Bird Wheel
Spin for one of 68 birds, or choose a group such as “Owls” first.
No spins yet. Each pick is listed here in order.
Birds on the wheel, by group
Backyard birds (12)
- American robin
- Northern cardinal
- Blue jay
- Black-capped chickadee
- American goldfinch
- Mourning dove
- Downy woodpecker
- House finch
- Dark-eyed junco
- Rufous hummingbird
- Northern mockingbird
- Eastern bluebird
Birds of prey (10)
- Bald eagle
- Golden eagle
- Harpy eagle
- Red-tailed hawk
- Red-shouldered hawk
- Peregrine falcon
- Gyrfalcon
- American kestrel
- Osprey
- Northern harrier
Owls (10)
- Barn owl
- Great horned owl
- Snowy owl
- Burrowing owl
- Barred owl
- Eastern screech owl
- Great gray owl
- Northern saw-whet owl
- Long-eared owl
- Elf owl
Water birds (12)
- Mallard
- Wood duck
- Canada goose
- Mute swan
- Trumpeter swan
- Great blue heron
- Great egret
- Common loon
- Brown pelican
- Atlantic puffin
- Arctic tern
- American flamingo
Tropical birds (12)
- Scarlet macaw
- Blue-and-yellow macaw
- Hyacinth macaw
- Keel-billed toucan
- Toco toucan
- Resplendent quetzal
- African gray parrot
- Sun conure
- Great hornbill
- King bird-of-paradise
- Paradise tanager
- Bee hummingbird
Flightless birds (12)
- Ostrich
- Emu
- Southern cassowary
- Greater rhea
- Kiwi
- Kakapo
- Weka
- Emperor penguin
- King penguin
- Gentoo penguin
- Chinstrap penguin
- Little penguin
About the bird wheel
All 68 birds are on the wheel when the page opens, each with a 1 in 68 chance. Under “Choose a list” the wheel shrinks to one group: “Backyard birds”, “Birds of prey”, “Owls”, “Water birds”, “Tropical birds” or “Flightless birds”. Owls have a list of their own, separate from “Birds of prey”.
Every entry is the common English name of a real bird, such as Blue jay, Snowy owl or Emperor penguin. All of them are printed lower on this page under their groups, so a teacher or a parent can read the full list before a class uses it.
For a research project, switch on “Remove the winner after each spin” and give each student one spin. A picked bird leaves the wheel, so no two students get the same one. Use the full wheel for this: a single group such as “Owls” is empty after 10 spins.
Uses for the bird spinner at home and in class
- Drawing prompt: spin a bird and sketch it from memory, then compare your sketch with a photo.
- Pick a mascot for a team, a reading group or a table in class.
- Charades: act out the bird the wheel picks and let the room guess it.
- Spin on “Backyard birds” and keep an eye out for that bird this week.
How to use the wheel
- Type or paste your options, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
- Press Spin, click the wheel, or press Ctrl+Enter while you are in the list.
- Read the pick. Remove it from the wheel if nobody should be picked twice, then spin again.
How the pick is made
Before the wheel moves, your browser draws one slice at random with crypto.getRandomValues, the same generator browsers use for security keys. Every slice has the same chance. The spin you watch only plays that result out.
Nothing about the animation changes the outcome: not how hard you click, not how long the wheel turns, not the size of your screen. The pointer always stops inside a slice, never on a line.
Your list stays in your browser. A link you copy carries the list inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded.
Questions about the bird wheel
- Where does the list of birds come from?
- It was put together for this site. None of it is taken from a book, an app, a game or another website.
- Can I spin for only owls or only penguins?
- Owls, yes: they have their own button under “Choose a list”. For penguins, choose “Flightless birds” and delete the lines that are not penguins.
- Can I add a bird that is not on the list?
- Yes. Type its name on a new line and it gets a slice the same size as every other bird. The wheel takes up to 1,000 entries.
- Does the wheel tell me anything about the bird?
- No. The result window shows the name of the bird, with no picture and no facts. The wheel does not look anything up, so finding out more is up to you.