Uncommon Birds in Massachusetts
Our list for Massachusetts has 90 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 6 residents, 23 summer visitors, 38 winter visitors and 23 passage migrants
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 90, most common first
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboWinter visitorUncommon80–100 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Solitary SandpiperTringa solitariaPassage migrantUncommon19–23 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrysWinter visitorUncommon15–16 cmRegularly Sep–May
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatusWinter visitorUncommon24–34 cmRegularly Aug–May
Purple MartinProgne subisSummer visitorUncommon18–20 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxSummer visitorUncommon58–65 cmRegularly Mar–Jan
DunlinCalidris alpinaWinter visitorUncommon16–22 cmRegularly Aug–May
Sand MartinRiparia ripariaSummer visitorUncommon12–14 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Nashville WarblerLeiothlypis ruficapillaPassage migrantUncommon11–13 cmRegularly May–Oct
Marsh WrenCistothorus palustrisSummer visitorUncommon10–14 cmRecorded all year
Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimusSummer visitorUncommon12–14 cmRegularly May–Sep
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusWinter visitorUncommon34–58 cmRecorded all year
Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolniiPassage migrantUncommon13–15 cmRegularly May–Nov
MerlinFalco columbariusWinter visitorUncommon24–33 cmRegularly Jul–May
Pied-billed GrebePodilymbus podicepsWinter visitorUncommon31–38 cmRegularly Jun–Apr
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorUncommon59–76 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorUncommon33–41 cmRegularly May–Sep
White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisSummer visitorUncommon15–18 cmRegularly May–Nov
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRecorded all year
Fox SparrowPasserella iliacaWinter visitorUncommon15–19 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusPassage migrantUncommon40–46 cmRegularly Jul–Oct
Great Horned OwlBubo virginianusWinter visitorUncommon46–63 cmRecorded all year
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
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