Delaware bird checklist

460 bird species in 70 families have been recorded in Delaware, according to eBird; about 323 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 Delaware right now

  1. 1Rock Pigeon
  2. 2Double-crested Cormorant
  3. 3Turkey Vulture
  4. 4Yellow-rumped Warbler
  5. 5Tree Swallow
  6. 6Canada Goose
  7. 7Ring-billed Gull
  8. 8Great Egret
  9. 9European Starling
  10. 10American Crow
The top 20, and how they are ranked

Delaware bird checklist

460 species · loading the checklist tools…

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Bar-headed Goose
  • Snow Goose
  • Ross's Goose
  • Graylag Goose
  • Swan Goose
  • Greater White-fronted Goose
  • Pink-footed Goose
  • Brant
  • Barnacle Goose
  • Cackling Goose
  • Canada Goose
  • Mute Swan
  • Black Swan
  • Trumpeter Swan
  • Tundra Swan
  • Whooper Swan
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Ruddy Shelduck
  • Common Shelduck
  • Muscovy Duck
  • Ringed Teal
  • Wood Duck
  • Garganey
  • Blue-winged Teal
  • Cinnamon Teal
  • Northern Shoveler
  • Gadwall
  • Eurasian Wigeon
  • American Wigeon
  • Mallard
  • American Black Duck
  • Northern Pintail
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Canvasback
  • Redhead
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Tufted Duck
  • Greater Scaup
  • Lesser Scaup
  • King Eider
  • Common Eider
  • 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

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

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

Pigeons and Doves

  • Rock Pigeon
  • Eurasian Collared-Dove
  • Common Ground Dove
  • White-winged Dove
  • Mourning Dove

Cuckoos

  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  • Black-billed Cuckoo

Nightjars and Allies

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

Swifts

  • Chimney Swift

Hummingbirds

  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Black-chinned Hummingbird
  • Calliope Hummingbird
  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Allen's Hummingbird

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

  • King Rail
  • Clapper Rail
  • Virginia Rail
  • Sora
  • Common Gallinule
  • American Coot
  • Purple Gallinule
  • Gray-headed Swamphen
  • Yellow Rail
  • Black Rail

Cranes

  • Sandhill Crane

Stilts and Avocets

  • Black-necked Stilt
  • American Avocet

Oystercatchers

  • American Oystercatcher

Plovers and Lapwings

  • Black-bellied Plover
  • European Golden-Plover
  • American Golden-Plover
  • Pacific Golden-Plover
  • Killdeer
  • Semipalmated Plover
  • Piping Plover
  • Northern Lapwing
  • Wilson's Plover

Sandpipers and Allies

  • Upland Sandpiper
  • Hudsonian Whimbrel
  • Eurasian Whimbrel
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
  • Black-tailed Godwit
  • 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
  • Wood Sandpiper
  • Lesser Yellowlegs
  • Willet
  • Greater Yellowlegs
  • Ruddy Turnstone
  • Red Knot
  • Ruff
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
  • Curlew Sandpiper
  • Stilt Sandpiper
  • Red-necked Stint
  • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  • Sanderling
  • Dunlin
  • Purple Sandpiper
  • Baird's Sandpiper
  • Little Stint
  • White-rumped Sandpiper
  • Least Sandpiper
  • Pectoral Sandpiper
  • Western Sandpiper
  • Semipalmated Sandpiper

Skuas and Jaegers

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

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

  • Atlantic Puffin
  • Black Guillemot
  • Razorbill
  • Dovekie
  • Thick-billed Murre
  • Common Murre
  • Ancient Murrelet

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

  • Little Gull
  • Ross's Gull
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
  • Sabine's Gull
  • Bonaparte's Gull
  • Silver Gull
  • Black-headed Gull
  • Laughing Gull
  • Franklin's Gull
  • Common Gull
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Kelp Gull
  • American Herring Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull
  • California Gull
  • Slaty-backed Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Black Skimmer
  • Sooty Tern
  • Bridled Tern
  • Least Tern
  • Gull-billed Tern
  • Caspian Tern
  • Whiskered Tern
  • Black Tern
  • White-winged Tern
  • Forster's Tern
  • Arctic Tern
  • Common Tern
  • Roseate Tern
  • Sandwich Tern
  • Elegant Tern
  • Royal Tern

Flamingos

  • American Flamingo

Grebes

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

Tropicbirds

  • White-tailed Tropicbird

Loons

  • Red-throated Loon
  • Pacific Loon
  • Common Loon

Southern Storm-Petrels

  • Wilson's Storm-Petrel
  • White-faced Storm-Petrel

Northern Storm-Petrels

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

Shearwaters and Petrels

  • Northern Fulmar
  • 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
  • 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
  • Little 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

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

Barn-Owls

  • American Barn Owl

Owls

  • 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
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Pileated Woodpecker
  • Northern Flicker

Falcons and Caracaras

  • Crested Caracara
  • Yellow-headed Caracara
  • American Kestrel
  • Merlin
  • Gyrfalcon
  • Peregrine Falcon

Cockatoos

  • Cockatiel

Old World Parrots

  • Budgerigar

New World and African Parrots

  • Monk Parakeet
  • Nanday Parakeet

Tyrant Flycatchers

  • Olive-sided Flycatcher
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Acadian Flycatcher
  • Alder Flycatcher
  • Willow Flycatcher
  • Least Flycatcher
  • Hammond's Flycatcher
  • Gray Flycatcher
  • Dusky Flycatcher
  • Western Flycatcher
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Say's Phoebe
  • Vermilion Flycatcher
  • Ash-throated Flycatcher
  • Great Crested Flycatcher
  • Tropical 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
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Eastern Warbling Vireo
  • Red-eyed Vireo

Shrikes

  • Loggerhead Shrike
  • Northern Shrike

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

  • Blue Jay
  • American Crow
  • Fish Crow
  • Common Raven

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

  • Carolina Chickadee
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Boreal 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

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

Starlings

  • European Starling

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

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

Thrushes and Allies

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

Old World Flycatchers

  • Northern Wheatear

Waxwings

  • Cedar Waxwing

Old World Sparrows

  • House Sparrow

Wagtails and Pipits

  • American Pipit

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

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

Longspurs and Snow Buntings

  • Lapland Longspur
  • Snow Bunting

New World Sparrows

  • 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
  • Saltmarsh 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
  • Eastern Meadowlark
  • Orchard Oriole
  • Baltimore Oriole
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Rusty Blackbird
  • Brewer's Blackbird
  • Common Grackle
  • Boat-tailed Grackle

New World Warblers

  • Ovenbird
  • Worm-eating Warbler
  • Louisiana Waterthrush
  • Northern Waterthrush
  • Golden-winged Warbler
  • Blue-winged Warbler
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Swainson's Warbler
  • Tennessee Warbler
  • Orange-crowned Warbler
  • Nashville Warbler
  • Connecticut Warbler
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Kentucky Warbler
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Hooded Warbler
  • American Redstart
  • 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
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Wilson's Warbler

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 Delaware

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

  1. Rock PigeonColumba livia
  2. Double-crested CormorantNannopterum auritum
  3. Turkey VultureCathartes aura
  4. Yellow-rumped WarblerSetophaga coronata
  5. Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
  6. Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  7. Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
  8. Great EgretArdea alba
  9. European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  10. American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
  11. MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  12. Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
  13. American RobinTurdus migratorius
  14. Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
  15. Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
  16. KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
  17. Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
  18. Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
  19. Lesser YellowlegsTringa flavipes
  20. Blue JayCyanocitta cristata

Largest bird families in Delaware

Among its regular birds.

  • Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl39
  • New World Warblers31
  • Sandpipers and Allies28
  • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers25
  • New World Sparrows18
  • Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns10
  • Troupials and Allies10
  • Hawks, Eagles, and Kites10

Reported in the last 30 days

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

Turkey Vulture, Northern Mockingbird, Cooper's Hawk, Common Grackle, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Black Vulture, Blue Jay, Bald Eagle, Rock Pigeon, Tree Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch, American Crow, Mute Swan, Peregrine Falcon, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Double-crested Cormorant, Northern Harrier, Great Egret, Canada Goose, American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Downy Woodpecker, Belted Kingfisher, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Forster's Tern, European Starling, Ring-billed Gull, Northern Flicker, Lesser Yellowlegs, Laughing Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, …

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