Skip to content
birdfact
Identify
Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in Cornwall

Our list for Cornwall has 247 bird species recorded regularly there: 89 residents, 26 summer visitors, 60 winter visitors, 66 passage migrants and 5 scarce visitors

The list comes from 792,000 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
247
In October
197
Common
97
Busiest month
Oct

What's special about Cornwall

vs England

The birds recorded far more often here than across England, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones Cornwall is worth visiting for.

  1. Red-billed ChoughRed-billed Chough32×Resident · 0.42% of records here, 0.01% across England
  2. Great ShearwaterGreat Shearwater31×Passage migrant · 0.18% of records here, 0.01% across England
  3. European Storm-petrelEuropean Storm-petrel29×Passage migrant · 0.18% of records here, 0.01% across England
  4. Balearic ShearwaterBalearic Shearwater22×Passage migrant · 0.17% of records here, 0.01% across England
  5. Sooty ShearwaterSooty Shearwater18×Passage migrant · 0.22% of records here, 0.01% across England
  6. Manx ShearwaterManx Shearwater17×Summer visitor · 0.63% of records here, 0.04% across England
  7. European ShagEuropean Shag15×Resident · 1.5% of records here, 0.10% across England
  8. Sabine's GullSabine's Gull11×Passage migrant · 0.04% of records here, 0.00% across England

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. European Herring GullEuropean Herring Gull3.14%
  2. European RobinEuropean Robin2.93%
  3. Eurasian WrenEurasian Wren2.60%
  4. Carrion CrowCarrion Crow2.59%
  5. WoodpigeonWoodpigeon2.51%
  6. BlackbirdBlackbird2.44%

Arriving now

  1. RedwingRedwingWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.95%
  2. Black RedstartBlack RedstartWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.53%
  3. FieldfareFieldfareWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.31%
  4. Pink-footed GoosePink-footed GoosePassage migrantSep 0.02% → Oct 0.20%
  5. Common LoonCommon LoonWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.14%
  6. BramblingBramblingPassage migrantSep 0.00% → Oct 0.14%

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

Near you this week

The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.

The bird calendar for Cornwall

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 Cornwall

Records by month
Bird records in Cornwall by month, 2019–2024
January56,271
February46,680
March51,521
April73,878
May68,795
June42,350
July49,911
August80,435
September75,439
October151,815
November48,764
December45,917

October has the most records (152,000). 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 35
All 35 families in Cornwall

How common

More of England

All of England

All 247 birds, A to Z

Show all 247 birds

Questions

4

What birds is Cornwall known for?

Compared with the rest of England, Cornwall stands out for Red-billed Chough, Great Shearwater, European Storm-petrel and Balearic Shearwater. Each is recorded at least 21.8 times as often here as across England, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).

How many birds are on Birdfact's list for Cornwall?

247 species, each recorded regularly in Cornwall (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 89 residents, 26 summer visitors, 60 winter visitors, 66 passage migrants and 5 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Cornwall, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in Cornwall in October?

197 species on our list for Cornwall are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are European Herring Gull, European Robin, Eurasian Wren, Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon.

What are the most common birds in Cornwall?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Cornwall are European Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, European Robin and Carrion Crow.

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

Download citations (7)