Rare Birds in California
Our list for California has 99 rare birds recorded regularly there: 20 residents, 15 summer visitors, 28 winter visitors, 34 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
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 99, most common first
Bay-breasted WarblerSetophaga castaneaPassage migrantRare14–14 cmRegularly May–Dec
Philadelphia VireoVireo philadelphicusPassage migrantRare11–13 cmRegularly Sep–Nov
Gila WoodpeckerMelanerpes uropygialisResidentRare20–25 cmRecorded all year
Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameriResidentRare38–42 cmRecorded all year
Hudsonian GodwitLimosa haemasticaPassage migrantRare36–42 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Tundra Bean GooseAnser serrirostrisScarceRare66–84 cmRegularly Nov
American Golden-PloverPluvialis dominicaPassage migrantRare24–28 cmRegularly Aug–Nov
Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbulaWinter visitorRare17–19 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaPassage migrantRare18–23 cmRegularly Sep–Dec
Scissor-tailed FlycatcherTyrannus forficatusWinter visitorRare28–38 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitusPassage migrantRare17–22 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Black-throated Green WarblerSetophaga virensWinter visitorRare11–12 cmRegularly Sep–May
Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticulaPassage migrantRare17–19 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusPassage migrantRare38–44 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly May–Sep
Blue-footed BoobySula nebouxiiPassage migrantRare76–84 cmRegularly Jul–Oct
Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisSummer visitorRare21–23 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubrisPassage migrantRare7–9 cmRegularly Sep
BudgerigarMelopsittacus undulatusSummer visitorRare18–20 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Cape May WarblerSetophaga tigrinaWinter visitorRare12–14 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
Blue-headed VireoVireo solitariusPassage migrantRare12–15 cmRegularly Sep–Oct
Mourning WarblerGeothlypis philadelphiaPassage migrantRare10–15 cmRegularly Jun–Oct
American Tree SparrowSpizelloides arboreaWinter visitorRare14–17 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
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