Minnesota Birds
Class Aves |
Aves (birds) is the class of animals that is characterized by being warm-blooded, laying hard-shelled eggs, and having a backbone, feathers, wings, a beak with no teeth, and two legs for forelimbs. They are the only clade of dinosaurs (Dinosauria) to have survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 65.5 million years ago. According to the American Ornithologists’ Union, there are 2,008 species of birds naturally occurring without the intervention of man in “North and Middle America including the adjacent islands under the jurisdiction of the included nations; the Hawaiian Islands; Clipperton Island; Bermuda; the West Indies, including the Bahama Islands, the Greater Antilles, Leeward and Windward islands of the Lesser Antilles.” According to the Minnesota DNR, there are 428 bird species found in Minnesota, 44 of which are year-round residents. |
Recent Additions |
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Olive-sided Flycatcher |
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Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher (family Tyrannidae) but a large “flycatcher” as that common name is applied. Only Great-crested Flycatcher is larger. It has the longest migration of any North American flycatcher. Breeding grounds are the Rocky and Cascade Mountains from Texas to Alaska, across Canada and the northern border states to Newfoundland and Vermont. In Minnesota the breeding range includes the northeast third of the state. Wintering grounds are mostly in Panama and the northern Andes Mountains from northern Venezuela to western Bolivia. Olive-sided Flycatcher is the only North American flycatcher to feed exclusively on insects caught in flight. When feeding it perches at the top of a tree or on a dead branch, launching occasionally to catch a flying insect in the air, and returning often to the same perch. Small insects are consumed in the air. Larger insects returned to and beaten against the perch to subdue. Flycatchers are notoriously difficult to identify by plumage alone. Olive-sided Flycatcher is one exception to this rule. It is easily identified by its white breast and contrasting dark “vest”. It is further distinguished by its large size; indistinct pale wing bars; whitish undertail coverts with well-defined, dark, V-shaped markings; and inconspicuous eye ring. |
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is the smallest breeding bird in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. It is seldom seen but easily recognized because it is the only hummingbird that breeds in or migrates through Minnesota. It is a migratory bird, arriving in Minnesota in late April and early May. It is a solitary breeder—after mating the male has nothing more to do with the female or its offspring. In the fall, adults migrate across the Gulf of Mexico or along the western coast of Mexico to Central or South America. |
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| Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||
Red-eyed Vireo |
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Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) is the most common and widespread vireo in Minnesota. It is found in deciduous and mixed woodlands with a dense cover and a shrubby understory. It is small for a songbird but relatively large for a vireo. The most distinguishing morphological feature, the dark red irises, an apparent only at close range. It is most often identified by its song, which sounds similar to a robin but is not as loud and is more variable. |
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| Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
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Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), a medium-sized woodpecker, is common in young, second-growth, deciduous and mixed forests. Its name, though appropriately descriptive, is likely to elicit a smile or a raised eyebrow. It is easily recognized by the red crown and, on the males, the red chin. Other than the Pileated Woodpecker, a much larger bird, this is the only woodpecker in Minnesota with a red crown. The sign (indications not related to a footprint) is also distinctive. Look for horizontal, more or less straight lines of small, closely-spaced holes in the trunk of a tree. |
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| Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||
Other Recent Additions |
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Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum) |
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| Photo by Luciearl | |||||
Coming Soon |
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American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) |
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American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) |
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Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) |
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Baird’s Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii) |
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Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) |
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Bay-breasted Warbler (Setophaga castanea) |
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Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii) |
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Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) |
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Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) |
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Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) |
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Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) |
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Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) |
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Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) |
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Bonaparte’s Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) |
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Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) |
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Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) |
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Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) |
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Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) |
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Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) |
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Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) |
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Clark’s Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) |
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Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) |
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Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata) |
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Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) |
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Connecticut Warbler (Oporonis agilis) |
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Dunlin (Calidris alpina) |
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Eastern Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus) |
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Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) |
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Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus) |
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Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) |
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Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) |
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Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) |
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Kentucky Warbler (Geothlypis formosa) |
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Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii) |
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Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) |
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Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) |
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Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) |
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Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) |
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Little Blue Heron (Egrettacaerulea) |
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Marsh Wren (Othorus palustris) |
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Merlin (Falco columbarius) |
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Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) |
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Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis tolmiei) |
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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) |
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Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) |
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Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) |
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Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) |
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Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) |
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Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) |
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Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis) |
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Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata) |
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Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) |
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Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) |
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Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) |
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Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) |
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Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) |
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Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) |
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Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) |
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Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) |
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Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) |
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Ross’s Goose (Chen rossii) |
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Sanderling (Calidris alba) |
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Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya) |
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Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) |
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Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) |
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Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) |
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Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) |
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Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus) |
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Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) |
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Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) |
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Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) |
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Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) |
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Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) |
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Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) |
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White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) |
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White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) |
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Whooping Crane (Grus americana) |
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Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) |
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Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) |
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Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) |
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Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) |
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Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) |
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Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) |
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No Species Page Yet?
If you do not see a linked page for a bird in the list at left you can still upload a photo or video as an email attachment or report a sighting for that bird. Click on one of the buttons below and type in the common name and/or scientific name of the bird in your photo, video, or sighting. A new page will be created for that bird featuring your contribution.
Capitalization of Common Names
Bird common names are governed by the International Ornithologists’ Union (IOU). In 1991 the IOU began a project to standardize English language names of birds. The goal was to officially sanction a single, unique name for each species. In 2006 the project was completed and the resulting list was published in book form as Birds of the World: Recommended English Names, by Frank Gill & Minturn Wright. According to the IOU, English language bird names have “graduated from the realm of ‘common/vernacular’ names,” and must be regarded as proper nouns. For this reason, bird common names are capitalized.
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