All About Birds Scraper

Scrape bird species data from AllAboutBirds.org, Cornell Lab of Ornithology's comprehensive bird guide covering 700+ North American species.

What does this scraper do?

This Actor scrapes species data from All About Birds, including:

• Taxonomy: Common name, scientific name, order, family
• Life History: Habitat, food, nesting behavior, behavior patterns
• Conservation: Conservation status and detailed conservation description
• Measurements: Length, weight, wingspan, relative size, size category
• Appearance: Size & shape description, color pattern description
• Cool Facts: Curated interesting facts about each species
• Media: Hero image URL, thumbnail image, sound/call recording URL
• Nesting Facts: Clutch size, egg length/width, incubation period, nestling period, egg description, hatching condition

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchQueries	string[]	["Bald Eagle"]	Bird names to search for (partial match on common or scientific name). Use * or all for all species.
maxListings	integer	100	Maximum number of species to scrape. Set to 0 for unlimited.
scrapeDetails	boolean	true	Visit detail pages for full data (measurements, nesting, conservation, cool facts, sounds).
proxyConfiguration	object	{}	Proxy settings for large-scale runs.

Example Input

{
    "searchQueries": ["Bald Eagle", "Owl"],
    "maxListings": 10,
    "scrapeDetails": true
}

Output

Each result includes:

{
    "commonName": "Bald Eagle",
    "scientificName": "Haliaeetus leucocephalus",
    "order": "ACCIPITRIFORMES",
    "family": "Hawks, Eagles, and Kites",
    "familyScientific": "Accipitridae",
    "habitat": "Forests",
    "food": "Fish",
    "nesting": "Tree",
    "behavior": "Soaring",
    "conservationStatus": "Low Concern",
    "description": "The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782...",
    "coolFacts": ["Rather than do their own fishing...", "Had Benjamin Franklin prevailed..."],
    "measurements": {
        "length": "27.9-37.8 in (71-96 cm)",
        "weight": "105.8-222.2 oz (3000-6300 g)",
        "wingspan": "80.3 in (204 cm)"
    },
    "relativeSize": "One of the largest birds in North America...",
    "sizeCategory": "goose-sized or larger",
    "sizeAndShape": "...",
    "colorPattern": "...",
    "habitatDescription": "...",
    "foodDescription": "...",
    "nestingDescription": "...",
    "nestingFacts": {
        "Clutch Size": "1-3 eggs",
        "Number of Broods": "1 brood",
        "Egg Length": "2.3-3.3 in (5.8-8.4 cm)",
        "Incubation Period": "34-36 days"
    },
    "behaviorDescription": "...",
    "conservationDescription": "...",
    "soundUrl": "https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/sound/549106.mp3",
    "heroImageUrl": "https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/649805587-1280px.jpg",
    "imageUrl": "https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/649805587-480px.jpg",
    "url": "https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/overview",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-25T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Example Queries

• ["Bald Eagle"] - Scrape one specific species
• ["Eagle"] - All species with "Eagle" in the name
• ["Owl"] - All owl species
• ["Hummingbird", "Woodpecker"] - Multiple bird groups
• ["Accipitridae"] - Match by scientific family name
• ["*"] - Scrape all 700+ species

How it works

1. Fetches the full taxonomy browse page at allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse/taxonomy
2. Parses all 700+ species with their order, family, and scientific names
3. Filters by your search queries (partial match on common or scientific name)
4. If scrapeDetails is enabled, visits three pages per species:
   • Overview page: Description, conservation status, habitat/food/nesting icons, cool facts, sound URL
   • ID page: Measurements (length, weight, wingspan), size & shape, color pattern
   • Life History page: Detailed habitat, food, nesting facts, behavior, conservation text
5. Outputs structured JSON for each species

Cost

With detailed scraping enabled, each species requires 4 HTTP requests (taxonomy + overview + ID + life history). A full scrape of all 700+ species uses approximately 2,800 requests. Without details, only 1 request is needed for the taxonomy page.

Tips

• Start with a small maxListings to test (e.g., 5)
• Use scrapeDetails: false for quick taxonomy-only data
• The * query combined with maxListings: 0 will scrape the entire database
• Sound URLs are direct MP3 links that can be downloaded

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