Common Birds in California
Our list for California has 48 common birds recorded regularly there: 34 residents, 3 summer visitors, 10 winter visitors and 1 passage migrant
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in California in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 48, most common first
Northern Yellow WarblerSetophaga aestivaSummer visitorCommon12–13 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Say's PhoebeSayornis sayaWinter visitorCommon17–20 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaoctoResidentCommon30–32 cmRecorded all year
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentCommon14–17 cmRecorded all year
Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensisResidentCommon35–43 cmRecorded all year
Rock DoveColumba liviaResidentCommon29–37 cmRecorded all year
Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatusWinter visitorCommon14–18 cmRegularly Sep–Jul
Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichasResidentCommon11–13 cmRecorded all year
Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podicepsResidentCommon31–38 cmRecorded all year
Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensisWinter visitorCommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataWinter visitorCommon44–51 cmRecorded all year
Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaWinter visitorCommon13–15 cmRegularly Jul–May
White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensisResidentCommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglectaResidentCommon16–26 cmRecorded all year
Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensResidentCommon14–18 cmRecorded all year
Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatusPassage migrantCommon18–19 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Western SandpiperCalidris mauriWinter visitorCommon14–17 cmRegularly Jul–May
Western KingbirdTyrannus verticalisSummer visitorCommon20–24 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
WilletTringa semipalmataResidentCommon33–41 cmRecorded all year
Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaResidentCommon29–40 cmRecorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxResidentCommon58–65 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorCommon34–38 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
OspreyPandion haliaetusResidentCommon54–58 cmRecorded all year
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