North American Pro Sports Teams Named After Birds: Complete Guide

Bird names are everywhere in North American sport because they do three jobs at once: they create an instant visual identity, carry useful traits such as speed or flight, and can connect a team to a place. The familiar examples are the Philadelphia Eagles and Toronto Blue Jays. The newest addition is more recent.

In November 2025, the Professional Women’s Hockey League unveiled the Vancouver Goldeneyes, a name inspired by the Common Goldeneye native to Vancouver’s waterways and coastline. That addition changes the count in a list that used to stop with the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and CFL.

This guide identifies current sports teams named after birds across six North American professional leagues and explains where the names came from, including a few cases that are less obvious than they sound.

How many major pro sports teams are named after birds?

Using the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, CFL and PWHL, this guide identifies 14 current teams with direct bird-related names. The list includes five NFL teams, three MLB teams, two NBA teams, two NHL teams, one CFL team and the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes.

NFL teams named after birds

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have one of the oldest team identities in American professional football. A cardinal is a songbird known for the bright red plumage of the male northern cardinal. The team has moved from Chicago to St. Louis and then Arizona, but the bird identity has traveled with the franchise.

Atlanta Falcons

The falcon is built for a sports identity: fast, predatory and visually distinctive. Atlanta adopted the Falcons name when the franchise entered the NFL in the 1960s. The bird has remained central to the team’s logo and branding.

Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore’s name has one of the strongest literary connections in professional sport. The Ravens identity references Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven.” Poe lived in Baltimore and is buried there, giving the team name a direct connection to the city’s cultural history.

Philadelphia Eagles

The bald eagle is one of the most recognizable symbols in the United States, which gives Philadelphia’s identity an immediate national association. The Eagles have used the bird as both a name and a major visual element throughout the franchise’s history.

Seattle Seahawks

“Seahawk” is not a single formal species name in the way “cardinal” is, but the term is commonly associated with fish-eating raptors such as the osprey. Seattle chose Seahawks through a public naming process before the franchise’s first season. The result fit a Pacific Northwest identity shaped by coastlines, waterways and wildlife.

MLB teams named after birds

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore oriole is strongly associated with Maryland and is the state’s official bird. That local connection makes the Orioles one of the clearest examples of a team name grounded in regional wildlife.

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis shares its bird name with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, but the baseball identity developed independently. The bright red cardinal works naturally with the franchise’s long-standing red color scheme and famous “birds on the bat” visual identity.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays name came from a public contest before Toronto’s first MLB season in 1977. MLB’s own history of the name notes that 154 people submitted “Blue Jays.” The choice gave Canada’s first MLB expansion team a simple, locally recognizable bird identity and an obvious blue color palette.

The Toronto example is especially interesting from a branding perspective because a common bird became an internationally recognizable sports mark. The name is short, visual and easy to translate into logos, mascots and merchandise.

NBA teams named after birds

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks name predates the team’s move to Atlanta. The franchise carried versions of the Hawks identity through earlier locations before settling in Georgia. A hawk is a natural sports symbol because it suggests speed, vision and predatory focus.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans identity is a direct Louisiana connection. The brown pelican is the state bird and appears on Louisiana’s state flag and seal. When the NBA franchise changed from Hornets to Pelicans, it created a brand much more specific to New Orleans and Louisiana.

NHL teams named after birds

Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim’s bird identity began with the Mighty Ducks name, connected to Disney’s hockey film franchise. The club later shortened the name to Anaheim Ducks, but the bird remained. It is one of the rare major sports identities whose origin is closely tied to entertainment intellectual property.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh’s Penguins name has a playful quality that differs from predatory bird names such as Falcons or Hawks. Yet it has become one of the NHL’s most recognizable brands. The penguin identity also gives the franchise a natural black-and-white visual association, while the club’s black-and-gold palette connects it to Pittsburgh’s broader sports identity.

The PWHL added the Vancouver Goldeneyes

Vancouver Goldeneyes

The newest bird identity on this list arrived when the PWHL unveiled the Vancouver Goldeneyes in November 2025. According to the league, the name is inspired by the Common Goldeneye, a bird native to Vancouver’s waterways, coastlines and mountain landscape. The branding uses the bird’s speed, strength and precision as part of the team’s identity.

The Goldeneyes are a useful reminder that sports-name lists are not static. Expansion, rebrands and new leagues can change the answer. The team played its first season in 2025-26 and remains an active PWHL franchise in 2026.

The CFL’s Montreal Alouettes have a bird connection too

The Montreal Alouettes deserve a place on this list even though the connection is less obvious to English-speaking fans. “Alouette” is French for “lark.” The organization also traces its name to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 425 Squadron, a French-Canadian unit known as the Alouettes and represented by a lark emblem.

That makes Montreal’s name more than an animal nickname. It is tied to language, military history and Quebec identity.

What about the Chicago Blackhawks?

The Chicago Blackhawks are sometimes added to bird-name lists because the word contains “hawks.” Historically, however, the franchise name was connected to the U.S. Army’s 86th Infantry Division, the “Blackhawk Division,” which itself referenced the Sauk leader Black Hawk.

For that reason, this guide does not count the Blackhawks as a team directly named for a bird.

Why bird names work so well in sports branding

Birds give sports organizations several branding advantages. They create strong silhouettes for logos, can be turned into mascots, and carry traits that teams like to associate with competition.

• Speed: falcons, hawks and eagles suggest fast movement.
• Vision: raptors are associated with seeing and striking from distance.
• Regional identity: orioles, pelicans and blue jays connect teams to recognizable local wildlife.
• Color: cardinals and blue jays naturally support distinctive team palettes.
• Storytelling: Ravens and Alouettes show how a bird name can also carry literary or historical meaning.

The strongest sports identities usually have more than one layer. A bird can provide the visual hook, while a city, story or tradition gives the brand meaning. Baltimore’s Ravens connect sport to literature. Montreal’s Alouettes connect a French word for a bird to military history. Toronto’s Blue Jays grew from a naming contest into a national baseball brand.

Quick answers about bird-named teams

How many NFL teams are named after birds?

Five current NFL teams have direct bird-related names: the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.

How many MLB teams are named after birds?

Three current MLB teams are named after birds: the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays.

Are there NBA teams named after birds?

Yes. The Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans are the two current NBA teams with direct bird names.

Is an Alouette a bird?

Yes. “Alouette” is French for “lark.” The Montreal CFL team’s name also has a historical connection to the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 425 Squadron.

Where did the Toronto Blue Jays name come from?

The name was selected through a public contest before the team’s inaugural 1977 season. MLB’s account of the process says 154 entrants submitted “Blue Jays.”

Does the PWHL have a bird-named team?

Yes. The Vancouver Goldeneyes joined the PWHL for the 2025-26 season. The league says the identity is inspired by the Common Goldeneye found around Vancouver.

For further reading, see the PWHL’s Goldeneyes identity announcement, MLB’s history of the Blue Jays name and the Montreal Alouettes’ team history.

Team names and league status checked September 26, 2026.