A water bird is one who lives on or around water. It includes water fowl, sea birds, wading birds and shore birds. The term is quite useful in conservation biology for birds that live in or depend on bodies of water or wetland areas.

• Seabirds (marine birds, such as penguins and gulls)
• Shorebirds (waders, order Charadriiformes)
• Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans, magpie geese, screamers)
• Grebes (order Podicipediformes)
• Loons (order Gaviiformes)
• Ciconiiformes (storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills and others)
• Pelecaniformes (pelicans and others)
• Flamingos (order Phoenicopteriformes)
• Some members of the order Gruiformes (including cranes and rails, crakes, coots and moorhens)
• Kingfishers
• One family of passerines, the dippers