots all over it.

You can’t determine the sexes of these birds just by looking at them since they share the same feathers.

In spite of being a species of bowerbird, the male greenish catbird does not construct a bower. 

Rather, he engages in a wooing dance and displays himself as a prospective partner to the recipient. Then when he’s chosen, he’ll be with her forever.

The green catbird’s call, although distinctive, has been described as creepy.

7. Fruit Dove

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Its name tells it all: the Superb Fruit is really exceptional. Doves like fruit.

The male of this species of dove has violet-red feathers on his cap, a gray chest, an orange neck, a touch of sapphire blue on his neck, and olive-green feathers on his wings, ears, and back. 

Males have more vivid colors than females.

Her main color is green, but she also has blue wingtips, a pale blue chest, and a white abdomen. 

Surprisingly, the male’s feathers aid in camouflage while it’s amid the sun-dappled trees in its native habitat.

Its diet consists mostly of fruit, as suggested by its common name, and includes Lilli Pilli’s fruit, New Guinea teak fruit, and figs.

8. Budgerigar

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Budgerigars often forage in large groups.

The Budgerigar, sometimes known as a “budgie,” is among the most well-liked varieties of green birds.

Wild budgerigars are brilliant green and are known as parakeets in the United States. 

In their native Australia, you can come across large flocks of these migratory birds as they travel from place to place in search of food. 

This bird may reach a length of seven inches and is a vibrant light green overall; their mantles are black with white spots, their heads are brilliant yellow, and their cheeks are a vivid violet-blue.

The long plumage of their tails is a dark blue featuring yellow flecks.

The coloration of domesticated budgerigars is as varied as the species’ wild variety.

Birds have been bred to produce a wide variety of patterns and colors, including gray, blue, white, lilac, yellow-green, and even their original ancestral green. 

As pets, parakeets have been shown to be fun and have little maintenance.

The cere, a little bump of flesh at the top of the beak, helps distinguish male from female birds.

Both sexes are brown, however, the female is darker than the male.

9. Double-eyed Fig Parrot

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

New Guinea and certain areas of Australia are home to the Double-eyed Fig Parrot.

The male of this small parrot, which is indigenous to New Guinea and certain regions of Australia, has a vivid greenish body, a small tail, a massive head, and blue and red markings on its face. 

The blue dot, the size of an eye, sits between the animal’s nose and its eye, thus the name.

Compared to males, females are more subdued in appearance, being mostly green. 

Despite being smaller than a parakeet, this Australian parrot may be seen foraging for a variety of foods in the woodland where it lives, including nectar, fruits, berries, grubs, and seeds. 

The Astrolabe Mountain fig parrot, as well as the Hartert’s double-eyed fig parrot, are two of the species identified as double-eyed fig parrots.

10. Pacific Parrotlet

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Among birds, Pacific Parrotlets have a reputation for being very hostile.

Even though they only grow to be around four or five inches in size when maintained as pets, Pacific parrotlets are required to be housed exclusively with some other Pacific parrotlets due to their violent nature. 

These birds possess green plumage and a greenish mask in the wild.

Blue may be seen on the wings and rumps of males, and the blue some call “eyeshadow” can be seen behind their eyes. 

Females are likewise green, although they may have blue eyeshadow or a blue rump instead of blue wings.

The domestic Pacific parrotlet population has been expanding rapidly, and it is now possible to breed these birds in a wide variety of colors. 

You may see these cute tiny birds everywhere along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru.

11. Purple Gallinule

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

One can question the inclusion of a bird whose name includes the word “purple” in a listing of “green” birds.

This is due to the fact that Purple Gallinules only have a partial purple coloring.

Adult Purple Gallinules have iridescent green wings. This greenish plumage, when combined with the blue and purple found in a swamp, creates a stunning effect.

Purple Gallinule chicks initially have green and brown plumage, but they molt into their adult plumage over the course of a few months.

Throughout the southeastern United States, you may see these aquatic birds.

They are solitary hunters that seek food around wetlands and lakes.

Their large toes let them walk on lily pads and other floating aquatic plants.

12. Shiney Ibis

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Due to the bright red coloring on its legs, throat, and chest, the Glossy Ibis might not even look green at first glance.

A mating adult, however, has a greenish-blue tail and wings, with the green being more noticeable in direct sunshine.

When it comes to appearance and sound, the glossy ibis is most like the white-faced ibis, which also has greenish wing plumage and an identical call.

When you think of the differences in their environments, though, the comparisons fall apart. 

The glossy ibis is a coastal bird that can be found from Texas to Florida and then across Maine to the East Coast.

Over the last century, the habitat for the glossy ibis has expanded dramatically.

13. Magnum Mango

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Although the Green-breasted Mango bird is mostly found across Mexico and South America, it has been seen in other parts of the world, including North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Both sexes share a green coloration on the top of the wings, the head, and the back.

During the mating season, however, males develop a dark blue-green plumage on their abdomen and chin, in stark contrast to the females, who possess black and white vertical lines there instead.

14. Northern Shoveler

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

Adult males of this type of duck have distinctively brilliant greenish heads.

Once their wings are fully extended, you can also see the green wing bars that are unique to this species.

Their large and wide bill, which is like a shovel, is what really sets them out, even more so than their green crown and bright yellow eyes.

Their lamellae (thin, comb-like grooves) at the tip of their beak help them strain crustaceans, tiny seeds, and insects out of the water, and they may be spotted all throughout North America.

15. Greene-Tailed Towhee

Types of Green Birds in North America
Credits: Wikipedia

The western United States mountainous regions are home to a stunning bird named the Green-tailed towhee.

They spend the winters across the Baja Peninsula and Mexico and the summertime ranging from the highlands of Arizona through southern Montana.

Due to their mostly reddish brown head and grayish plumage, green birds might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of them.

The olive green coloration on their wings and tails sets them apart, though.

Both sexes share a characteristic: greenish-tinted wings. The sound of their singing has been likened to a cat’s meow.

Conclusion

In conclusion, North America is home to a rich variety of green birds that are not only visually stunning but also play a vital role in maintaining the balance of their ecosystems.

From the majestic Northern Shoveler to the adorable Green Catbird, each species has its unique charm and characteristics that make them fascinating to observe.

By learning more about these feathered wonders and their habitats, we can better appreciate the importance of conservation efforts to protect these birds and their ecosystems.

So, the next time you see a green bird fluttering by, take a moment to appreciate its beauty and remember the role it plays in the natural world around us.

FAQ

Are there any endangered species of green birds in North America?

Yes, the Marbled Murrelet is an endangered species of green bird found in North America. Their populations have declined due to habitat loss and are now protected under the Endangered Species Act.

What is the smallest green bird found in North America?

The smallest green bird found in North America is the Hawaii Amakihi. They are only about 3 inches long and weigh less than a penny.

Are all green birds in North America bright green in color?

No, not all green birds in North America are bright green in color. Some species, like the Olive Warbler and the Pine Warbler, have more muted shades of green mixed with other colors.

Do all green birds migrate south for the winter?

No, not all green birds migrate south for the winter. Some species, like the Pine Warbler, are year-round residents in the southern parts of their range.

How can I attract green birds to my backyard?

You can attract green birds to your backyard by planting native trees and shrubs, providing fresh water, and putting up bird feeders with seeds and nectar specifically for green birds.

Last Updated on March 22, 2023 by Lily Aldrin

About Lily Aldrin

I am Lily Aldrin. I attended Cornell University, where I obtained my degree to become an Ornithologist so I could pursue my love of these magnificent creatures in and out of their natural habitats.

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