Rare Birds in Ontario
Our list for Ontario has 60 rare birds recorded regularly there: 4 residents, 12 summer visitors, 10 winter visitors, 31 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Ontario in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 60, most common first
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Common PheasantPhasianus colchicusResidentRare50–90 cmRecorded all year
Mountain BluebirdSialia currucoidesPassage migrantRare15–18 cmRegularly Nov–Jan
Piping PloverCharadrius melodusSummer visitorRare17–18 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Grey PartridgePerdix perdixWinter visitorRare28–32 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglectaSummer visitorRare16–26 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopePassage migrantRare42–51 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaWinter visitorRare37–41 cmRegularly Sep–May
Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalisPassage migrantRare20–24 cmRegularly Jun–Sep
Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellusPassage migrantRare48–66 cmRegularly May–Aug
Varied ThrushIxoreus naeviusWinter visitorRare20–26 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
WilletTringa semipalmataSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Cinnamon TealSpatula cyanopteraScarceRare36–43 cm
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataWinter visitorRare66–84 cmRecorded all year
American AvocetRecurvirostra americanaPassage migrantRare43–51 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black-necked GrebePodiceps nigricollisPassage migrantRare28–34 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsisPassage migrantRare58–70 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Lark SparrowChondestes grammacusPassage migrantRare15–17 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Long-tailed JaegerStercorarius longicaudusPassage migrantRare48–58 cmRegularly Aug–Oct
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisWinter visitorRare21–24 cmRecorded all year
Say's PhoebeSayornis sayaPassage migrantRare17–20 cmRegularly Apr
Pomarine JaegerStercorarius pomarinusPassage migrantRare46–51 cmRegularly Sep–Dec
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanSummer visitorRare32–36 cmRegularly May–Oct
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made