Bird Crossword Puzzle Printable

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Bird Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

This grid is wider than a phone screen, so it scrolls sideways. It prints whole.

Tap a square, and its clue shows here.

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Down

Word bank

  • Coot
  • Crane
  • Crest
  • Eagle
  • Glide
  • Hoot
  • Perch
  • Soar

Type in a square and the next one takes over. Tap the same square again, or press Space, to switch between Across and Down. Arrow keys move around the grid, Enter goes to the next clue, and a clue takes you to its squares.

Print gives 2 pages on Letter or A4: the puzzle with its clues, then the answer key. The squares print 10 mm wide. For a PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

A share link holds the puzzle number and these settings, nothing you typed.

Answer key: Bird Crossword

1C2PERC3HAO4GNOL5CRE6STIOODO7EAGLETR

Across 2 PERCH · 5 CREST · 7 EAGLE

Down 1 CRANE · 3 HOOT · 4 GLIDE · 5 COOT · 6 SOAR

Next step Print the animal crosswordColor a bird by number

All 140 clues

Show all clues and answers

Backyard Birds 30

  • Birdbath Shallow basin of water in a garden
  • Birdhouse Wooden box with a round entrance hole
  • Bluebird Small songbird with a sky-colored back and a rusty chest
  • Blue jay Noisy crested bird of eastern North America, colored like its name
  • Cardinal Red bird with a pointed head tuft and a black face
  • Chickadee Tiny black-capped bird that calls its own name
  • Cuckoo Bird famous for laying its eggs in other birds' nests
  • Feeder Hanging tube or tray filled with seed
  • Finch Small seed-eater with a short, cone-shaped bill
  • Goldfinch Small yellow bird with black wings that loves thistle seed
  • Grackle Big blackbird with a purple sheen and pale eyes
  • Junco Small gray bird of the forest floor that flashes white outer tail feathers as it flies up
  • Magpie Long-tailed black-and-white bird, known as a chatterer
  • Mockingbird Mimic that can string together dozens of borrowed songs
  • Nuthatch Small bird that climbs head-first toward the ground on a tree trunk
  • Oriole Flame-colored songbird that builds a dangling bag of a nest
  • Perch To sit on a branch or a wire
  • Pigeon Gray city bird that bobs its head as it walks
  • Quail Plump ground bird; the California kind wears a curled topknot
  • Raven Largest of the all-black songbirds, with a deep croak
  • Sparrow Small brown and gray bird of city sidewalks
  • Starling Glossy dark bird, spotted in winter, that flies in huge swirling flocks
  • Suet Block of fat set out in winter
  • Swallow Graceful insect-catcher with a forked tail
  • Swift Fast flier that spends most of its life in the air
  • Thrush Spotted-breasted songbird with a flute-like song
  • Warbler Restless little insect-eater of the treetops; many kinds are yellow
  • Waxwing Silky, masked berry-eater with waxy red wingtips
  • Woodpecker Hammering bird whose skull takes the pounding
  • Wren Tiny, round, noisy brown bird that holds its tail straight up

Birds of Prey 26

  • Aerie High cliff home of a large hunting bird
  • Buzzard Name Americans give a circling scavenger and the British give a broad-winged hunter
  • Carrion Flesh of dead animals
  • Condor Largest flying land bird of North America, a rare California giant
  • Eagle Mighty hunter; the bald kind is the national bird of the United States
  • Eaglet Fuzzy youngster in a huge stick nest atop a tall tree
  • Falcon Speedy hunter with long, pointed wings
  • Falconer Handler who trains and flies hunting birds
  • Glide To coast smoothly on outstretched wings
  • Harrier Slim, long-winged hunter that flies low over open marshes
  • Hawk Sharp-eyed hunter often seen on a roadside pole; the red-tailed kind is common
  • Hoot Whoo-whoo from a dark treetop
  • Hover To stay in one spot in the air
  • Kestrel Small roadside hunter that hangs in the air over a field
  • Kite Graceful hunting bird that shares its name with a toy on a string
  • Osprey Brown and white fisher that crashes into a lake to grab its catch
  • Owl Night hunter whose head can turn most of the way around
  • Pellet Gray wad of undigested fur and tiny bones found under a barn rafter
  • Peregrine Fastest animal on Earth in its hunting dive
  • Raptor Another word for a bird of prey
  • Screech Shrill, piercing cry
  • Soar To climb in lazy circles without a single wingbeat
  • Swoop To drop suddenly through the air toward a target
  • Talon Sharp, curved weapon on the foot of a hunting bird
  • Thermal Rising column of warm air that lifts a circling bird
  • Vulture Scavenger with a featherless head that circles high above a carcass

Water Birds 28

  • Albatross Ocean wanderer whose wings stretch wider than those of any other living bird
  • Coot Black marsh bird with a white bill and lobed toes
  • Cormorant Black fishing bird often seen on a piling with wings spread wide
  • Crane Tall bird known for its dancing and its trumpeting call
  • Dabble To tip tail-up and feed in shallow water
  • Drake Male duck
  • Eider Northern sea duck whose soft feathers fill quilts
  • Flamingo Pink wader that feeds with its head turned the wrong way up
  • Gannet Big white seabird that dives from great heights
  • Grebe Diving bird that carries its striped young on its back
  • Heron Tall, patient wader that spears fish with its bill
  • Ibis Wading bird with a long bill that curves toward the ground
  • Kingfisher Big-headed bird that dives for fish from a branch over a stream
  • Loon Diving bird of northern lakes with an eerie, wailing call
  • Mallard Common duck whose male has a glossy green head
  • Penguin Flightless swimmer of the Southern Hemisphere
  • Petrel Small seabird that seems to patter across the waves
  • Plover Short-billed shorebird that runs, stops and runs again; the killdeer is one
  • Puffin Seabird with a bright, striped bill, nicknamed the sea parrot
  • Rookery Crowded place where many pairs nest together
  • Sandpiper Small shorebird that runs along the edge of the waves
  • Spoonbill Pink or white wader that sweeps its odd, flattened bill through the shallows
  • Swan Graceful white bird; its young are called cygnets
  • Teal Little marsh duck with a patch of shiny green on each wing
  • Tern Slim seabird; the Arctic kind flies from pole to pole each year
  • Waterfowl Family name for the web-footed swimmers of ponds and lakes
  • Webbed Like the paddling toes of a goose
  • Wetland Soggy ground that is home to cattails and frogs

Parts of a Bird 28

  • Barb One of the many side branches of a feather
  • Beak What a toucan's is huge and a hummingbird's is needle-thin
  • Breastbone Sternum, in plain English
  • Claw Sharp tip of a toe, for gripping a branch
  • Comb Red fleshy ridge on top of a rooster's head
  • Crest Tuft of feathers that can be raised on the head
  • Crown Topmost patch of feathers, above the forehead
  • Down Fluffy under-feathers that hold in warmth
  • Flap What wings do on takeoff
  • Gizzard Muscular stomach that grinds food with swallowed grit
  • Hollow Like many bones of a flying bird, light and air-filled
  • Iridescent Shimmering with colors that change as the light shifts
  • Keel Deep ridge of bone on the chest where flight muscles attach
  • Migration Long seasonal journey between summer and winter homes
  • Molt To replace worn feathers a few at a time
  • Nape Back of the neck
  • Nostril Breathing hole near the bill's base
  • Plumage All of a bird's feathers together
  • Preen To draw each feather through the bill to tidy and oil it
  • Quill Stiff base of a large feather, once sharpened into a pen
  • Roost To settle in for the night
  • Rump Lower back, just above the tail feathers
  • Shaft Central rod of a feather
  • Spur Sharp spike on the back of a rooster's leg
  • Syrinx Voice box of a songbird
  • Wattle Fleshy fold of skin that hangs from the throat of a turkey or rooster
  • Wingspan Distance from one outstretched tip to the other
  • Wishbone Forked bone formed by two joined collarbones

Nests and Eggs 28

  • Albumen Egg white, by its scientific name
  • Brood All the young raised together
  • Cavity Hole in a tree used as a home
  • Cheep Thin, high call of a baby bird
  • Chick Downy young of a hen
  • Clutch Group of eggs that one female lays and sits on
  • Colony Hundreds of seabird pairs crowded onto one island
  • Eave Overhang of a roof where a mud nest may be stuck
  • Eggshell Thin, brittle case, blue in a robin's nest
  • Embryo Developing young inside an egg
  • Fledgling Young bird that has just left the nest and still needs feeding
  • Gape Bright, wide-open mouth of a hungry youngster
  • Grub Soft, fat insect larva carried to hungry mouths
  • Hatch To break out into the world
  • Hatchling Wet, wobbly newcomer that has just left the egg
  • Incubate To keep eggs warm until they open
  • Knothole Round opening in a tree trunk or a board
  • Ledge Narrow shelf of rock on a cliff
  • Lichen Crusty gray-green growth that a hummingbird sticks to its nest
  • Lining Soft inner layer of moss, hair or feathers
  • Mate One of a nesting pair
  • Nestling Young bird still too young to leave home
  • Pip To crack the first small hole from the inside
  • Scrape Shallow dip in bare ground that serves as a simple nest
  • Speckled Dotted with dark flecks, as many eggs are
  • Thicket Dense tangle of shrubs
  • Weave To lace grass strands over and under
  • Yolk Round yellow middle of a fried breakfast favorite

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for elementary classes: backyard birds, birds of prey, water birds, the parts of a bird, and nests and eggs. Every answer is an entry in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org), and each fact about a species or a body part was checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0) in October 2026. Most species are North American, and clues describe typical adults. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This bird crossword puzzle is a printable vocabulary crossword for a bird unit or a feeder watch: backyard birds, birds of prey, water birds, parts of a bird, and nests and eggs. Species clues describe a look, call or habit.

Read the full guide

Five sets and a short one

Short Bird Words keeps answers to 5 letters or fewer: Wren, Hawk, Loon, Beak. Backyard Birds has Chickadee, Nuthatch and Waxwing. Birds of Prey has Osprey, Kestrel and Peregrine. Water Birds has Cormorant, Puffin and Albatross. Parts of a Bird has Gizzard, Syrinx and Wishbone. Nests and Eggs has Clutch, Fledgling and Incubate.

Which birds

Most backyard and water birds are North American. Penguin, Puffin, Magpie and Albatross range farther.

  • After a feeder watch, print Backyard Birds with Word bank under the clues unticked, in More options.

Questions and answers

What grade is the bird crossword for?

Short Bird Words suits about grades 3 and 4, with a word bank under the clues. The five themed sets suit grades 3 to 6, where answers such as Cormorant and Iridescent appear. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

Which birds are in the puzzle?

Songbirds such as Cardinal, Blue jay and Chickadee, hunters such as Osprey and Kestrel, and water birds such as Heron, Puffin and Penguin. The full list opens under Show all clues and answers.

Does the bird crossword print with answers?

Yes. The answer key follows the puzzle as the last sheet of the print.

Do the clues describe male or female birds?

Typical adults, and the brighter male where the two differ: the red Cardinal, the green-headed Mallard, the yellow Goldfinch. Females and young birds can look different.

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