Alabama bird checklist

495 bird species in 75 families have been recorded in Alabama, according to eBird; about 355 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.

The most common birds in Alabama right now

  1. 1European Starling
  2. 2Mourning Dove
  3. 3Rock Pigeon
  4. 4Great Egret
  5. 5Killdeer
  6. 6Great Blue Heron
  7. 7American Robin
  8. 8Yellow-rumped Warbler
  9. 9Least Sandpiper
  10. 10American Crow
The top 20, and how they are ranked

Alabama bird checklist

495 species · loading the checklist tools…

Cassowaries and Emu

  • Emu

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

  • Plumed Whistling-Duck
  • White-faced Whistling-Duck
  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
  • West Indian Whistling-Duck
  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Snow Goose
  • Ross's Goose
  • Graylag Goose
  • Swan Goose
  • Greater White-fronted Goose
  • Brant
  • Barnacle Goose
  • Cackling Goose
  • Canada Goose
  • Mute Swan
  • Black Swan
  • Trumpeter Swan
  • Tundra Swan
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Ruddy Shelduck
  • Muscovy Duck
  • Ringed Teal
  • Wood Duck
  • Mandarin Duck
  • Garganey
  • Blue-winged Teal
  • Cinnamon Teal
  • Northern Shoveler
  • Gadwall
  • Eurasian Wigeon
  • American Wigeon
  • Mallard
  • American Black Duck
  • Mottled Duck
  • White-cheeked Pintail
  • Northern Pintail
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Red-crested Pochard
  • Rosy-billed Pochard
  • Canvasback
  • Redhead
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Greater Scaup
  • Lesser Scaup
  • Harlequin Duck
  • Surf Scoter
  • White-winged Scoter
  • Black Scoter
  • Long-tailed Duck
  • Bufflehead
  • Common Goldeneye
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Common Merganser
  • Red-breasted Merganser
  • Ruddy Duck

Guineafowl

  • Helmeted Guineafowl

New World Quail

  • Northern Bobwhite
  • California Quail

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

  • Wild Turkey
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Ring-necked Pheasant
  • Indian Peafowl
  • Red Junglefowl
  • Chukar

Pigeons and Doves

  • Rock Pigeon
  • White-crowned Pigeon
  • Band-tailed Pigeon
  • Passenger Pigeon
  • Eurasian Collared-Dove
  • African Collared-Dove
  • Inca Dove
  • Common Ground Dove
  • White-winged Dove
  • Mourning Dove

Cuckoos

  • Groove-billed Ani
  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  • Mangrove Cuckoo
  • Black-billed Cuckoo

Nightjars and Allies

  • Lesser Nighthawk
  • Common Nighthawk
  • Chuck-will's-widow
  • Eastern Whip-poor-will

Swifts

  • Black Swift
  • Chimney Swift
  • Vaux's Swift

Hummingbirds

  • Mexican Violetear
  • Rivoli's Hummingbird
  • Blue-throated Mountain-gem
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Black-chinned Hummingbird
  • Anna's Hummingbird
  • Costa's Hummingbird
  • Calliope Hummingbird
  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Allen's Hummingbird
  • Broad-tailed Hummingbird
  • Broad-billed Hummingbird
  • White-eared Hummingbird
  • Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

  • King Rail
  • Clapper Rail
  • Virginia Rail
  • Sora
  • Common Gallinule
  • American Coot
  • Purple Gallinule
  • Yellow Rail
  • Black Rail

Limpkin

  • Limpkin

Cranes

  • Sandhill Crane
  • Whooping Crane

Stilts and Avocets

  • Black-necked Stilt
  • American Avocet

Oystercatchers

  • American Oystercatcher

Plovers and Lapwings

  • Black-bellied Plover
  • American Golden-Plover
  • Killdeer
  • Semipalmated Plover
  • Piping Plover
  • Wilson's Plover
  • Mountain Plover
  • Snowy Plover

Sandpipers and Allies

  • Upland Sandpiper
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel
  • Long-billed Curlew
  • Hudsonian Godwit
  • Marbled Godwit
  • Short-billed Dowitcher
  • Long-billed Dowitcher
  • American Woodcock
  • Wilson's Snipe
  • Wilson's Phalarope
  • Red Phalarope
  • Red-necked Phalarope
  • Spotted Sandpiper
  • Solitary Sandpiper
  • Lesser Yellowlegs
  • Willet
  • Greater Yellowlegs
  • Ruddy Turnstone
  • Red Knot
  • Ruff
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
  • Curlew Sandpiper
  • Stilt Sandpiper
  • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  • Sanderling
  • Dunlin
  • Purple Sandpiper
  • Baird's Sandpiper
  • White-rumped Sandpiper
  • Least Sandpiper
  • Pectoral Sandpiper
  • Western Sandpiper
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper

Skuas and Jaegers

  • Long-tailed Jaeger
  • Parasitic Jaeger
  • Pomarine Jaeger
  • South Polar Skua

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

  • Razorbill

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

  • Little Gull
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
  • Ivory Gull
  • Sabine's Gull
  • Bonaparte's Gull
  • Gray Gull
  • Laughing Gull
  • Franklin's Gull
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • American Herring Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull
  • California Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Black Skimmer
  • Brown Noddy
  • Sooty Tern
  • Bridled Tern
  • Least Tern
  • Gull-billed Tern
  • Caspian Tern
  • Black Tern
  • Forster's Tern
  • Arctic Tern
  • Common Tern
  • Roseate Tern
  • Sandwich Tern
  • Royal Tern

Flamingos

  • American Flamingo

Grebes

  • Pied-billed Grebe
  • Horned Grebe
  • Red-necked Grebe
  • Eared Grebe
  • Western Grebe

Tropicbirds

  • Red-billed Tropicbird

Loons

  • Red-throated Loon
  • Pacific Loon
  • Common Loon

Southern Storm-Petrels

  • Wilson's Storm-Petrel

Northern Storm-Petrels

  • Leach's Storm-Petrel
  • Band-rumped Storm-Petrel

Shearwaters and Petrels

  • Black-capped Petrel
  • Cory's Shearwater
  • Scopoli's Shearwater
  • Great Shearwater
  • Sooty Shearwater
  • Manx Shearwater
  • Sargasso Shearwater

Storks

  • Wood Stork

Frigatebirds

  • Magnificent Frigatebird

Boobies and Gannets

  • Northern Gannet
  • Red-footed Booby
  • Brown Booby
  • Masked Booby

Anhingas

  • Anhinga

Cormorants and Shags

  • Great Cormorant
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Neotropic Cormorant

Ibises and Spoonbills

  • White Ibis
  • Glossy Ibis
  • White-faced Ibis
  • Roseate Spoonbill

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

  • American Bittern
  • Least Bittern
  • Yellow-crowned Night Heron
  • Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Little Blue Heron
  • Tricolored Heron
  • Reddish Egret
  • Snowy Egret
  • Green Heron
  • Western Cattle-Egret
  • Great Egret
  • Great Blue Heron

Pelicans

  • American White Pelican
  • Brown Pelican

New World Vultures

  • Black Vulture
  • Turkey Vulture

Osprey

  • Osprey

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

  • White-tailed Kite
  • Swallow-tailed Kite
  • Golden Eagle
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk
  • Cooper's Hawk
  • American Goshawk
  • Northern Harrier
  • Bald Eagle
  • Mississippi Kite
  • Harris's Hawk
  • White-tailed Hawk
  • Broad-winged Hawk
  • Red-shouldered Hawk
  • Short-tailed Hawk
  • Swainson's Hawk
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Rough-legged Hawk
  • Ferruginous Hawk

Barn-Owls

  • American Barn Owl

Owls

  • Flammulated Owl
  • Eastern Screech-Owl
  • Snowy Owl
  • Great Horned Owl
  • Burrowing Owl
  • Barred Owl
  • Long-eared Owl
  • Short-eared Owl
  • Northern Saw-whet Owl

Kingfishers

  • Belted Kingfisher

Woodpeckers

  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
  • Red-headed Woodpecker
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Red-cockaded Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Ivory-billed Woodpecker
  • Pileated Woodpecker
  • Northern Flicker

Falcons and Caracaras

  • Crested Caracara
  • American Kestrel
  • Merlin
  • Peregrine Falcon
  • Prairie Falcon

Cockatoos

  • Cockatiel

Old World Parrots

  • Rose-ringed Parakeet
  • Budgerigar
  • Rosy-faced Lovebird

New World and African Parrots

  • Monk Parakeet
  • Carolina Parakeet

Tyrant Flycatchers

  • Olive-sided Flycatcher
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Acadian Flycatcher
  • Alder Flycatcher
  • Willow Flycatcher
  • Least Flycatcher
  • Hammond's Flycatcher
  • Dusky Flycatcher
  • Western Flycatcher
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Say's Phoebe
  • Vermilion Flycatcher
  • Ash-throated Flycatcher
  • Great Crested Flycatcher
  • Brown-crested Flycatcher
  • La Sagra's Flycatcher
  • Great Kiskadee
  • Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
  • Couch's Kingbird
  • Cassin's Kingbird
  • Western Kingbird
  • Eastern Kingbird
  • Gray Kingbird
  • Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
  • Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

  • White-eyed Vireo
  • Bell's Vireo
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Blue-headed Vireo
  • Plumbeous Vireo
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Eastern Warbling Vireo
  • Red-eyed Vireo
  • Yellow-green Vireo
  • Black-whiskered Vireo

Shrikes

  • Loggerhead Shrike

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

  • Blue Jay
  • Eurasian Jay
  • Clark's Nutcracker
  • American Crow
  • Fish Crow
  • Common Raven

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

  • Carolina Chickadee
  • Tufted Titmouse

Larks

  • Horned Lark

Swallows

  • Bank Swallow
  • Tree Swallow
  • Purple Martin
  • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  • Barn Swallow
  • Cliff Swallow
  • Cave Swallow

Kinglets

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet

Nuthatches

  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Brown-headed Nuthatch
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch

Treecreepers

  • Brown Creeper

Gnatcatchers

  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Wrens

  • Rock Wren
  • Northern House Wren
  • Winter Wren
  • Sedge Wren
  • Marsh Wren
  • Carolina Wren
  • Bewick's Wren

Starlings

  • European Starling
  • Common Myna

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

  • Gray Catbird
  • Brown Thrasher
  • Sage Thrasher
  • Northern Mockingbird

Thrushes and Allies

  • Eastern Bluebird
  • Varied Thrush
  • Veery
  • Gray-cheeked Thrush
  • Swainson's Thrush
  • Hermit Thrush
  • Wood Thrush
  • American Robin

Old World Flycatchers

  • Northern Wheatear

Waxwings

  • Cedar Waxwing

Weavers and Allies

  • Northern Red Bishop

Waxbills and Allies

  • Scaly-breasted Munia
  • Tricolored Munia

Whydahs and Indigobirds

  • Pin-tailed Whydah

Old World Sparrows

  • House Sparrow

Wagtails and Pipits

  • White Wagtail
  • American Pipit
  • Sprague's Pipit

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

  • Evening Grosbeak
  • House Finch
  • Purple Finch
  • Redpoll
  • Red Crossbill
  • White-winged Crossbill
  • Pine Siskin
  • Lesser Goldfinch
  • American Goldfinch

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

  • Lapland Longspur
  • Chestnut-collared Longspur
  • Smith's Longspur
  • Thick-billed Longspur
  • Snow Bunting

New World Sparrows

  • Bachman's Sparrow
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Clay-colored Sparrow
  • Field Sparrow
  • Lark Sparrow
  • Lark Bunting
  • American Tree Sparrow
  • Fox Sparrow
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Harris's Sparrow
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • LeConte's Sparrow
  • Seaside Sparrow
  • Nelson's Sparrow
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Henslow's Sparrow
  • Song Sparrow
  • Lincoln's Sparrow
  • Swamp Sparrow
  • Green-tailed Towhee
  • Spotted Towhee
  • Eastern Towhee

Yellow-breasted Chat

  • Yellow-breasted Chat

Troupials and Allies

  • Yellow-headed Blackbird
  • Bobolink
  • Western Meadowlark
  • Eastern Meadowlark
  • Orchard Oriole
  • Hooded Oriole
  • Bullock's Oriole
  • Baltimore Oriole
  • Scott's Oriole
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Shiny Cowbird
  • Bronzed Cowbird
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Rusty Blackbird
  • Brewer's Blackbird
  • Common Grackle
  • Boat-tailed Grackle
  • Great-tailed Grackle

New World Warblers

  • Ovenbird
  • Worm-eating Warbler
  • Louisiana Waterthrush
  • Northern Waterthrush
  • Bachman's Warbler
  • Golden-winged Warbler
  • Blue-winged Warbler
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Swainson's Warbler
  • Tennessee Warbler
  • Orange-crowned Warbler
  • Nashville Warbler
  • Virginia's Warbler
  • Connecticut Warbler
  • MacGillivray's Warbler
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Kentucky Warbler
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Hooded Warbler
  • American Redstart
  • Kirtland's Warbler
  • Cape May Warbler
  • Cerulean Warbler
  • Northern Parula
  • Magnolia Warbler
  • Bay-breasted Warbler
  • Blackburnian Warbler
  • Northern Yellow Warbler
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • Blackpoll Warbler
  • Black-throated Blue Warbler
  • Palm Warbler
  • Pine Warbler
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Yellow-throated Warbler
  • Prairie Warbler
  • Black-throated Gray Warbler
  • Townsend's Warbler
  • Golden-cheeked Warbler
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Wilson's Warbler
  • Painted Redstart

Cardinals and Allies

  • Summer Tanager
  • Scarlet Tanager
  • Western Tanager
  • Northern Cardinal
  • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  • Black-headed Grosbeak
  • Blue Grosbeak
  • Lazuli Bunting
  • Indigo Bunting
  • Painted Bunting
  • Dickcissel

Most common birds in Alabama

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 Alabama’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.

  1. European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  2. Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
  3. Rock PigeonColumba livia
  4. Great EgretArdea alba
  5. KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
  6. Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
  7. American RobinTurdus migratorius
  8. Yellow-rumped WarblerSetophaga coronata
  9. Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
  10. American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
  11. American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
  12. Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  13. Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
  14. Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
  15. Palm WarblerSetophaga palmarum
  16. Laughing GullLeucophaeus atricilla
  17. Western SandpiperCalidris mauri
  18. Snowy EgretEgretta thula
  19. Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  20. American CootFulica americana

Largest bird families in Alabama

Among its regular birds.

  • Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl40
  • New World Warblers36
  • Sandpipers and Allies29
  • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers26
  • New World Sparrows20
  • Troupials and Allies13
  • Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns12
  • Tyrant Flycatchers11

Reported in the last 30 days

271 species reported to eBird in Alabama in the 30 days to 2026-10-13. The 40 most recently reported:

Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinal, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Little Blue Heron, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Western Sandpiper, Snowy Egret, Royal Tern, Brown Pelican, Caspian Tern, American Avocet, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Least Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Killdeer, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Flicker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Carolina Chickadee, American Robin, Blue Jay, American Crow, Palm Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Rock Pigeon, Tufted Titmouse, Ovenbird, Magnolia Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Brown-headed Nuthatch, House Finch, American Redstart, …

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