Audubon Bird Guide Scraper

Scrape bird species data from the Audubon Field Guide (audubon.org). Extract taxonomy, conservation status, habitat, diet, nesting, behavior, migration, range, images, and audio for 830+ North American bird species.

What data can you get?

Card-level data (fast, no detail page visits)

• Common name and scientific name
• Family classification
• Conservation status (IUCN)
• Habitat types
• Description / At a Glance text
• Species image URL and photographer credit
• Audio call URL

Full detail data (visits individual species pages)

All card-level data plus:

• Order / category classification
• Regional range
• Physical description
• Diet details
• Nesting behavior
• Feeding behavior
• Migration patterns
• Songs and calls description
• Habitat description (expanded)
• Conservation status description
• Eggs and young information
• Population estimate
• Size, color, wing shape, tail shape

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchQueries	string[]	["eagle"]	Bird names to search. Use * or all for all 830+ species.
maxListings	integer	50	Maximum species to return (0 = unlimited, max 500).
scrapeDetails	boolean	false	Visit detail pages for full data (slower but more complete).
proxyConfiguration	object	—	Proxy settings for large-scale runs.

Example input

{
    "searchQueries": ["eagle", "hawk", "owl"],
    "maxListings": 20,
    "scrapeDetails": true
}

Scrape all species

{
    "searchQueries": ["*"],
    "maxListings": 0,
    "scrapeDetails": false
}

Output

Each result contains:

{
    "commonName": "Bald Eagle",
    "scientificName": "Haliaeetus leucocephalus",
    "family": "Hawks and Eagles",
    "order": "Hawk-like Birds",
    "conservationStatus": "Least Concern",
    "habitat": "Coasts and Shorelines, Forests and Woodlands, ...",
    "range": "Alaska and The North, California, ...",
    "description": "The national emblem of the United States since 1782...",
    "diet": "Mostly fish when available, including salmon, herring...",
    "nesting": "During a spectacular courtship display...",
    "behavior": "Direct Flight, Soaring, Swooping",
    "migration": "Migratory behavior varies across North America...",
    "imageUrl": "https://media.audubon.org/nas_birdapi_hero/...",
    "imageCredit": "Bonnie Block/Audubon Photography Awards",
    "audioUrl": "https://media.audubon.org/...",
    "sourceUrl": "https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bald-eagle",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-04-26T12:00:00.000Z"
}

How it works

1. Search mode: Uses Audubon's internal search API to find matching bird IDs by name
2. All mode: Loads the bird guide listing page to get all 830+ species IDs
3. Card data: Fetches structured JSON data via Audubon's lazy-load API (fast, no HTML parsing needed)
4. Detail mode: Optionally visits individual species pages for comprehensive data extraction

Use cases

• Birding apps and field guide databases
• Conservation research and IUCN status tracking
• Educational content about North American birds
• Habitat and migration pattern analysis
• Bird identification tools and audio libraries

Cost

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. Each bird species result costs a small amount. Card-level scraping is very fast and efficient. Detail scraping visits one page per species.

Limitations

• Data is sourced from Audubon's field guide which covers North American species
• Search matches common names only (scientific name search may have limited results)
• Audio URLs may not be available for all species
• Conservation descriptions and detailed text vary by species