Birds to See in New Zealand in December
62 species listed for December · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
62 bird species on our list for New Zealand are recorded regularly in December. Of these, the most often recorded are Blackbird, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Common Starling and Song Thrush.
New in December
No new arrivals this month.
Leaving after last month3
Residents
(34)Recorded all year
Blackbird
Turdus merulaLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebsLC
Recorded all year
Common Starling
Sturnus vulgarisLC
Recorded all year
Song Thrush
Turdus philomelosLC
Recorded all year
European Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelisLC
Recorded all year
Greenfinch
Chloris chlorisLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Skylark
Alauda arvensisLC
Recorded all year
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchosLC
Recorded all year
Dunnock
Prunella modularisLC
Recorded all year
Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinellaLC
Recorded all year
Australian Magpie
Gymnorhina tibicenLC
Recorded all year
Common Redpoll
Acanthis flammeaLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Black Swan
Cygnus atratusLC
Recorded all year
Canada Goose
Branta canadensisLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Common Pheasant
Phasianus colchicusLC
Recorded all year
Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponicaNT
Recorded all year
Coot
Fulica atraLC
Recorded all year
Little Penguin
Eudyptula minorLC
Recorded all year
Great Crested Grebe
Podiceps cristatusLC
Recorded all year
Greylag Goose
Anser anserLC
Recorded all year
Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatusLC
Recorded all year
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavoLC
Recorded all year
Little Owl
Athene noctuaLC
Recorded all year
Muscovy Duck
Cairina moschataLC
Recorded all year
Mute Swan
Cygnus olorLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Red Junglefowl
Gallus gallusLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Cirl Bunting
Emberiza cirlusLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Laughing Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineaeLC
Recorded all year
Summer visitors
(24)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Sooty Shearwater
Ardenna griseaNT
Regularly Sep–May
Southern Royal Albatross
Diomedea epomophoraVU
Recorded all year
White-chinned Petrel
Procellaria aequinoctialisVU
Regularly Sep–May
Red Knot
Calidris canutusNT
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Arctic Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticusLC
Regularly Oct–May
Yellowhead
Mohoua ochrocephalaNT
Recorded all year
Pacific Golden-Plover
Pluvialis fulvaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Calidris acuminataVU
Regularly Sep–Apr
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
Eudyptes chrysocomeVU
Regularly Nov–Mar
Little Tern
Sternula albifronsLC
Regularly Oct–Jun
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotosLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Regularly Jun–Mar
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year
Chukar
Alectoris chukarLC
Regularly Jul–May
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Regularly Aug–May
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosaNT
Regularly Oct–Jul
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Regularly Nov–Jul
Pomarine Jaeger
Stercorarius pomarinusLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiaeLC
Regularly Oct–Jun
Wandering Albatross
Diomedea exulansVU
Regularly Jun–Feb
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameriLC
Regularly May–Jan
Winter visitors
(1)Present outside the breeding season
Passage migrants
(3)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
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