Rare Birds in Massachusetts
Our list for Massachusetts has 60 rare birds recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 7 summer visitors, 20 winter visitors, 25 passage migrants and 5 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Massachusetts in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 60, most common first
Marbled GodwitLimosa fedoaPassage migrantRare40–50 cmRegularly Jul–Jan
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusWinter visitorRare19–23 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusScarceRare28–31 cm
Lark SparrowChondestes grammacusPassage migrantRare15–17 cmRegularly Aug–Dec
Tundra SwanCygnus columbianusPassage migrantRare120–150 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Tufted DuckAythya fuligulaWinter visitorRare40–47 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsiiWinter visitorRare53–76 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchusWinter visitorRare60–75 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsisPassage migrantRare58–70 cmRegularly Nov–Dec
Grey PhalaropePhalaropus fulicariusPassage migrantRare20–22 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Aug
Pacific LoonGavia pacificaWinter visitorRare58–74 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Say's PhoebeSayornis sayaPassage migrantRare17–20 cmRegularly Oct
Trumpeter SwanCygnus buccinatorPassage migrantRare139–157 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
WheatearOenanthe oenantheScarceRare15–16 cmRegularly Sep
Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachusWinter visitorRare29–31 cmRegularly Jul–Apr
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataWinter visitorRare66–84 cmRecorded all year
Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulusWinter visitorRare19–23 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Sabine's GullXema sabiniPassage migrantRare27–33 cmRegularly Jul–Sep
Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citreaPassage migrantRare13–14 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Gray-cheeked ThrushCatharus minimusPassage migrantRare16–17 cmRegularly May–Oct
Upland SandpiperBartramia longicaudaSummer visitorRare28–32 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolorSummer visitorRare22–24 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