Rare Birds in North Carolina
Our list for North Carolina has 77 rare birds recorded regularly there: 10 residents, 10 summer visitors, 29 winter visitors, 27 passage migrants and 1 scarce visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in North Carolina in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 77, most common first
Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdiiPassage migrantRare14–17 cmRegularly Aug–Oct
Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorumSummer visitorRare13–17 cmRegularly May–Sep
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaPassage migrantRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Jun
Arctic JaegerStercorarius parasiticusWinter visitorRare41–46 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceusWinter visitorRare27–30 cmRegularly Jul–May
Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalisPassage migrantRare15–18 cmRegularly Nov–Dec
Wilson's PhalaropePhalaropus tricolorSummer visitorRare22–24 cmRegularly May–Aug
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantRare25–30 cmRegularly Jan–Mar
Evening GrosbeakHesperiphona vespertinaPassage migrantRare16–22 cmRegularly Jan–Apr
American Golden-PloverPluvialis dominicaPassage migrantRare24–28 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Purple SandpiperCalidris maritimaWinter visitorRare20–22 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaResidentRare63–73 cmRecorded all year
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboWinter visitorRare80–100 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
Short-eared OwlAsio flammeusWinter visitorRare34–43 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Say's PhoebeSayornis sayaPassage migrantRare17–20 cmRegularly Oct
Grey PhalaropePhalaropus fulicariusWinter visitorRare20–22 cmRegularly Dec–May
Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulvaPassage migrantRare23–26 cmRegularly Jul–Aug
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiSummer visitorRare33–41 cmRegularly Apr–Aug
Yellow-bellied FlycatcherEmpidonax flaviventrisPassage migrantRare13–15 cmRegularly Aug–Oct
Clay-colored SparrowSpizella pallidaWinter visitorRare13–15 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Lark SparrowChondestes grammacusWinter visitorRare15–17 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
FulmarFulmarus glacialisPassage migrantRare45–50 cmRegularly Feb
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesWinter visitorRare52–60 cmRegularly Nov–May
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