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
Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresWinter visitorUncommon21–24 cmRegularly Jul–May
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Varied ThrushIxoreus naeviusWinter visitorUncommon20–26 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Mountain BluebirdSialia currucoidesResidentUncommon15–18 cmRecorded all year
Greater RoadrunnerGeococcyx californianusResidentUncommon52–54 cmRecorded all year
Ross's GooseAnser rossiiWinter visitorUncommon57–64 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdiiPassage migrantUncommon14–17 cmRegularly Aug–Sep
Leach's Storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSummer visitorUncommon18–21 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaResidentUncommon63–73 cmRecorded all year
California GnatcatcherPolioptila californicaResidentUncommon10–11 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopeWinter visitorUncommon42–51 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
White-winged DoveZenaida asiaticaResidentUncommon27–30 cmRecorded all year
Mute SwanCygnus olorResidentUncommon140–160 cmRecorded all year
Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostraResidentUncommon15–17 cmRecorded all year
Purple MartinProgne subisSummer visitorUncommon18–20 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewisResidentUncommon26–28 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