Cardinals & Grosbeaks in Iowa
Our list for Iowa has 5 cardinals & grosbeaks recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 3 summer visitors and 1 passage migrant
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Iowa in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 5, most common first
Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisResidentCommon21–23 cmRecorded all year
DickcisselSpiza americanaSummer visitorCommon14–16 cmRegularly May–Aug
Rose-breasted GrosbeakPheucticus ludovicianusSummer visitorCommon18–22 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivaceaSummer visitorUncommon16–19 cmRegularly May–Sep
Painted BuntingPasserina cirisPassage migrantRare12–14 cmRegularly May
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Painted Bunting 12–14 cm
- Dickcissel 14–16 cm
- Scarlet Tanager 16–19 cm
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak 18–22 cm
- Northern Cardinal 21–23 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