Top 20 Most Common Bird in Iraq

Just as its name implies, the little house Sparrow socializes with humans more than any other bird species. Able to adapt and thrive in almost any habitat, excluding the extremes such as deserts and mountain peaks, this species was once restricted only to North Africa and Eurasia but now is found across the globe. Unfortunately, this opportunistic eater is not completely harmless—it can cause considerable damage to crops.

The laughing Dove is a small dove named after its distinctive laugh-like vocalization. This ground-feeding, non-migratory bird is a regular inhabitant of man-altered environments such as villages, gardens, and orchards. In cities, these doves tend to become quite confident. They pair for life and live in very small communities.

This plump, pretty dove with a square-tipped tail is known for bobbing its head and flicking its tail while walking. Though nice to look at, many people are not pleased at the sight of a eurasian Collared-dove walking along. In North America they are considered an invasive species, and one that carries a disease-creating parasite that can spread to native dove populations through birdbaths, feeders, or even through hawks preying on them.

The rock Pigeon is a wild ancestor of all domestic and feral pigeons, inhabiting coasts, cliffs, and caves. Pairs nest in rock crevices, often mating for life. They are known for their ability to fly very long distances to return to their homes, navigating using the sun's position and the earth's magnetic fields. Thanks to this ability, pigeons were used as messengers, particularly during World Wars I and II.

These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are medium-large waders with black crown, chest, foreneck stripe and tail. The face, the rest of the neck and belly are white and the wings and back are light brown. The bill and legs are black. Its striking appearance is supplemented by its noisy nature, with a loud did-he-do-it call. The bird's common name refers to a small claw or spur hidden in each of its wings.

A fairly small lark, the crested lark is roughly the same size as a Eurasian skylark, but shorter overall and bulkier around the head and body, and very similar in appearance, with a height of 17 cm (6.7 in) and a wingspan of 29 to 38 cm (11 to 15 in), weighing between 37 and 55 g (1.3 and 1.9 oz). It is a small, brown bird which has a short tail with light brown outer feathers. Male and females have no real differences, but young crested larks have more spots on their back than their older counterparts. Its plumage is downy but sparse and appears whitish. The distinct crest from which the crested lark gets its name is conspicuous at all times but is more pronounced during territorial or courtship displays and when singing. In flight it shows reddish underwings. It shares many characteristics with the Thekla lark, with the main distinctions between the two being the beak, the Thekla's heavier black-brown streaks and its grey underwing, present in European specimens.

The pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus) is a member of the Phalacrocoracidae (cormorant) family of seabirds. It breeds in south-eastern Europe and south-western Asia. It is partially migratory, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within its breeding range. It is a rare migrant to western Europe.

It is easy to mistake the warble for other bird species, but its song is noticeably different. The willow Warbler has a pleasant song that is often heard in thickets and wooded areas. The small bird spends much of the time in temperate habitats but prefers overwintering in warmer climates.

The red-backed Shrike is a handsome bird, especially the males with their bluish-grey heads. The small strike is frequently seen in open areas with scattered trees and bushes. It prefers areas with thorny bushes that can entangle or pierce small rodents and large insects, making it easier for the bird to hunt for prey.

The wings and back are light brown with a purple to green sheen, but the head, a bib on the front and back of the neck are black. Prominently white patch runs between these two colours, from belly and tail, flanking the neck to the sides of crown. Short tail is tipped black. A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye, black-tipped red bill, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, prominent white wing bars formed by the white on the secondary coverts.

The lesser Black-backed Gull is a smaller bird with a wide range of habitats. While it prefers sand flats and beaches, it can be found near almost any body of water. It often joins other flocks of gulls, making it difficult to distinguish from other birds. It has a varied diet but prefers eating shellfish and other crustaceans.

The small size of the little Egret makes the bird easily recognizable among larger species that share the same range. The egret is seen almost anywhere there are small fish including marshes, estuaries, and rivers. The bird often searches for food by itself but prefers to build nests in communities, occasionally with other bird species.

The grey Heron is a very common species to come across in marine, brackish, and freshwater ecosystems; these habitats must have at least four months of warm weather or else these birds will migrate for new breeding grounds. The grey Heron hunts by wading through shallow waters looking for fish and various invertebrates; their natural diet helps control some aquatic species populations.

Adult birds in summer have short red legs and a short black bill (small and stubby, measuring 22–25 mm from the feathers, decidedly shorter than the head), a black neck (often with a pale gray back) and belly, very dark grey back, with a white rump and light grey (almost white) tail, which often looks 'square' in juveniles. The face is tinged yellowish. The wings, as the name implies, are mainly white. The inner wing is grayish with brown-tipped coverts. In non-breeding plumage, most of the black is replaced by white or pale grey, though a few blackish feathers may be retained, admixed with white underparts. A good deal of black shows in the underwing-coverts. The head is black, with a white forehead. The crown is blackish-brown, flecked with white, and the hindcrown is blackish with a certain amount of white flecking. These white markings are pronounced in the winter adult. There is a dark triangular patch forward of the eye. The collar is fairly broad and white. In juveniles and moulting adults, the rump is pale gray, becoming grey in both phases late in the year. The clear white collar and rump isolate the mantle as a dark brown 'saddle'. The mantle feathers have narrow paler brown tips, as have the tertials and scapulars.

Black-headed Gull is a medium-sized gull found in Europe and Asia. It has a white body and grey wings, and a black head that turns chocolate brown in the summer. It is found in a variety of habitats, including coastal areas, lakes, and wetlands. It is migratory, wintering in southern Europe and parts of Africa.

The eurasian Reed Warbler does not have distinctive plumage. It can make the medium-sized bird difficult to distinguish from other warblers. When the bird is breeding it prefers areas with sedge or reed beds, otherwise, it is often seen in a variety of habitats. It is more common to hear the melodic song in the trees than to see the shy bird.

A familiar sight in rural and semi-open areas, the small barn Swallow can often be spotted by its distinctly graceful flight as it travels low over fields. Seemingly unbothered by having human neighbors, they nest unafraid in barns, garages, beneath bridges or wharves. Interestingly enough, they have come to prefer these locations so much that you are unlikely to spot a nest in a place that is not a human-made structure.

A medium-sized tern with attractive coloring, the common Tern is often seen around lakes, beaches, and open ocean areas. It can drink both fresh and saltwater due to its nasal glands. In the summer, the bird joins large flocks for nesting and foraging. While bird feeders rarely attract the birds, creating a suitable nesting place can bring in pairs of the terns.

Unlike most birds, the common Swift cannot sit stably on a branch but will rather be seen hanging from one. Its scientific name, Apus apus, comes from the Greek word, apous, which means "without feet." These birds are almost always seen only in flight and rarely on the ground.

The little tern (Sternula albifrons) is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of Sterna, "tern". The specific albifrons is from Latin albus, "white", and "frons", forehead. The former North American (S. a. antillarum) and Red Sea S. a. saundersi subspecies are now considered to be separate species, the least tern (Sternula antillarum) and Saunders's tern (Sternula saundersi). This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia. There are three subspecies, the nominate albifrons occurring in Europe to North Africa and western Asia; guineae of western and central Africa; and sinensis of East Asia (SE Russia to Japan, SE Asia, Philippines) and the north and east coasts of Australia and New Guinea The little tern breeds in colonies on gravel or shingle coasts and islands. It lays two to four eggs on the ground. Like all white terns, it is defensive of its nest and young and will attack intruders. Like most other white terns, the little tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display. This is a small tern, 21–25 cm long with a 41–47 cm wingspan. It is not likely to be confused with other species, apart from fairy tern and Saunders's tern, because of its size and white forehead in breeding plumage. Its thin sharp bill is yellow with a black tip and its legs are also yellow. In winter, the forehead is more extensively white, the bill is black and the legs duller. The call is a loud and distinctive creaking noise. The little tern was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Sterna albifrons.