Cardinals & Grosbeaks in California
Our list for California has 5 cardinals & grosbeaks recorded regularly there: 2 summer visitors and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in California in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 5, most common first
Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianusSummer visitorRare18–22 cmRegularly May–Mar
DickcisselSpiza americanaPassage migrantRare14–16 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Painted BuntingPasserina cirisPassage migrantRare12–14 cmRegularly Aug–Dec
Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivaceaPassage migrantRare16–19 cmRegularly Jun–Dec
Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisSummer visitorRare21–23 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Painted Bunting 12–14 cm
- Dickcissel 14–16 cm
- Scarlet Tanager 16–19 cm
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak 18–22 cm
- Northern Cardinal 21–23 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
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