Common Birds in Iowa
Our list for Iowa has 83 common birds recorded regularly there: 24 residents, 22 summer visitors, 21 winter visitors and 16 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Iowa in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 83, most common first
Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorumResidentCommon15–18 cmRecorded all year
Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgianaSummer visitorCommon12–15 cmRegularly Mar–Jan
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorCommon34–38 cmRegularly Sep–May
GoldeneyeBucephala clangulaWinter visitorCommon40–51 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podicepsSummer visitorCommon31–38 cmRegularly Mar–Dec
Horned LarkEremophila alpestrisWinter visitorCommon16–20 cmRegularly Jun–Apr
Common PheasantPhasianus colchicusResidentCommon50–90 cmRecorded all year
Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatusWinter visitorCommon40–49 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Nashville WarblerLeiothlypis ruficapillaPassage migrantCommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrysWinter visitorCommon15–16 cmRegularly Oct–May
Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensisWinter visitorCommon35–43 cmRegularly Oct–May
Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolniiPassage migrantCommon13–15 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Snow GooseAnser caerulescensWinter visitorCommon69–84 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Common MerganserMergus merganserWinter visitorCommon58–68 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanusResidentCommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopusWinter visitorCommon46–59 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Tennessee WarblerLeiothlypis peregrinaPassage migrantCommon10–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorCommon59–76 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsiiWinter visitorCommon53–76 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipesPassage migrantCommon23–27 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Great White EgretArdea albaSummer visitorCommon80–104 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Magnolia WarblerSetophaga magnoliaPassage migrantCommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatusPassage migrantCommon16–20 cmRegularly May–Sep
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