Common Birds in Illinois
Our list for Illinois has 76 common birds recorded regularly there: 23 residents, 20 summer visitors, 19 winter visitors and 14 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Illinois in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 76, most common first
Great Blue HeronArdea herodiasResidentCommon91–137 cmRecorded all year
Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensisSummer visitorCommon20–24 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
GoldeneyeBucephala clangulaWinter visitorCommon40–51 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbulaSummer visitorCommon17–19 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubrisSummer visitorCommon7–9 cmRegularly May–Oct
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusWinter visitorCommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusResidentCommon18–26 cmRecorded all year
Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatusPassage migrantCommon16–20 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
American RedstartSetophaga ruticillaSummer visitorCommon11–14 cmRegularly May–Oct
Great White EgretArdea albaSummer visitorCommon80–104 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Ruby-crowned KingletCorthylio calendulaPassage migrantCommon9–11 cmRegularly Apr–Dec
Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorumSummer visitorCommon15–18 cmRecorded all year
Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalusWinter visitorCommon70–102 cmRecorded all year
Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolorResidentCommon14–16 cmRecorded all year
White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrysWinter visitorCommon15–16 cmRegularly Sep–May
Turkey VultureCathartes auraSummer visitorCommon62–81 cmRecorded all year
Northern Yellow WarblerSetophaga aestivaSummer visitorCommon12–13 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Common MerganserMergus merganserWinter visitorCommon58–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Rock DoveColumba liviaResidentCommon29–37 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted MerganserMergus serratorWinter visitorCommon52–58 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Magnolia WarblerSetophaga magnoliaPassage migrantCommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitusSummer visitorCommon17–22 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Chipping SparrowSpizella passerinaSummer visitorCommon12–15 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
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