Uncommon Birds in Illinois
Our list for Illinois has 84 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 21 summer visitors, 31 winter visitors and 25 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 84, most common first
Gray-cheeked ThrushCatharus minimusPassage migrantUncommon16–17 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
OspreyPandion haliaetusSummer visitorUncommon54–58 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorusSummer visitorUncommon16–20 cmRegularly May–Oct
Trumpeter SwanCygnus buccinatorWinter visitorUncommon139–157 cmRecorded all year
Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaPassage migrantUncommon29–40 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxSummer visitorUncommon58–65 cmRegularly Mar–Jan
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatusWinter visitorUncommon24–34 cmRegularly Sep–May
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Aug–May
Common LoonGavia immerPassage migrantUncommon66–91 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalisWinter visitorUncommon15–18 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Philadelphia VireoVireo philadelphicusPassage migrantUncommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorUncommon59–76 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanusResidentUncommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicusWinter visitorUncommon15–16 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
MerlinFalco columbariusWinter visitorUncommon24–33 cmRegularly Aug–May
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusWinter visitorUncommon34–58 cmRecorded all year
Blue-headed VireoVireo solitariusPassage migrantUncommon12–15 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescensPassage migrantUncommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsiiWinter visitorUncommon53–76 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Barred OwlStrix variaResidentUncommon43–50 cmRecorded all year
Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottosResidentUncommon21–26 cmRecorded all year
Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopusPassage migrantUncommon18–23 cmRegularly Jul–Oct
Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citreaSummer visitorUncommon13–14 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
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