Vote for our 2027 Bird of the Year!
The Bird of the Year program helps teach kids and adults about a new bird each year—your voting dollars will go towards these activities. In 2026, bird lovers just like you voted to select the Belted Kingfisher as the Bird of the Year. Scroll down to learn more about our three candidates for Bird of the Year 2027!
$1 equals 1 vote!
The bird with the most votes will be our Bird of the Year for 2027. Check back here for updates!
Photo by Dan Pancamo
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Cardinalidae
length: 6.7”
wingspan: 11”
Identification:
The Blue Grosbeak is a stocky songbird with a large triangular bill that seems to cover its face—from throat to forehead. Adult males are deep blue with a tiny black mask in front of the eyes, two rufous wingbars, and a black-and-silver beak. Females are primarily rich cinnamon-brown with a bluish tail and two wingbars: the upper chestnut and the lower grayish-buff.
Habitat and Behavior:
They are characteristic species of old fields transitioning back into woodland. They breed in areas covered in a mix of grass and shrubs, with a few taller trees. In more-arid areas, they often use the shrubby growth along watercourses. Also watch for this species’ odd habit of twitching its tail sideways.
Sounds and Sightings:
Grosbeaks are summer residents in TN and can often be seen singing their rich, warbling songs while perched at high points in the shrubs and small trees of their generally open or shrubby habitats or nearby power lines. Listen for their loud, almost metallic, chink call.
Photo by Nat Edwards
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
ORDER: Cathartiformes
FAMILY: Cathartidae
length: 24.4”
wingspan: 59”
Identification:
Black Vultures are large raptors. In flight, they hold their broad, rounded wings flat and angled slightly forward. The tail is very short and rounded. They have small, bare black heads and narrow but strongly hooked bills. Their plumage is uniform black except for white patches on the underside of their wingtips that resemble gloves.
Habitat and Behavior:
Black Vultures roost in groups in trees and transmission towers, typically waiting through the early morning for the air to warm up and thermals to develop. Often spotted in open areas within forested landscapes, soaring above to seek food or along highway margins eating carrion. Highly social birds with fierce family loyalty, they share food with relatives, feeding young for months after they’ve fledged. Their northward range had increased substantially with warming temperatures.
Sounds and Sightings:
Black Vultures are often found in mixed groups with Turkey Vultures and hawks. They are compact with powerful wingbeats, compared to the lanky and more teetering Turkey Vulture. The Black Vulture makes up for its poor sense of smell by following Turkey Vultures to carcasses. Black Vultures lack a voice box and so their vocal abilities are limited to making raspy hisses and grunts.
Photo by Jes Lu
Green-Winged Teal
Anas Crecca
ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae
length: 13.8”
wingspan: 22.8”
Identification:
The compact Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbling duck in North America. The natty male has a cinnamon-colored head with a gleaming green crescent that extends from the eye to the back of the head and a distinctive white bar at the side breast. Females are brown with a yellowish streak along the tail. In flight, both sexes flash deep-green wing patches (specula).
Habitat and Behavior:
These dabblers have been found to switch wintering sites. One banding study found that individuals wintering in Texas one year went as far away as California in the next.
This lack of philopatry, or “faithfulness” to a particular site, may reflect a tendency of males that did not breed the year before to try to find mates among a different set of wintering females.
Sounds and Sightings:
In east TN, Green-winged Teal are normally winter residents. Look for them on shallow ponds and in flooded fields in November and December, feeding by “dabbling” (tipping tail up in shallow water) or foraging at the margins of wetlands. The male’s decidedly non-duck-like whistle is a helpful cue.
Did you know?
Green-winged Teal have closely spaced, comb-like projections called lamellae around the inner edge of the bill. They use them to filter tiny invertebrates from the water, allowing them to capture smaller food items than other dabbling ducks.