Rare Birds in Iowa
Our list for Iowa has 37 rare birds recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 8 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors, 11 passage migrants and 9 scarce visitors
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 37, most common first
Fish CrowCorvus ossifragusSummer visitorRare36–41 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
RuffCalidris pugnaxScarceRare20–32 cmRegularly Apr
Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellusResidentRare48–66 cmRegularly Apr–May
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataScarceRare66–84 cm
Western SandpiperCalidris mauriPassage migrantRare14–17 cmRegularly May–Aug
Red KnotCalidris canutusResidentRare23–26 cmRegularly Sep
Greylag GooseAnser anserScarceRare75–90 cm
Piping PloverCharadrius melodusPassage migrantRare17–18 cmRegularly May–Sep
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusResidentRare40–46 cmRegularly May
Swan GooseAnser cygnoidesScarceRare81–94 cm
White-winged DoveZenaida asiaticaResidentRare27–30 cmRegularly Apr–May
Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellusResidentRare41–50 cmRegularly Apr–Jun
Painted BuntingPasserina cirisPassage migrantRare12–14 cmRegularly May
ChukarAlectoris chukarScarceRare32–38 cm
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