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Feast Your Eyes on Our Spooky Birds Gallery—If You Dare

October 24, 2024
Green Heron by Joshua Zhou / Macaulay Library.

Birds are brilliant and colorful; they sing sweet melodies; they perch outside our windows to bring us joy. And they… send a cold shiver down our spines? It seems like there’s a bird out there for every emotion we can feel. So today we celebrate the spooky birds—including not just night birds and vultures, but birds that happened to be captured in an evocative moment: a Western Capercaillie “howling at the moon”; a Green Heron in a scene festooned with spiderwebs; a hummingbird with a decidedly goth sensibility, and many more gems from our Macaulay Library archive. We hope they thrill you (in a good way).

Little owl with yellow eyes peers out of a hole in a tree.
The intensity packed into the yellow glare of a tiny Boreal Owl. Image by Marcin Dyduch / Macaulay Library.
Two large birds with white heads and orangey, ruffled collars, and large bills, stand in the mist on a rock.
Himalayan Griffons on a misty crag. Image by Manaswee Maiti / Macaulay Library.
Close up of a smooth feathered bird, a light grey head and black and gold striped bill.
For a seabird that’s used to ocean glare, this Buller’s Albatross can do some glaring of its own. Image by Brendan Tucker / Macaulay Library.
A photo of a brown and beige bird with no beak because not facing the camera, but can still see eyes.
American Woodcocks can keep an eye on you even when they’re turned the other way. Image by Karim Bouzidi / Macaulay Library.
Many gray, fierce looking heads appear over the grass line.
We love the snaky vibes we get from this forest of Cape Griffon necks. Image by Angus Fritton / Macaulay Library.
Even hummingbirds can rock an edgy look (and name). Black Metaltail by Steve Juhasz / Macaulay Library.
Front on view of a bird with a very large bill, looking angry
The Shoebill fixes its prey with a penetrating stare over a truly massive bill. Image by Raphael Lebrun / Macaulay Library.
A large, imposing eagle with two head tufts, stand on a tree and looks down.
The largest raptor in the Western Hemisphere has a mythologically spooky name. Harpy Eagle by Leon Moore/ Macaulay Library.
Bird standing upright with closed eyes, looking like a log
These masters of camouflage have enormously wide bills and huge eyes. Common Potoo by Ivan Morales Vertel / Macaulay Library.
Seven tall birds with very large bills stand together on a rubbish dump.
Greater Adjutants look rather like marionettes from a Tim Burton movie. Image by Frank Thierfelder / Macaulay Library.
a small red-and-black finch perches among short green plants
Wearing tones of ink and blood, the Dusky Crimsonwing would be a spooky bird indeed—but it’s just so cute. Image by Stefan Hirsch / Macaulay Library.
Ball shaped bird with small head, red and orange face mask, and streaked with red/magenta, gray and white feathers
The gorgeous colors of the Blood Pheasant. Image by Manjunath Desai / Macaulay Library.
Four grey bird faces with small beaks and big brown eyes, stare out of a tree cavity.
Not quite an owl, but not a nightjar either. Australian Owlet-nightjar by shorty w / Macaulay Library.
Black, iridescent bird with red eyebrows, holds head high and breath is mist in the forest landscape.
Is it just us or does this Western Capercaillie look like it’s howling at the moon? Image by Valery Treitsiak / Macaulay Library.
A large gray, cream and orange bird with a black and white striped face stands with a bone in its large, hooked bill.
It doesn’t get much spookier than a massive vulture that eats bones. Bearded Vulture by Marc Gálvez / Macaulay Library.
Two black and dark grey birds with yellow eyes, stand on a cross at a graveside.
These tiny, mischievous crows look like they know something we don’t. Eurasian Jackdaws by Colby Baker / Macaulay Library.
Large, chocolate-colored bird with cream head and large, hooked bill and feathery brown collar, walks forward with head held low, showing off large, taloned feet.
Eurasian Griffons can fast for a month at a time—but when food appears, watch out. Image by Guenther Karmann / Macaulay Library.
Silhouette of a very long legged bird, with hooked bill and long head feathers, against a pink sky.
A fast, agile raptor with a taste for snakes. Secretarybird by Yann Kolbeinsson / Macaulay Library.
Closeup of a raven facing the camera, bill open, with frosty breath visible.
We love the frosty breath as we imagine this Common Raven quoths, “Nevermore.” Image by Bryan Calk / Macaulay Library.
Through dark trees, a grey, white and rufous-colored bird with ear tufts and yellow eyes stares at the camera.
Yellow eyes that seem to stare right through you. Long-eared Owl by Brad Imhoff / Macaulay Library.
A orange/gold bird with black stripes sulks through grass at night.
We love the muted colors in this image of a notoriously secretive bird. Yellow Rail by Hugues Brunoni / Macaulay Library.
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American Kestrel by Blair Dudeck / Macaulay Library