It is February and I am enjoying watching birds find my squirrel proof bird feeders and shelter in my decorative birdhouses. Unfortunately I have not been able to spend time outside sitting on my outdoor wood furniture because it has been unseasonably cold this winter season. Yet I tell myself Spring is not that far away!!
As I day dream about spring i find myself doing more birdwatching to pass the time. I found myself wanting to know more about the birds common to my area.
I found myself putting together this list of the 39 most common Birds in the United States. I have posted common habitats, pictures, breeding, favorite foods and the sounds each bird makes. This took me a real long time to put together but nonetheless I found it fascinating.
1) American Goldfinch
• Breeds across continent southward to northern Nevada, Oklahoma, and central Georgia. Uses nesting boxes and bird feeders for songbirds like wrens and chickadees
•In winter it is found almost exclusively in flocks. Found in weedy, open areas moving into urban and suburban areas to eat at bird feeders. Prefers tube feeders.
• Favorite Food: Likes to hang from seed heads, sunflower, Safflower, Milo, & Nyjer seeds.
More detailed info
Listen to a goldfinch
2) American Kestrel
• During the winter females prefer more open habitat, and the males use areas with more trees
• Breeds in open habitats, including meadows, grasslands, deserts,agricultural fields, urban and suburban areas from Alaska across most of the United States .
• Favorite Food: large insects, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds
More detail info
Listen to a American Kestrel
3) American Robin
• Congregates in large flocks during winter. Mostly south of Canada to Florida and Gulf Coast. Also along Pacific Coast.
• Breeds from Alaska southward to northern Florida. Found in forests, woodlands, gardens, especially where short-grass areas are interspersed with shrubs and trees. Found in both urban and suburban areas.
• Favorite food: Earthworms, meal worms and fruit
More detailed info
Listen to to a robin
4) Black Capped Chickadee
• Breeding across northern two-thirds of the United States, farther south in mountains. Found in woodlands, open woods and parks, willow thickets, old fields and cottonwood groves. Most numerous at forest edges. Uses nesting boxes and bird feeders
• In winter they stay together in flocks and are in same area as breeding. Go to suburban areas to eat at bird feeders. Will go to any type of feeder.
• Favorite Food: Small caterpillars, spiders, snails, slugs, centipedes, and some berries. Sunflower, Safflower, Suet seeds in winter
More detail information
Listen to a chickadee
5) Blue Jay
• Some birds migrate but most jays remain for the winter months.
•Throughout eastern United States to Gulf Coast, westward to central Texas. Found in mixed forests and woodlands and along forest edges. Common in urban and suburban areas, especially where large oaks are present. Will eat from bird feeders prefers hopper style.
• Favorite food: Arthropods, acorns and nuts, fruits, sunflower, corn and milo seeds, small vertebrates.
More detail information
Listen to a blue jay
6)Canada Goose
• Winters from southern Canada to northern Mexico and northern Florida.
• Breeds in a broad range of habitats from low Arctic tundra to prairie, parklands, lakes, meadows, golf courses, and city parks.
• Favorite Food:variety of plant species and parts, especially grasses, sedges, grain, and berries.
More detail info
Listen to canadian geese
7) Chipping Sparrow
• Winters in southern part of US and South America. Is Ground feeder that prefers ground platform bird feeders.
• Breeds in open woodlands with grass, along river and lake shorelines, farms, and in urban and suburban parks from very eastern Alaska through Canada, southward to southern United States. Absent from southern Great Plains and Florida.
• Favorite Food: Small seeds & fruits, and insects,sunflower, millet and corn.
More detail info
Listen to a sparrow
8) Common Crow
• Congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. Winters from southern Canada southward
• Requires open ground for feeding and scattered trees for roosting, nesting, and refuge.
• Favorite Food:Waste grain, earthworms, insects, Garbage, seeds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, fruit, bird eggs and nestlings.
More detail info
Listen to a crow
9) Common Loon
• Loons are water birds, goes ashore only to mate & incubate eggs.
• Breeds across Alaska southward to northern United States and Yellowstone region. Found in freshwater lakes with rocky shorelines surrounded by forest.
• Winters primarily in coastal marine areas near shore.
• Favorite Food: Fish
More detail info
Listen to a loon
10) Dark eyed Junco
• Juncos are also known as the "snowbirds". In the eastern United States, they appear in most states only in the winter, and then retreat each spring.
• Data shows that it is often the most common visitor of bird feeders . Prefers platform and suet feeders.
• Favorite Food: Seeds and insects. White Millet, sunflower,corn,peanuts and nyjer.
More detail info
Listen to a junco
11) Downey Woodpecker
• Will be found year round in western Alaska southward to southern California, northern Arizona, and eastern Texas to Florida. Will use nesting boxes.
• Downy Woodpecker is a part of mixed species flocks in winter.
• Commonly found in human-modified habitats, such as orchards, parks, and residential areas. Will visit bird feeders, prefers suet feeders.
• Favorite Food: Insects and other arthropods, fruits, seeds, some cambium, sap. Sunflower and suet.
More detail info
Listen to a woodpecker
continue reading 12 through 39 Most Common Birds
12) Eastern Bluebird
• Winters from Kansas to Connecticut and south. Also southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. In mild winters, may be found farther north.
• Likes open spaces with sparse groundcover, such as orchards, clear-cuts, parks, and large lawns in suburban and urban areas.
• Breeds across eastern United States southward to central Texas and Florida. Also southeastern Arizona. Uses nesting boxes.
• Favorite Food: Insects and small fruits
More detail info
Listen to bluebird
13)European Starling
• Can be found from Alaska to Florida and their population is estimated at over 200 million birds.
• Found in open country, fields, and trees for nesting; especially near people in agricultural and urban areas.
• Hopper bird feeders attract these birds. However they can become a nuisance and empty your birdfeeders.
• Favorite Food: Many kinds of invertebrates, fruits, grains, seeds, and garbage
More detail info
Listen to a starling
14)Evening Grosbeak
• Evening Grosbeaks are irruptive migrants--meaning their migration is irregular and changes based on food availability.
• Breeds & winters southward to mountains of northern California, and through the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. Isolated populations in Black Hills of South Dakota. Eastward through the northern United States.
• Found in coniferous or deciduous forests, and in urban and suburban areas.
Comes readily to traditional hopper bird feeders.
• Favorite Food: Small fruits and seeds, insects and other invertebrates. Sunflower and Saflower seeds.
More detail info
Listen to a Grosbeak
15) Great Blue Heron
• Winters from southern Canada southward to northern South America. Along the coasts as far north as Alaska and Novia Scotia.
• Found along calm freshwater and seacoasts. Usually nests in trees near water & found almost exclusively in shallow marine habitats.
• Favorite Food: Fish, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals.
More detail info
Listen to a heron
16)Great Horned Owl
• Found in a wide variety of habitats throughout the United States, but prefers open and secondary-growth woodlands and agricultural areas.
• Also in boreal forest, desert, and suburban and urban areas.
• Favorite Food: Some birds, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates, but mostly mammals such as rabbits, geese, and herons
More detail info
Listen to a horned owl
17) Herring Gull
• Winters across the United States at sea, along beaches and mudflats, at dumps, and other areas where human-produced food is available. Rests in open areas, including parking lots, fields and airports. This common "seagull" breeds on islands.
• Breeds across Alaska, southward to the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic Coast to North Carolina.
• Favorite Food: Fish, marine invertebrates, insects, birds, eggs, carrion, garbage
More detail info
Listen to gull
18) House Sparrow
• Can be found in all parts of the United States,
• Found in human modified habitats: farms, residential, and urban areas. They sheer numbers can overwhelm birdfeeders and cause them to become a nuisance.
• Favorite Food: Sunflower, corn & millet seeds and insects
More detail info
Listen to sparrow
19) Killdeer
• Killdeer is a common bird in farmyards, fields, and parking lots.
• Winters south of Midwestern states and Massachusetts.
• Breeds across entire United States. Found in open areas, especially sandbars, mudflats, pastures, athletic fields, airports, golf courses, gravel parking lots & rooftops.
• Favorite Food: earthworms, grasshoppers, beetles and snails. Occasionally small vertebrates and seeds.
More detail info
Listen to a killdeer
20) Mallard Duck
• Winters from southern Canada southward to Gulf Coast, northern Florida, and into northern Mexico.
• Breeds from Alaska southward throughout the United States. Found in all wetland habitats.
• Favorite Food: Insects and larvae, aquatic invertebrates, seeds, acorns, aquatic vegetation, grain.
More detail info
Listen to a mallard duck
21) Mourning Dove
• Is among the 10 most abundant birds in the United States
• Breeds from southern Canada throughout the United States. Will reside in all areas over the winter except for the Great Plains and the northernmost areas.
• Found in agricultural areas, open woods, deserts, forest edges, cities and suburbs. As ground feeders they tend to like flat, platform-like & hopper style bird feeders
• Favorite Food: Seeds, cracked corn, millet, sunflower seeds, and peanut kernels
More detail info
Listen to mourning dove
22) Northern Cardinal
• Resident year round from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Maine southward through southern Florida.. Also locally in Arizona, California, and New Mexico.
• Likes areas with shrubs and small trees, including forest edges, hedgerows, and suburbs. Common at bird feeders, especially at dawn and dusk. Prefers a steady, stationary feeder, such as hopper style, platform or ground feeder.
• Favorite Food: Fruits, buds, and insects. Black oil sunflower, buckwheat, black and gray stripe sunflower, and safflower seeds
More detail info
Listen to a cardinal
23) Northern Flicker
• Resident year round throughout the United States.
• Found in in parks, suburbs, farmlands, woodlands, and deserts, including cities and suburbs. This bird readily comes to hanging backyard bird feeders.
• Favorite Food: Insects, primarily ants. Also fruits, black oil sunflower and hulled sunflower seeds
More detail info
Listen to a flicker
24) Northern Mockingbird
• The Northern Mockingbird is a loud and persistent singer. It sings all through the day, and often into the night. Most nocturnal singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day too. Nighttime singing is more common during the full moon. In well-lit areas around people, even mated males may sing at night.
• Resident throughout the United States. Sometimes will visit suet bird feeders
• Found in areas with open ground and shrubby vegetation, such as in parkland, cultivated land, and suburbs.
• Favorite Food: Fruits and insects
More detail info
Listen to mockingbird
25) Purple Martin
• The largest of the North American swallows
• Winters in South America, in lowlands east of the Andes.
• Breeds south of New Brunswick, east of central Texas and south to Florida. Also in scattered locations along Pacific Coast, and in the deserts and mountains of the southwestern United States.
• Breeds near human settlements where nest houses are provided, especially near water and large open areas
• Favorite Food: Flying insects.
More detail info
Listen to purple martin
26) Red-breasted Nuthatch
• Found year round in southern Alaska southward to northern United States. Other populations from the Appalachians to northern Georgia and throughout the Mountain West.
• Found in mature and diverse stands of forests, especially spruce, fir, larch, and cedar. Also suburban habitat with sufficient conifers. Will use nesting boxes or birdhouses
• Irruptive movements southward in years of poor cone production in boreal forest. Some birds move south every year, especially from most northern populations
• Insects, spiders, and sunflower, saflower, suet seeds. Visits bird feeders, prefers tube feeders
More detail info
Listen to a nuthatch
27) Red-Wing Blackbird
• One of the most abundant birds in North America
• Winters from southern Canada southward.
• Breeds in a variety of wetland and grassy areas, including marshes, meadows, alfalfa fields, and open patches in woodlands.
• Insects, sunflower, corn & Milo seeds, and grain. Can become a nuisance at your birdfeeders
More detail info
Listen to redwing blackbird
28) Rock Pigeon
• Common sight in urban areas
• Resident from southern Alaska and Canada, southward throughout the Americas.
• Found around rocky cliffs, urban areas, and agricultural areas.
• Favorite Food: Seeds, fruits, rarely invertebrates.
More detail info
Listen to pigeon
29) Ruby-throated Hummingbird 
• Flies nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Central America.
• Breeds southward from eastern North Dakota to eastern Texas and Florida.
• Breeds in mixed woodlands and eastern deciduous forest, gardens, and orchards.
• Flower nectar, small insects, and tree sap. Comes to hummingbird feeders
More detail info
Listen to hummingbird
30) Song Sparrow
• Most persistent singers
• Winters along coasts and from southern Canada southward to Mexico and Florida.
• Found in variety of open, shrubby areas, especially near water in arid regions.
• Favorite Food: Sunflower, corn, millet seeds, fruits, invertebrates. Is a ground feeder so prefers platform and ground bird feeders
More detail info
Listen to a sparrow
31) Tufted Titmouse
• A common bird of forest and feeders in the eastern United States
• Resident from southern Minnesota, northern Michigan, southern Ontario and southern Vermont, southward to northeastern Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Will use nesting houses and birdhouses
• Deciduous forest, swamps, orchards, parks, and suburban areas. Visits bird feeders, prefers platform and ground bird feeders
• Favorite Food: Insects and sunflower, safflower, suet seeds
More detail info
Listen to titmouse
32) Veery
• Breeds southward to Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Colorado, and Oregon. Also farther south in Appalachians and Rockies.
• Winters in South America, in central and southeastern Brazil.
• Breeds in damp, deciduous forests and riparian habitats. Prefers disturbed forest with denser understory. Also in shrubby habitats with small trees.
• Favorite Food: Insects and other arthropods, fruit.
More detail info
Listen to veery
33) Whip-poor-will
• Breeds southward to Oklahoma and Georgia. Also in scattered localities in Southwest.
• Winters in mixed woods near open areas along southeastern United States
• Breeds in deciduous or mixed forests with little or no underbrush.
• Favorite Foods: Insects, especially moths and beetles.
More detail info
Listen to whip-por-will
34) White-breasted Nuthatch
• Resident in deciduous forests from southern Canada southward to northern Florida and southern Mexico.
• Found in mature deciduous forests, especially near openings and edges. Also parks and suburbs with large trees. Will use nesting boxes and birdhouses for songbirds like wrens and chickadees.
• It frequents bird feeders preferring tube and suet feeders. Takes sunflower seeds off to the side of a tree, where it wedges them into a crevice and hammers them open
• Favorite Food: Insects, nuts, and sunflower, safflower, and suet seeds.
More detail info
Listen to nuthatch
35) Wood Duck
• The Wood Duck is a popular and colorful game bird found in forested wetlands, including along rivers, swamps, marshes, ponds, and lakes.
• Breeds throughout the eastern half of the United States, southward to Cuba. In the West, breeds southward along Pacific Coast to southern California, and at scattered locations inland. Wood Duck readily uses nest boxes provided for it
• Winters in southern three-quarters of breeding range, and in Southwest.
• Favorite Foods: Seeds, acorns, fruits, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.
More detail info
Listen to wood duck
36) Wood thrush 
• A Wood Thrush often returns to the same breeding territory in successive years. Breeds in eastern North America southward to northern Florida, westward to the eastern parts of the Great Plains in Texas, to eastern Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
• Breeds in unfragmented forests generally in cool, moist sites, often near water. Less large patches of forest is contributing factor behind population declines
• Wood Thrushes are here only from April through September.
• Favorite Foods: beetles, ants, moths, caterpillars, millipedes, and isopods. In the late summer and fall eats more fruit
More detail info
Listen to wood thrush
37) Wren
• Breeds southward to central California, central New Mexico, northern Arkansas, and northern Georgia. Breeds along forest edges and in open woodlands, city parks, and residential areas with trees. Uses Nesting boxes and birdhouses
• Winters in the southern United States from California, Texas, and central Arkansas, to southern Maryland and southward to Gulf Coast and throughout Florida. Will be in thickets, shrubby areas, residential yards and gardens. Sometimes visit suet birdfeeders
• Favorite Foods: Small terrestrial invertebrates.
More detail info
Listen to wren
38) Yellow Warbler
• Breeds from northern Alaska southward to middle United States, and in West into Mexico. Also breeds from southern Florida, throughout the Caribbean and Central American coasts. Breeds in wet, deciduous thickets, especially in willows. Also in shrubby areas and old fields. In southern Florida and farther south, found in mangroves.
• Winters in Mexico, Central and South America.
• Favorite Food: Insects and other arthropods, occasionally fruit.
More detail info
Listen to warbler
39) Yellowthroat
• Breeds in extreme southeastern Alaska then southward along both coasts to southern Florida and California, to Gulf Coast and eastern Texas.
• Winters in coastal states from North Carolina through Texas, in California, and along the Colorado River. Also winters throughout Mexico, Central America, parts of the Carribbean.
• Common in thick vegetation from wetlands to prairies to pine forests. Frequently near water.
• Favorite Foods: Insects and spiders.
More detail info
Listen to yellowthroat
I used several resources for this posting but found myself referring to All about Birds the most. What a great resource of information!!
If you find that you are interested in buying a decorative or squirrel proof bird feeder; decorative or nesting bird house; outdoor wooden furniture, or many other items for your outdoor space..visit my website YourGardenRetreat.com
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