Uncommon Birds in North Carolina
Our list for North Carolina has 89 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 23 residents, 21 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors and 15 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in North Carolina in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 89, most common first
Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatusPassage migrantUncommon16–20 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentUncommon14–17 cmRecorded all year
American Herring GullLarus smithsonianusResidentUncommon53–65 cmRecorded all year
Black-throated Blue WarblerSetophaga caerulescensSummer visitorUncommon11–13 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Tundra SwanCygnus columbianusWinter visitorUncommon120–150 cmRegularly Nov–Mar
Wood DuckAix sponsaResidentUncommon47–54 cmRecorded all year
GadwallMareca streperaWinter visitorUncommon46–56 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Least SandpiperCalidris minutillaPassage migrantUncommon13–15 cmRegularly Apr–Jan
Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citreaSummer visitorUncommon13–14 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
WilletTringa semipalmataResidentUncommon33–41 cmRecorded all year
SanderlingCalidris albaResidentUncommon18–20 cmRecorded all year
Pine SiskinSpinus pinusWinter visitorUncommon11–14 cmRegularly Oct–Jul
Rock DoveColumba liviaResidentUncommon29–37 cmRecorded all year
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentUncommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphiaWinter visitorUncommon28–38 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatusSummer visitorUncommon17–19 cmRecorded all year
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusResidentUncommon19–23 cmRecorded all year
Black-throated Green WarblerSetophaga virensSummer visitorUncommon11–12 cmRegularly Mar–Oct
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorUncommon59–76 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorUncommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataWinter visitorUncommon44–51 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Bay-breasted WarblerSetophaga castaneaPassage migrantUncommon14–14 cmRegularly May–Oct
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorUncommon34–38 cmRegularly Sep–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