Rare Birds in Hawaii
Our list for Hawaii has 27 rare birds recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 7 winter visitors, 8 passage migrants and 7 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Hawaii in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 27, most common first
DunlinCalidris alpinaWinter visitorRare16–22 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusWinter visitorRare34–58 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Brent GooseBranta berniclaWinter visitorRare55–66 cmRegularly Dec–Mar
Black SwanCygnus atratusResidentRare110–142 cmRecorded all year
Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcanScarceRare32–36 cm
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaScarceRare33–39 cm
Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaWinter visitorRare13–15 cmRegularly Sep–Feb
RuffCalidris pugnaxPassage migrantRare20–32 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Canada GooseBranta canadensisWinter visitorRare76–110 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Semipalmated SandpiperCalidris pusillaPassage migrantRare15–18 cmRegularly Sep–Dec
Grey PhalaropePhalaropus fulicariusResidentRare20–22 cmRegularly Dec–Apr
Pomarine JaegerStercorarius pomarinusPassage migrantRare46–51 cmRegularly Jan–May
GadwallMareca streperaWinter visitorRare46–56 cmRegularly Dec–Feb
OspreyPandion haliaetusWinter visitorRare54–58 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Helmeted GuineafowlNumida meleagrisResidentRare53–63 cmRecorded all year
Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatusPassage migrantRare40–49 cmRegularly Dec–Jan
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaScarceRare28–38 cm
Western SandpiperCalidris mauriScarceRare14–17 cm
Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseusScarceRare23–32 cm
Long-tailed JaegerStercorarius longicaudusPassage migrantRare48–58 cmRegularly Apr
GarganeySpatula querquedulaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Jan
Red KnotCalidris canutusScarceRare23–26 cmRegularly Feb–Aug
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusResidentRare40–46 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Least Sandpiper 13–15 cm
- Western Sandpiper 14–17 cm
- Semipalmated Sandpiper 15–18 cm
- Dunlin 16–22 cm
- Grey Phalarope 20–22 cm
- Red Knot 23–26 cm
- Ruff 20–32 cm
- Short-billed Dowitcher 23–32 cm
- Bonaparte's Gull 28–38 cm
- Franklin's Gull 32–36 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Garganey 37–41 cm
- Whimbrel 40–46 cm
- Arctic Jaeger 41–46 cm
- Hooded Merganser 40–49 cm
- Peregrine Falcon 34–58 cm
- Pomarine Jaeger 46–51 cm
- Gadwall 46–56 cm
- Long-tailed Jaeger 48–58 cm
- Osprey 54–58 cm
- Helmeted Guineafowl 53–63 cm
- Brent Goose 55–66 cm
- Greylag Goose 75–90 cm
- Swan Goose 81–94 cm
- Canada Goose 76–110 cm
- Golden Pheasant 90–105 cm
- Black Swan 110–142 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