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Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in New Zealand

Our list for New Zealand has 71 bird species recorded regularly there: 34 residents, 24 summer visitors, 3 winter visitors, 7 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors

The list comes from 6.0 million birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Species on our list
71
In October
62
Common
20
Busiest month
Nov

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. BlackbirdBlackbird5.19%
  2. ChaffinchChaffinch4.36%
  3. House SparrowHouse Sparrow4.05%
  4. Common StarlingCommon Starling3.70%
  5. Song ThrushSong Thrush3.16%
  6. European GoldfinchEuropean Goldfinch2.49%

Arriving now

  1. Arctic JaegerArctic JaegerSummer visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.01%
  2. Northern PintailNorthern PintailScarceSep 0.00% → Oct 0.01%
  3. Little TernLittle TernSummer visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.01%
  4. Black-tailed GodwitBlack-tailed GodwitSummer visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.00%
  5. Long-tailed JaegerLong-tailed JaegerPassage migrantSep 0.00% → Oct 0.00%
  6. EmuEmuSummer visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.00%

Share of all bird records in New Zealand in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.

The bird calendar for New Zealand

Month by month

When each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.

The year in New Zealand

Records by month
Bird records in New Zealand by month, 2019–2024
January639,534
February463,214
March402,473
April421,645
May386,768
June378,304
July375,646
August367,754
September418,600
October666,796
November766,265
December684,828

November has the most records (766,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.

By family

12 of 13
All 13 families in New Zealand

How common

All 71 birds, A to Z

Show all 71 birds

Questions

3

How many birds are on Birdfact's list for New Zealand?

71 species, each recorded regularly in New Zealand (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 34 residents, 24 summer visitors, 3 winter visitors, 7 passage migrants and 3 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in New Zealand, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in New Zealand in October?

62 species on our list for New Zealand are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Blackbird, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Common Starling and Song Thrush.

What are the most common birds in New Zealand?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in New Zealand are Blackbird, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Common Starling and Song Thrush.

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

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