22 Types of Birds Starting With The Letter G

Getting to know birds of different species can be both knowledgeable and super fun for their versatility in species.

From their variety of enticing plumage colors and variety in sizes and colors including small birds, birds with stripes, birds with red chests or beaks, etc everything seems fascinating if you are looking at them the right way.

Furthermore, having this knowledge proves to be beneficial in activities like birdwatching, bird photography, or conservation efforts.

To make it more entertaining, we have gathered up your feathered friends whose names start with the letter “G”.

The list of birds includes some basic info and some facts that’ll get you properly acquainted with them and help you remember them.

Gather up all the avian geeks and let’s get to know some of the birds.

Bird Names Beginning With The Letter G

Being familiar with birds that start with the letter G can enable you to admire the unique traits of each bird species while helping you appreciate the diversity of the existent bird life.

Hence, acquaint yourself with the names and characteristics to enhance your understanding and admiration of the natural world that surrounds you.

Green Heron

Source: @saghir.life

• Scientific Name: Butorides virescens
• Size: 44 cm (17 in)
• Locality:  North and Central America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: March through July

There are not many species that can use different items as tools and use them to their advantage. Green Heron is one of those rare birds that can employ tools successfully. They primarily use different items including bread crusts, insects, etc as bait to lure out their prey.

This species is known to drop these baits out on the surface of a water body and lure fish. It uses its agility and stealthy precise movements in this case to successfully catch the fish. It waits out for the fish to take the bait and then the green heron goes and eats the fish strongly grabbing onto it.

Garganey

Source: @luca.de.carli

• Scientific Name: Spatula querquedula
• Size: 41 cm (16.14 in)
• Locality: Europe and across the Palearctic
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Between the End of April and Late June.

Garganey is a small duck species that is usually unobtrusive in nature. They are known for their agility and swift flying pattern. This flight pattern often includes rapid twists and turns. Their flight speed and pattern help them migrate to long-distance regions.

This species is reputed for its autumn molt. It undergoes a process which is known as “eclipse plumage”. During this period, their breeding plumage gets replaced with a bit more dull and subdued version of their original color. For this reason, both sexes end up possessing similar colored plumage.

Great Bowerbird

Source: @bjlahansen22

• Scientific Name: Chlamydera nuchalis
• Size: 100 cm (39.37 in)
• Locality: Northern Australia
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: All Year Round

The Great Bowerbird is renowned for its bower construction which is essentially a mating structure built by the males to attract the female species. They built each of their bowers with original ideas displaying their creativity while decorating alongside their bowers to beautify them.

The males spend most of their time after their bowers while building, maintaining, and taking care of them as only doing so will provide them with a mating companion. The females, on the other hand, spend their time creating nests and taking care of the offspring all alone.

Great-Tailed Grackle

Source: @bc_salvaje

• Scientific Name: Quiscalus mexicanus
• Size: 38 to 46 cm (15 to 18 in)
• Locality: North and South America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Early or Mid-April

The Great-tailed grackle is familiar among bird enthusiasts for their distinctive mating strategies. These mating strategies are mainly of three kinds. These include strategies for having territorial males, residential males, and transient males.

As per the name, the territorial males are serious about their territories and protect them while having many mates raising the young. The residential ones, on the contrary, do not possess a particular territory or even mates. Lastly, the transient males move around from one colony to another.

Great Egret

Source: @montereybayaquarium

• Scientific Name: Ardea alba
• Size: 80 to 104 cm (31 to 41 in)
• Locality: Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: October to December in the south; March to May in the north.

Being a great hunter, the Great egret is known for its unique foraging techniques and its diverse range of diets. Being an opportunistic feeder, this species mainly forage on amphibians including fish, frogs as well as small mammals, small reptiles, insects, crustaceans, etc.

Basing its dietary habit mainly on fish, this species is known to be a great fisher. It goes after its prey with its sharp bill while standing still. Moreover, they use their patience, sharp eyesight, and stealthy movement to spot and attack their prey using the bill as a spear.

Greater White-Fronted Goose

Source: @gorosuke_hoho

• Scientific Name: Anser albifrons
• Size: 64 to 81 cm (25 to 32 in)
• Locality: Northern Hemisphere, West of Mississippi
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: February through May and again from September through November

As per the name, the Greater white-fronted goose is celebrated for its white front which is also known as the “grinning patch”. Moreover, they possess salt-and-pepper markings which is why it is known as “specklebelly” as well.

They are known for their ability to create a variety of sounds as their callings. Their sounds are usually high-pitched. Among the different kinds of sounds, this species is known mostly for its distinctive “he-he” calling. There is a unique breakage in between the calling as well.

Great Antshrike

Source: @jason_tiesman_birdphotography

• Scientific Name: Taraba major
• Size: 20.3 cm (about 8 inches)
• Locality: Southern Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and South America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: October to December

The passerine bird Great antshrike belongs to the antbird family living in their habitats as permanent residents all year round. This species is known for its skulking behavior and its melodious notes.

Predominantly feeding on insects, this species is known for different varieties of arthropods as well that are usually gleaned from foliage. It might occasionally feed on small lizards and mammals as well. They sing their melodious notes in 30 to 40 “pook-pook-pook” or “churrr” calling.

Great Barbet

Source: @avijitkohli_travelogue

• Scientific Name: Psilopogon virens
• Size: 32 to 35 cm (13 to 14 in)
• Locality: The Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: April to July

Being vibrant with a distinctive combination of colors, the Great Barbet is unique for its appearance as well as its callings. Their callings include a loud “kay-oh”, harsh “keab”, repetitive “piou-piou-piou”.

As they primarily feed on different types of fruits they are easily spotted in different trees while nesting in the tree holes. Sometimes they use cavities made by woodpeckers for their nesting. The females lay their eggs in these cavities and both of the parents take turns incubating the young.

Grey-Capped Greenfinch

Source: @johnyounglee_vtp

• Scientific Name: Chloris sinica
• Size: 12.5 to 14 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in)
• Locality: East Palearctic.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Mid-March to Mid-August

In accordance with its name, the Grey-capped greenfinch has a greyish cap on its head and a vibrant greenish-yellow body. For its distinctive appearance, this species is famed among bird watchers and gained popularity among bird photographers as well.

This species primarily feeds on various seeds, fruits, and occasionally small insects. Due to their dietary habits, they are mostly spotted in forests, woodlands, gardens, etc. During breeding seasons, they are mainly spotted in broadleaf and conifer woodlands.

Grey Partridge

Source: @katrin.lohmus

• Scientific Name: Perdix perdix
• Size: 11.8 to 13.0 in (30 to 33 cm)
• Locality: North America, Europe, Western Palearctic
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Late April to June

The Grey partridge is iconic for its changing dietary habits and uncommon sounds. Their sound is usually a high-pitched one that is often transcribed as a harsh “kieerr-ik”. Being a gamebird, its sound changes from this sound to a “rick rick rick” sound when disturbed. This particular sound is made when it is rising to fly.

Being a predominantly seed-eating species, the young ones are often seen foraging on insects for their food. When they are young, especially, in the first 10 days of life they prefer insects as it is easier for them to digest at that time and fulfills their protein intake.

Grey Plover

Source: @whynotiwould

• Scientific Name: Pluvialis squatarola
• Size: 27 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in)
• Locality: North America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: May to Mid-June

The Grey Plover looks around for food on the beaches and tidal flats as it predominantly feeds on shellfish and polychaete worms. Moreover, their dietary requirements include small mollusks, crustaceans, various insects, etc.

It often forms flocks to go in search of food but they are not the flick members are relatively less gregarious. However, their flocks have large numbers when they are on high tides.

Another fun fact about this species is that, the coloration of their plumage changes depending on the seasons. During summer it has silvery and black spotted upperparts. On the other hand, during winter, it loses its black colored plumage and gets a brownish-grey color.

Grey Goshawk

Source: @tassiehayley

• Scientific Name: Accipiter novaehollandiae
• Size: 40 to 55 cm (16 to 22 in)
• Locality: Eastern and Northern Australia.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: July to December

The Grey Goshawk is an opportunistic feeder that chooses its prey depending on its situation. Mostly they are seen preying on different types of birds. Sometimes they are seen preying on rabbits, possums, bats as well as small insects and reptiles.

The size of their victims varies based on the sexes. The females tend to go for larger prey than the males. While the females go for currawongs, gamebirds, herons, etc, the males tend to go for small to mid-sized passerines. Both of the sexes prefer to feed on pigeons and parrots.

Grey-Cheeked Nunlet

Source: @fotodesofi

• Scientific Name: Nonnula frontalis
• Size: 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in)
• Locality: Colombia and Panama.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: February to June

The Grey-cheeked nunlet is not red-listed by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), however, it is a rare species that has a population of less than 50,000 and is continuously decreasing. As it is hard to spot, not much is known about this species. Their feeding and breeding behavior is not properly known and is poorly understood.

It has been estimated that they might forage on a variety of arthropods often joining with the mixed-species foraging flocks. For nesting, they are known to prefer shallow scrapes covered with twigs and leaves.

Grey-Headed Honeyeater

Source: @harnsheng

• Scientific Name: Conopophila whitei
• Size: 10.5 to 12 cm (4.1 to 4.7 in)
• Locality: Central Australia.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: August to November

The Grey-Headed Honeyeater does not need any conservation actions and its number is quite stable. Depending on the difference in habitats their sighting becomes rare or easily detectable. They are commonly spotted in regions with low densities.

Sometimes their nests have been recorded to be attacked by different predators as well as parasites. However, they do not cause significant threats to their existence, rather the primary problem is climate change. Due to unfavorable climate, they might face potential food scarcity and even be unable to breed properly.

Gadwall

Source: @g_m_b_photos

• Scientific Name: Mareca strepera
• Size: 47 to 58 cm (19 to 23 in)
• Locality: Northern Europe, Central North America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: May to July

The Gadwells are infamous for their stealing habits. Usually, they feed on different kinds of plant foods while dabbling with their heads submerged. They do not usually dive for such foods. However, to steal food from flocks of other duck species including divine ducks or coots they dive in.

This species is not highly sociable and prefers to form only small flocks. Being a monogamous bird they are known for going around in pairs while selecting their mates for the breeding season.

Glaucous-Winged Gull

Source: @photobymak38

• Scientific Name: Larus glaucescens
• Size: 50 to 68 cm (20 to 27 in)
• Locality: From the western coast of Alaska to the coast of Washington.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Late May to July

Similar to other gull species, the Glaucous-winged gull has a wide range of preferences for their diet. It forages on a variety of foods including fish, mussels, scraps, etc. It goes around scavenging for carrions, and garbage while attacking weak animals like rabbits, pigeons, etc.

Sometimes they may even prey on the unattended chicks of their own species. In urban or suburban areas, they are often spotted receiving food from people. They peck around garbage bags looking for food while making the surroundings filthy.

Green Iora

Source: @annonimal

• Scientific Name: Aegithina viridissima
• Size: 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in)
• Locality: The Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.
• Status: Near Threatened
• Breeding Season: April and May

The Green Iora is a vibrant green-colored species that is famed for its stunning appearance. However, unfortunately, this species is now facing severe habitat loss. The reason behind this is primarily due to logging and land conversion. It has been assessed as a “near-threatened species” by the IUCN.

This highly gregarious bird is noted for its distinctive contact and mating callings. Their usual vocalization is transcribed as “ji-sheur” or “ji-wier”. Their mating call, on the other hand, is recorded as “ji-jirijiri-jeh”.

Gyrfalcon

Source: @falconry_team

• Scientific Name: Falco rusticolus
• Size: 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in)
• Locality: Arctic coasts and tundra, Northern North America, and the Euro-Siberian region
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: April to August

The Gyrfalcon is famed for its association with humans for various reasons, especially for hunting. It has been designated for a variety of positions. From being an official bird to being a mascot, this bird has done it all.

This species has also been regarded as a royal bird in the medieval era. During this period, it was a rare species, hence, difficult to obtain as well. For this reason, in Europe, the Gyrfalcon was reserved for the high class including kings and nobles.

Green Jay

Source: @cindyjonesphotography

• Scientific Name: Cyanocorax luxuosus
• Size: 27 cm (11 in)
• Locality: Central America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: From April through June

Similar to other birds of Green Jay’s own species, this bird is famed for its extensive vocal repertoire. They have a wide range of unusual vocalizations, one of them being transcribed like an alarm bell. The commonly heard note of this species is, however, transcribed as a rassh-rassh-rassh sound.

This species is most commonly spotted building its nest in trees, thorny bushes, thickets, etc. In these nests, the females usually lay three to five eggs which they incubate on their own. However, both parents help each other to take care of the offspring.

Gila Woodpecker

Source: @bird.watcher76

• Scientific Name: Melanerpes uropygialis
• Size: 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm)
• Locality: the Southwestern United States and Western Mexico.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: April through August

One of the most interesting facts about the Gila Woodpecker is its feeding habits. As it is omnivorous, it has a wide range of preferences for food. Similar to other woodpeckers’ feeding habits, it drills into different barks in search of insects. Their diet is greatly composed of these insects.

Moreover, they have been spotted foraging on fruits, nectar, seeds, lizards, eggs, worms, etc. Sometimes they even prey on young chicks of birds that are comparatively smaller. They even get their food from hummingbird feeders that are placed in backyards, gardens, etc as well.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Source: @thesciencerock

• Scientific Name: Regulus satrapa
• Size: 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in)
• Locality: North America
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: June and July

The Golden-Crowned Kinglet, a small passerine, is known for its habit of raising up two large broods simultaneously despite their short nesting season. In this case, the females and the males work together to raise the young.

The first batch of younglings gets fed by the female only up until the day it gets time to leave their nest. Then they lay a second batch of eggs. Meanwhile, the first batch of younglings gets looked after by the males. The males go around feeding eight to nine nestlings all on their own while often feeding the incubating females as well.

Goldcrest

Source: @iryuichi

• Scientific Name: Regulus regulus
• Size: 8.5 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in)
• Locality: the Palearctic and the Islands of Macaronesia and Iceland
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Late April

The Goldcrest has a large range of habitat and this large range often gets attacked by the Eurasian sparrowhawk. They are often the prey of  Merlins, Tawny, Long-eared owls, etc. Sometimes they have been spotted becoming a host of a variety of diseases, parasites, and rarely common cuckoos.

This species often tries its best to get away from its predators when they are away from their safe space by making a bunch of erratic movements. Their unpredictable flight pattern sometimes confuses their predators and in this time of confusion, they cover themselves and move away.

Thoughts

Now that you have reached the end of the article you have become more expert about the kind of birds whose names start with “G”.

Their variation comes in different shapes and sizes making everyone awe-inspired in their presence.

However, unfortunately, some of these feathered companions are facing the danger of being nearly extinct or have already gone extinct.

The thought of losing the privilege to see even one of the species is heartbreaking.

Hence, avian enthusiasts, governments, and NGOs should all come forward to help preserve their state and habitat and raise awareness among everyone.

And the least the non-enthusiasts can do is make sure they do not cause any form of intentional harm to these species.

I hope this article helps everyone appreciate their presence and existence while fascinating everyone with their unique traits.