This is a list of well-known real birds. For famous fictional birds, see list of fictional birds.

• Águia Vitória, a bald eagle who serves as the mascot for Portuguese football club S.L. Benfica
• Alex, a grey parrot who, in studies by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, demonstrated an ability to count; differentiate categories involving objects, colors, shapes, and materials; and understand the concept of same and different
• All Alone, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross
• Andy, a goose born without feet who used sneakers to help him stand and walk. He was killed by an unnamed perpetrator in 1991.
• Apollo, a grey parrot and subject of a YouTube channel^[1]
• B95, a red knot known for being the oldest known member of his species
• Barry, a barred owl who lived in Central Park in New York City
• Beach Comber, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Billy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Broad Arrow, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Canuck, a northwestern crow who was voted Metro Vancouver's unofficial ambassador
• Challenger, the first bald eagle in history trained to free fly into major sporting events during the American national anthem^[2]
• Charlie, a blue-and-yellow macaw whose owner claimed she belonged to Winston Churchill and had been taught to shout curses at Nazis
• Cher Ami, British-bred homing pigeon who, in the autumn of 1918, delivered 12 messages for the U.S. Army during World War I, among other things helping to save the Lost Battalion
• Cologne, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Commando, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal, who carried out more than ninety missions carrying intelligence for the British
• Cookie, a Major Mitchell's cockatoo who at the time of his death at the age of 83, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living parrot in the world
• Cosmo, a grey parrot known for knowing over 200 words and being the subject of a book, Conversations with Cosmo
• DD.43.Q.879, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• DD.43.T.139, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Dick the Mockingbird, a mockingbird belonging to Thomas Jefferson and believed to be the first presidential pet to live in the White House
• Domino Day 2005 sparrow, a house sparrow who was shot and killed after disturbing preparations for Domino Day 2005
• Douglas, a scarlet macaw who played the parrot Rosalinda in the 1970 film Pippi in the South Seas
• Duke of Normandy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Dutch Coast, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl which escaped from the Central Park Zoo after its enclosure was vandalized in February 2023.^[3]
• Flying Dutchman, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Gertie the Duck, a mallard duck who nested on some pilings under a bridge in Milwaukee in 1945^[4][5] She (and her brood) are immortalized in RiverSculpture!
• G.I. Joe, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal, a member of the United States Army Pigeon Service. On 18 October 1943, the village of Calvi Vecchia, Italy was scheduled to be bombed by the Allies. He carried the message that British forces had captured the village, thus averting the attack and saving the lives of over a thousand people, both the local Italians and the British occupying troops.
• Goldie, a golden eagle who lived at the London Zoo in the 1960s and caused a sensation when he briefly escaped in 1965
• Grape-kun, a Humboldt penguin living at the Tobu Zoo who became famous for his attachment to a cutout of an anime character
• Greater, a greater flamingo, the oldest flamingo on record, who died in 2014 at the Adelaide Zoo, aged at least 83
• Grecia, the first toucan to receive a prosthetic beak
• Grip, a raven kept as a pet by Charles Dickens which was used as a character by Dickens and likely inspired Edgar Allan Poe's 1845 poem "The Raven".^[6]
• Gustav, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Herbie, a duck who became known in the 1970s after a clip of him skateboarding was shown on BBC news program Nationwide
• Incas, the last Carolina parakeet, who died in 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, reportedly of grief after his mate Lady Jane died a few months before him, in 1917
• Jimmy, a raven who appeared in more than 1,000 feature films from the 1930s through the 1950s, including It's a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz
• Joe, a pigeon found in Australia believed to have flown there from Oregon. He was originally at risk of being euthanized, but was ultimately pardoned after it was found he likely came from Australia and did not pose a biosecurity risk.
• John Silver, a First World War homing pigeon known for receiving an eye patch and a wooden leg
• Kenley Lass, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• The King of Rome, a successful racing pigeon who set a long-distance pigeon racing record in England
• Klepetan and Malena, a pair of white storks renowned for their romantic endeavors
• Lady Baltimore, a bald eagle living at the Juneau Raptor Center
• Le Vaillant, a First World War homing pigeon used by the French Army
• Leaping Lena, a West German racing pigeon who became lost in Czechoslovakia during a routine flight in 1954 and returned bearing a note on her leg with an anti-communist message
• Long Boi, an Indian Runner-mallard duck cross and unofficial mascot of the University of York who became famous due to his height (70 cm tall)^[7]
• Louis, a parrot known for preventing development of his owner's estate from 1949 to 1966
• Mandarin Patinkin (also known as Hot Duck), a mandarin duck which appeared in New York City's Central Park in 2018.^[8]
• Mani, a rose-ringed parakeet living in Singapore, who became famous in 2010 after correctly predicting the winners for all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final ties
• Manukura, the first white kiwi born in captivity
• Maquis, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Mario, a Toulouse goose, formerly living in Echo Park, Los Angeles, who became the subject of news reports in 2011 after forming an unusual association with a local resident
• Martha, the last of the American passenger pigeons, who died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Species Requiem Day, September 1, marks Martha's passing.
• Mary of Exeter, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Matilda, the world's oldest known chicken
• Mercury, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Mike the Headless Chicken, a Wyandotte rooster of Fruita, Colorado, who lived for 18 months after his head was cut off. The botched decapitation in 1945 missed his brain stem and jugular vein. His owners fed him thereafter with an eyedropper, and took him on tours of the West Coast. He died in 1947.
• Monty and Rose, a pair of piping plovers who in 2019 were the first pair to successfully breed in Chicago in decades
• Mozart's starling, a common starling kept as a pet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Navy Blue, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Nils Olav, a king penguin, mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard^[9]
• N'kisi, a grey parrot known for her supposed advanced use of the English language
• NPS.42.NS.2780, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• NPS.42.NS.7524, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• NURP.38.BPC.6, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• NURP.43.CC.1418, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Old Abe, an American Civil War bald eagle who was the mascot of a Wisconsin regiment, whose image was adopted in Case Corporation's logo and as the screaming eagle on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division
• Old Blue, a black robin who at one point was the only fertile female of the species
• Omid, the only Siberian crane that continues to return to Iran
• Paddy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Pag-asa, the first Philippine eagle to be bred and hatched in captivity
• Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk who lived near Central Park in New York City^[10]
• Mr Percival, an Australian pelican and notable film actor
• Peter, a bald eagle who lived at the Philadelphia Mint during the 1830s
• Petra, a black swan who appeared to fall in love with a pedalo resembling a swan
• Petros, a pelican who became a mascot of the Greek island of Mykonos
• Pierre, an African penguin who became the first penguin to have bald spots restored
• Pink Floyd, the name given to two separate flamingos who escaped from captivity in the United States and lived in the wild for many years
• Princess, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Ravachol Parrot, a parrot who lived in Pontevedra, Spain, from 1891 and 1913 and became a symbol of the city
• Royal Blue, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Roy and Silo, a same-sex pair of chinstrap penguins who lived at the Central Park Zoo
• Rufus, a Harris's hawk used by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their venue
• Ruhr Express, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Mr Rutland, an osprey introduced to England after the species went extinct there in the 1840s
• Scotch Lass, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Sirocco, a hand-reared kakapo who became an ambassador for his species and conservation in New Zealand
• Snowball, a male Eleonora cockatoo, noted as being the first non-human animal conclusively demonstrated to be capable of beat induction
• Sparkie Williams, a talking budgerigar who provided the inspiration for an opera by Michael Nyman and Carsten Nicolai
• Tommy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Tyke, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Victoria, the first goose to receive a prosthetic beak
• Whipper, a budgerigar known for its unusual appearance, caused by a genetic mutation
• White Vision, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• William of Orange, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Winkie, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
• Wisdom, a wild female Laysan albatross. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world as well as the oldest banded bird in the world.
• Yaren, a stork known for its friendship with a fisherman living in Eskikaraağaç village of Bursa, Turkey
• Zelda, a wild turkey who lived at the Battery in New York City from 2003 to 2014
• Zenobia, one of the last northern bald ibises in Syria