Uncommon Birds in California
Our list for California has 85 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 38 residents, 8 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors and 9 passage migrants
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 85, most common first
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusResidentUncommon34–58 cmRecorded all year
Nashville WarblerLeiothlypis ruficapillaSummer visitorUncommon11–13 cmRegularly Apr–Jan
Snow GooseAnser caerulescensWinter visitorUncommon69–84 cmRegularly Oct–May
Great Horned OwlBubo virginianusResidentUncommon46–63 cmRecorded all year
Common LoonGavia immerResidentUncommon66–91 cmRecorded all year
Horned GrebePodiceps auritusWinter visitorUncommon31–38 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Common MerganserMergus merganserResidentUncommon58–68 cmRecorded all year
Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalusResidentUncommon70–102 cmRecorded all year
Chipping SparrowSpizella passerinaResidentUncommon12–15 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted SapsuckerSphyrapicus ruberResidentUncommon19–22 cmRecorded all year
Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatusWinter visitorUncommon40–49 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax trailliiPassage migrantUncommon13–17 cmRegularly May–Oct
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted MerganserMergus serratorWinter visitorUncommon52–58 cmRegularly Oct–May
White-headed WoodpeckerPicoides albolarvatusSummer visitorUncommon20–23 cmRecorded all year
Greater ScaupAythya marilaWinter visitorUncommon39–56 cmRecorded all year
Pomarine JaegerStercorarius pomarinusPassage migrantUncommon46–51 cmRegularly Feb–Dec
DunlinCalidris alpinaWinter visitorUncommon16–22 cmRegularly Sep–May
SanderlingCalidris albaWinter visitorUncommon18–20 cmRegularly Jul–May
Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusSummer visitorUncommon23–32 cmRecorded all year
Arctic JaegerStercorarius parasiticusPassage migrantUncommon41–46 cmRegularly May–Feb
Lark SparrowChondestes grammacusResidentUncommon15–17 cmRecorded all year
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantUncommon27–33 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
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