Bird Conservation > Waterbird Conservation >

Brown Pelican © Howard B. Eskin	Great Blue Heron © Howard B. Eskin	Belted Kingfisher © Howard B. Eskin	Swamp Sparrow © Howard B. Eskin

Different organizations define “waterbirds” differently. In general, the term describes a diverse group of birds that are ecologically tied to bodies of water for some part or parts of their lives. Included also in some definitions are several “taxonomic waterbirds” - species without ties to aquatic habitats but which are members of bird families otherwise considered to be waterbirds.

Audubon defines waterbirds broadly and inclusively: all birds predominantly associated with water, either ecologically or taxonomically. By the criteria of all organizations, loons, grebes, pelicans, cormorants, bitterns, egrets, herons, ibises, rails, coots, gulls, terns, and skimmers are waterbirds. We include in our definition waterfowl (ducks and geese), shorebirds (oystercatchers, stilts, plovers, sandpipers, and phalaropes), and seabirds (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, murrelets, auklets, and puffins), which are considered by some to be separate groups. We also include other species of birds that are affiliated with water and wetland habitats, such as ospreys, kingfishers, and several kinds of passerines (e.g., some species of flycatchers, swallows, warblers, sparrows, and blackbirds), even though their families are not generally associated with bodies of water.

Our focus is on the conservation of native North American waterbirds; species that breed, winter, or migrate across the continental landscape. We exclude species that have been introduced, species that visit only occasionally, and species whose geographic ranges include North America only at the edges. In other words, we consider as North American waterbirds any species that could be affected by changes to continental aquatic habitats, i.e., those species for which we have a “conservation responsibility.”

Why are waterbirds important?

Conservation Status of waterbirds