
The birds of Tennessee are quite varied due to our diverse topology. Marshes, lakes, rivers, creeks, woodlands, forests, fields, mountains, we have a bit of everything for the bird population to enjoy.
Below are some of my favorite bird photographs from around the state. I’m not a biologist, just a layman, so the organization of species is based on a document published by the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge that lists the species of birds that can be found on their refuge. Also keep in mind that the photographs were taken over a number of years using a number of different cameras, from a horrible point-and-shoot that I carried on motorcycle trips to a DSLR with a 500mm lens, so some photographs will be noticeably better than others.
The majority of the photographs on this page were taken in the wild. Captive birds shown are noted.
The photographs on this page were taken at numerous places across Tennessee, including:
Quick-Links To Birds On This Page
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Bank Swallow |
Barn Swallow |
Blackbird, Red-Winged |
Blue Jays |
Bluebirds, Eastern |
Buffleheads |
Buntings, Indigo |
Cardinals, Northern |
Catbirds, Gray |
Chickadees, Black-Capped |
Coots, American |
Cormorants, Double-Crested |
Cranes, Sandhill |
Domestic (Pekin) Ducks |
Domestic (Muscovy) Ducks |
Domestic (Crested) Ducks |
Doves, Mourning |
Ducks, American Coots |
Ducks, American Widgeons |
Ducks, Black Ducks |
Ducks, Blue-Winged Teal |
Ducks, Buffleheads |
Ducks, Cinnamon Teal |
Ducks, Domestic (Crested) |
Ducks, Domestic (Muscovy) |
Ducks, Domestic (Pekin) |
Ducks, Double-Crested Cormorants |
Ducks, Gadwalls |
Ducks, Hooded Mergansers |
Ducks, Horned Grebes |
Ducks, Mallards |
Ducks, Northern Shoveler |
Ducks, Horned Grebes |
Ducks, Pied Billed Grebes |
Ducks, Ring-Necked |
Ducks, Ruddy |
Ducks, Scaups |
Ducks, Unidentified |
Ducks, Wood Ducks |
Eagles, Bald |
Eastern Phoebe |
Egrets, Great |
Finches, House |
Gadwalls |
Geese, Canada |
Geese, Chinese |
Goldfinches, American |
Grackles, Common |
Grebes, Horned |
Grebes, Pied Billed |
Gulls, Bonaparte’s |
Gulls, Herring |
Gulls, Ring-Billed |
Hawks, Cooper’s |
Hawks, Red-Tailed |
Hawks, Red-Shouldered |
Herons, Black-Crowned Night |
Herons, Great Blue |
Herons, Green |
Hummingbirds, Ruby-Throated |
Junco, Dark-Eyed |
Killdeer |
Kingfisher, Belted |
Kinglet, Golden Crowned |
Loons, Common |
Mergansers, Hooded |
Mockingbirds, Northern |
Northern Flickers |
Northern Shoveler |
Nuthatches, White-Breasted |
Osprey |
Owls, Barred |
Owls, Great Horned |
Pelicans, American White |
Pigeons |
Red-Winged Blackbird |
Robins |
Sandhill Cranes |
Sandpiper, Spotted |
Scaups |
Sparrows, American Tree |
Sparrows, Field |
Sparrows, House |
Sparrows, White-Throated |
Spotted Sandpiper |
Starlings, European |
Swallow, Bank |
Swallow, Barn |
Tanagers, Summer |
Teal, Cinnamon |
Teal, Blue-Winged |
Terns, Caspian |
Thrushes, Hermit |
Titmice, Tufted |
Towhees, Eastern |
Turkeys, Wild |
Vultures, Black |
Warblers, Black-Throated Green |
Warblers, Pine |
Warblers, Prothonotary |
Warblers, Yellow |
Warblers, Yellow Rumped |
Waxwings, Cedar |
Widgeons, American |
Wood Ducks |
Woodpeckers, Downy |
Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers |
Woodpeckers, Pileated |
Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied |
Wrens, Carolina |
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Other Birds I Have Seen But Did Not Get Good Photographs Of:
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WATERFOWL
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CANADA GEESE
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CHINESE GEESE
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MALLARDS
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BLACK DUCKS
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CINNAMON TEAL
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I know these are horrible photographs but they are also, sadly, the best that I have of Cinnamon Teals. I’ve seen them several times but they are always at long distances and these are the best I’ve managed to get so far.
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BLUE-WINGED TEAL
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AMERICAN COOTS
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RING NECK DUCKS
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SCAUPS
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AMERICAN WIDGEONS
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GADWALLS
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WOOD DUCKS
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RUDDY DUCKS
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BUFFLEHEADS
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NORTHERN SHOVELER
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HOODED MERGANSERS
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These are not very good shots but they are all I’ve gotten of Hooded Mergansers. They were all taken at Couchville Lake on the same day and are significantly cropped from the originals. These birds tend to stay well out in the lake so I can’t get very close to them. |
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DOMESTIC (PEKIN) DUCKS
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DOMESTIC (MUSCOVY) DUCKS
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DOMESTIC (CRESTED) DUCKS
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UNIDENTIFIED DUCKS
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GALLINACEOUS BIRDS
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WILD TURKEYS
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LOONS
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COMMON LOONS
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GREBES
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HORNED GREBES
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Non-Breeding Plumage
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PIED-BILLED GREBES
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Winter Plumage
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Breeding Plumage
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CORMORANTS
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DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS
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PELICANS
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AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS
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HERONS
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GREAT BLUE HERONS
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BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERONS
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GREEN HERONS
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GREAT EGRETS
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SHOREBIRDS
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KILLDEER
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SPOTTED SANDPIPERS
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VULTURES
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BLACK VULTURES
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This bird has broken the tip of his upper bill off, it doesn’t normally look like that. Normally the upper bill hooks down over the front of the lower bill. |
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HAWKS AND ALLIES
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BALD EAGLES
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The photographs below are of captive birds taken at Reelfoot Lake State Park.
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COOPER’S HAWKS (CHICKEN HAWKS)
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RED-TAILED HAWKS
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The photographs below are of captive birds taken at Reelfoot Lake State Park.
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RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS
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This bird is a captive bird that was being held by a ranger at Radnor Lake. The bird was injured and has been rehabilitated yet is unable to be released into the wild again. |
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OSPREY
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GULLS AND TERNS
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RING-BILLED GULLS
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These are all photographs of Ring-Billed Gulls however the first two, which are distinctly different from the others, are of a juvenile in the plumage they display during their first winter.
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BONAPARTE’S GULLS
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HERRING GULLS
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The first three photographs below are of two juvenile Herring Gulls taken at Old Hickory Lake WMA in Nashville, TN. It takes 4 years for them to develop their full adult plumage and from what I have read these two appear to be in their “First Winter” plumage. The fourth photograph is of an adult Herring Gull that was taken at Cannon Beach, OR in February, 2014 and shows the full adult plumage.
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CASPIAN TERNS
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PIGEONS AND DOVES
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PIGEONS
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MOURNING DOVES
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OWLS
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BARRED OWLS (HOOT OWLS)
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GREAT HORNED OWLS
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This bird is a captive bird that was being held by a ranger at Radnor Lake. The bird was injured and has been rehabilitated yet is unable to be released into the wild again. |
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HUMMINGBIRDS
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RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS
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KINGFISHERS
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BELTED KINGFISHERS
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WOODPECKERS
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PILEATED WOODPECKERS
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DOWNY WOODPECKERS
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RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS
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NORTHERN FLICKERS
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FLYCATCHERS
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Eastern Phoebe
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MARTINS AND SWALLOWS
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BANK SWALLOWS
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BARN SWALLOWS
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CHICKADEES AND TITMICE
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TUFTED TITMICE
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BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES
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NUTHATCHES
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WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES
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KINGLETS AND GNATCATHERS
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GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET
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THRUSHES
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EASTERN BLUEBIRDS
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HERMIT THRUSHES
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ROBINS
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MIMIC THRUSHES
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NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRDS
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GRAY CATBIRDS
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STARLINGS
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EUROPEAN STARLINGS
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YOUNG EUROPEAN STARLINGS
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WAXWINGS
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CEDAR WAXWINGS
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The photographs on this row are of an immature Cedar Waxwing. Their coloration changes significantly as they age. |
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WARBLERS
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BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARLBERS
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PINE WARLBERS
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This is a juvenile Pine Warbler. Adults have more yellow in them. |
PROTHONOTARY WARLBERS
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YELLOW WARBLERS
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YELLOW RUMPED WARLBERS
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TANAGERS
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SUMMER TANAGERS
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SPARROWS
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FIELD SPARROWS
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HOUSE SPARROWS
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WHITE THROATED SPARROWS
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AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS
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DARK-EYED JUNCO
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EASTERN TOWHEES
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I know this is a lousy photograph but it’s the only time I’ve seen one of these birds so I included it anyway. |
BUNTINGS
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INDIGO BUNTING
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I know this is a lousy photograph but it’s the only time I’ve seen one of these birds so I included it anyway. The photograph was taken in my backyard so maybe he will stick around and show up again. I’ll keep an eye out for him! |
GROSBEAKS
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NORTHERN CARDINALS
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BLACKBIRDS AND ALLIES
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COMMON GRACKLES
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RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS
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FINCHES
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AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES
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HOUSE FINCHES
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CAPTIVE BIRDS – NASHVILLE ZOO AT GRASSMERE
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 East African Crowned Crane |
 East African Crowned Crane |
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 Hyacinth Macaw |
 Hyacinth Macaw |
 Hyacinth Macaw |
 Hyacinth Macaw |
 Hyacinth Macaw |
 Double-Wattled Cassowary |
 Saddle-Billed Stork |
 Saddle-Billed Stork |
 Red Crowned Crane |
 Red Crowned Crane |
 Mandarin Duck |
 Mandarin Duck Drake |
 Mandarin Duck Drake |
 Rainbow Lorikeet |
 Rainbow Lorikeet |
 Rainbow Lorikeet |
 Snowy Owls |
 Snowy Owl |
 Snowy Owl |
 Tucan |
 Flamingo |
 Flamingo |
 Flamingo |
 Flamingo |
 Caribbean Flamingo |
 Caribbean Flamingo |
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CAPTIVE BIRDS – TENNESSEE RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
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 Peregrine Falcon (captive) |
 American Kestrel (captive) |
 Peregrine Falcon (captive) |
 Red Tailed Hawk (captive) |
 Peregrine Falcon (captive) |
 Golden Eagle (captive) |
 Cooper’s Hawk (captive) |
 Cooper’s Hawk (captive) |
 Harris’ Hawk (captive) |
 Harris’ Hawk (captive) |
 Harris’ Hawk (captive) |
 Barred Owl (captive |
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CAPTIVE BIRDS – OTHER PLACES
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