United States Minor Outlying Islands bird checklist
155 bird species in 33 families have been recorded in the United States Minor Outlying Islands, according to eBird; about 129 of them are seen regularly, and the rest are rarities, vagrants and escaped or introduced birds. Download the full list as a PDF, or tick birds off on your phone, with counts and notes, even without signal.
Species data: eBird.org, updated · How these lists are made
The most common birds in the United States Minor Outlying Islands right now
1Great Frigatebird
2Bristle-thighed Curlew
3Ruddy Turnstone
4Black Noddy
5Pacific Golden-Plover
6Bonin Petrel
7Brown Noddy
8Black-headed Gull
9Wandering Tattler
10Least Tern
United States Minor Outlying Islands bird checklist
155 species · loading the checklist tools…
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
- Emperor Goose
- Snow Goose
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Brant
- Cackling Goose
- Baikal Teal
- Garganey
- Blue-winged Teal
- Northern Shoveler
- Gadwall
- Eurasian Wigeon
- American Wigeon
- Laysan Duck
- Mallard
- Northern Pintail
- Green-winged Teal
- Canvasback
- Common Pochard
- Ring-necked Duck
- Tufted Duck
- Greater Scaup
- Lesser Scaup
- Harlequin Duck
- Black Scoter
- Long-tailed Duck
- Bufflehead
- Common Goldeneye
- Common Merganser
- Red-breasted Merganser
Pigeons and Doves
- Rock Pigeon
- White-crowned Pigeon
- Common Ground Dove
- Mourning Dove
Cuckoos
- Smooth-billed Ani
Swifts
- Pacific Swift
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Common Gallinule
Stilts and Avocets
- Black-winged Stilt
- Black-necked Stilt
Plovers and Lapwings
- Black-bellied Plover
- Pacific Golden-Plover
- Semipalmated Plover
- Little Ringed Plover
- Northern Lapwing
- Siberian Sand-Plover
Sandpipers and Allies
- Bristle-thighed Curlew
- Hudsonian Whimbrel
- Eurasian Whimbrel
- Far Eastern Curlew
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Short-billed Dowitcher
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Jack Snipe
- Common Snipe
- Wilson's Snipe
- Red Phalarope
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Solitary Sandpiper
- Gray-tailed Tattler
- Wandering Tattler
- Wood Sandpiper
- Lesser Yellowlegs
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Red Knot
- Ruff
- Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
- Temminck's Stint
- Sanderling
- Dunlin
- Baird's Sandpiper
- Little Stint
- Least Sandpiper
- Pectoral Sandpiper
- Western Sandpiper
Skuas and Jaegers
- Pomarine Jaeger
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Black-legged Kittiwake
- Black-headed Gull
- Laughing Gull
- Franklin's Gull
- Common Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Western Gull
- Vega Gull
- Glaucous Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Glaucous-winged Gull
- Slaty-backed Gull
- Iceland Gull
- Blue-billed White-Tern
- Brown Noddy
- Black Noddy
- Blue-gray Noddy
- Sooty Tern
- Gray-backed Tern
- Little Tern
- Least Tern
- White-winged Tern
- Common Tern
- Roseate Tern
Tropicbirds
- White-tailed Tropicbird
- Red-billed Tropicbird
- Red-tailed Tropicbird
Albatrosses
- Laysan Albatross
- Black-footed Albatross
- Short-tailed Albatross
Northern Storm-Petrels
- Tristram's Storm-Petrel
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Kermadec Petrel
- Murphy's Petrel
- Mottled Petrel
- Black-capped Petrel
- Juan Fernandez Petrel
- White-necked Petrel
- Bonin Petrel
- Black-winged Petrel
- Stejneger's Petrel
- Bulwer's Petrel
- Jouanin's Petrel
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater
- Sooty Shearwater
- Short-tailed Shearwater
- Christmas Shearwater
- Newell's Shearwater
- Bryan's Shearwater
Frigatebirds
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Lesser Frigatebird
- Great Frigatebird
Boobies and Gannets
- Red-footed Booby
- Brown Booby
- Cocos Booby
- Masked Booby
- Nazca Booby
Cormorants and Shags
- Pelagic Cormorant
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Western Cattle-Egret
- Eastern Cattle-Egret
- Gray Heron
Osprey
- Osprey
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Northern Harrier
- Black Kite
- White-tailed Eagle
Owls
- Short-eared Owl
Kingfishers
- Guam Kingfisher
Falcons and Caracaras
- Merlin
- Peregrine Falcon
Tyrant Flycatchers
- Gray Kingbird
Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis
- Black-whiskered Vireo
Larks
- Eurasian Skylark
Swallows
- Barn Swallow
Starlings
- Common Myna
Waxwings
- Bohemian Waxwing
Wagtails and Pipits
- White Wagtail
- Siberian Pipit
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Brambling
- Laysan Finch
- Island Canary
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
- Snow Bunting
New World Warblers
- American Redstart
Most common birds in United States Minor Outlying Islands
Ranked by how recently and how widely each was reported to eBird in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, and whether it is one of United States Minor Outlying Islands’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.
- Great FrigatebirdFregata minor
- Bristle-thighed CurlewNumenius tahitiensis
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Black NoddyAnous minutus
- Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulva
- Bonin PetrelPterodroma hypoleuca
- Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Wandering TattlerTringa incana
- Least TernSternula antillarum
- Western Cattle-EgretArdea ibis
- Laysan DuckAnas laysanensis
- Pectoral SandpiperCalidris melanotos
- Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Red-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon rubricauda
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Island CanarySerinus canaria
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica
Largest bird families in United States Minor Outlying Islands
Among its regular birds.
- Sandpipers and Allies24
- Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl24
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers22
- Shearwaters and Petrels14
- Plovers and Lapwings6
- Boobies and Gannets4
- Frigatebirds3
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns3
Reported in the last 30 days
27 species reported to eBird in United States Minor Outlying Islands in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, most recent first:
Bristle-thighed Curlew, Great Frigatebird, Blue-billed White-Tern, Bonin Petrel, Black Noddy, Black-headed Gull, Ruddy Turnstone, Pacific Golden-Plover, Brown Noddy, Least Tern, Wandering Tattler, Laysan Duck, Western Cattle-Egret, Lesser Yellowlegs, Island Canary, Common Myna, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Red-footed Booby, Laysan Albatross, Sooty Tern, White-tailed Tropicbird, Brown Booby, Masked Booby.
Get to know some of them
Western Cattle-Egret
Pectoral Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Common Myna
Red-footed Booby
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Sooty Tern
Semipalmated Plover
White-tailed Tropicbird
Brown Booby
Masked Booby
Sanderling
Black-bellied Plover
Northern Pintail
Rock Pigeon
Northern Shoveler