ABOUT
A field guide for the birds around you
Global Birding Initiative helps curious people identify, understand, and care about the birds of the Americas.
Global Birding Initiative is an independent, free resource for identifying and learning about birds. No paywall, no membership, no logins. Whether you are trying to name the bird at your feeder or planning where to go this weekend, the goal is to get you a clear, trustworthy answer and send you back outside.
The site is organized around how people actually meet birds: by what they look like, where they are seen, and the sounds they make. From there you can go deeper into species profiles, biology and behavior, conservation, and destinations across the Americas.
EDITOR & FOUNDER
Hello, I’m Steve
I am a lifelong birder based in the southeastern United States, and I run Global Birding Initiative on my own. I write or edit everything here, from the state guides to the species deep dives.
I started GBI for a simple reason: most of the time, the bird in front of you is a common one, and you just want a confident answer without wading through a textbook. I build the kind of guides I wish I’d had when I started, grounded in trusted sources and written in plain language.
“Steve Wilde” is a pen name. I keep my own name off the site for privacy, but the experience, the research, and the standards behind every guide are real and consistent.
OUR MISSION
To help curious people fall for the birds in their own backyard, and to turn that spark into a lasting habit of watching, learning, and protecting them.
HOW THESE GUIDES ARE MADE
Standards you can check
Trust on a bird site should be earned, not asserted. Here is how the content is put together.
Sources on every guide
Each guide lists the references it draws on, such as the Cornell Lab, Audubon, and wildlife agencies, linked to the original page so you can verify any claim yourself.
Reviewed and updated
Guides carry a visible last-updated date (when updated) and are revisited as ranges shift, names change, and better information becomes available.
Current taxonomy
Names and classifications are checked against current ornithological standards, so a species is filed under the genus it actually belongs to today, not a decade ago.
Honest about limits
Where the science is uncertain or a detail cannot be confirmed, the guides say so rather than guessing. Field identification always benefits from a second source.
GET INVOLVED
Take the Pledge to Fledge
The best way to grow birding is to share it. Pledge to introduce one person to birds this year, and help create the next generation of birders and bird advocates.