Montana bird checklist

468 bird species in 62 families have been recorded in Montana, according to eBird; about 339 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 Montana right now

  1. 1Yellow-rumped Warbler
  2. 2Rock Pigeon
  3. 3Canada Goose
  4. 4American Coot
  5. 5Ring-billed Gull
  6. 6European Starling
  7. 7American Wigeon
  8. 8Great Blue Heron
  9. 9Ring-necked Duck
  10. 10Blue-winged Teal
The top 20, and how they are ranked

Montana bird checklist

468 species · loading the checklist tools…

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

  • Snow Goose
  • Ross's Goose
  • Graylag Goose
  • Swan Goose
  • Greater White-fronted Goose
  • Tundra Bean-Goose
  • Brant
  • Barnacle Goose
  • Cackling Goose
  • Canada Goose
  • Mute Swan
  • Trumpeter Swan
  • Tundra Swan
  • Whooper Swan
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Muscovy Duck
  • Wood Duck
  • Mandarin Duck
  • Baikal Teal
  • Garganey
  • Blue-winged Teal
  • Cinnamon Teal
  • Northern Shoveler
  • Gadwall
  • Eurasian Wigeon
  • American Wigeon
  • Mallard
  • Mexican Duck
  • American Black Duck
  • Northern Pintail
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Canvasback
  • Redhead
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Tufted Duck
  • Greater Scaup
  • Lesser Scaup
  • Harlequin Duck
  • Surf Scoter
  • White-winged Scoter
  • Stejneger's Scoter
  • Black Scoter
  • Long-tailed Duck
  • Bufflehead
  • Common Goldeneye
  • Barrow's Goldeneye
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Common Merganser
  • Red-breasted Merganser
  • Ruddy Duck

Guineafowl

  • Helmeted Guineafowl

New World Quail

  • Northern Bobwhite
  • Scaled Quail
  • California Quail
  • Gambel's Quail

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

  • Wild Turkey
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Greater Sage-Grouse
  • Dusky Grouse
  • Sharp-tailed Grouse
  • Greater Prairie-Chicken
  • White-tailed Ptarmigan
  • Willow Ptarmigan
  • Spruce Grouse
  • Gray Partridge
  • Ring-necked Pheasant
  • Green Pheasant
  • Indian Peafowl
  • Red Junglefowl
  • Chukar

Pigeons and Doves

  • Rock Pigeon
  • Band-tailed Pigeon
  • Eurasian Collared-Dove
  • African Collared-Dove
  • Inca Dove
  • White-winged Dove
  • Mourning Dove

Cuckoos

  • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  • Black-billed Cuckoo

Nightjars and Allies

  • Common Nighthawk
  • Common Poorwill

Swifts

  • Black Swift
  • Chimney Swift
  • Vaux's Swift
  • White-throated Swift

Hummingbirds

  • Mexican Violetear
  • Rivoli's Hummingbird
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Black-chinned Hummingbird
  • Anna's Hummingbird
  • Costa's Hummingbird
  • Calliope Hummingbird
  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

  • Virginia Rail
  • Sora
  • Common Gallinule
  • American Coot
  • Yellow Rail

Cranes

  • Sandhill Crane
  • Whooping Crane

Stilts and Avocets

  • Black-necked Stilt
  • American Avocet

Plovers and Lapwings

  • Black-bellied Plover
  • American Golden-Plover
  • Pacific Golden-Plover
  • Killdeer
  • Semipalmated Plover
  • Piping 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
  • Wood Sandpiper
  • Lesser Yellowlegs
  • Willet
  • Greater Yellowlegs
  • Ruddy Turnstone
  • Black 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

Auks, Murres, and Puffins

  • Long-billed Murrelet
  • Ancient Murrelet

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

  • Little Gull
  • Ross's Gull
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
  • Ivory Gull
  • Sabine's Gull
  • Bonaparte's Gull
  • Laughing Gull
  • Franklin's Gull
  • Heermann's Gull
  • Short-billed Gull
  • Ring-billed Gull
  • Western Gull
  • American Herring Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull
  • California Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Least Tern
  • Caspian Tern
  • Black Tern
  • Forster's Tern
  • Arctic Tern
  • Common Tern

Grebes

  • Pied-billed Grebe
  • Horned Grebe
  • Red-necked Grebe
  • Eared Grebe
  • Western Grebe
  • Clark's Grebe

Loons

  • Red-throated Loon
  • Pacific Loon
  • Common Loon
  • Yellow-billed Loon

Shearwaters and Petrels

  • Manx Shearwater

Storks

  • Wood Stork

Cormorants and Shags

  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Neotropic Cormorant

Ibises and Spoonbills

  • Glossy Ibis
  • White-faced Ibis

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

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

Pelicans

  • American White Pelican

New World Vultures

  • Black Vulture
  • Turkey Vulture

Osprey

  • Osprey

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

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

Barn-Owls

  • American Barn Owl

Owls

  • Flammulated Owl
  • Western Screech-Owl
  • Eastern Screech-Owl
  • Snowy Owl
  • Great Horned Owl
  • Northern Hawk Owl
  • Northern Pygmy-Owl
  • Burrowing Owl
  • Barred Owl
  • Great Gray Owl
  • Long-eared Owl
  • Short-eared Owl
  • Boreal Owl
  • Northern Saw-whet Owl

Kingfishers

  • Belted Kingfisher

Woodpeckers

  • Williamson's Sapsucker
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
  • Red-naped Sapsucker
  • Lewis's Woodpecker
  • Red-headed Woodpecker
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • American Three-toed Woodpecker
  • Black-backed Woodpecker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • White-headed Woodpecker
  • Pileated Woodpecker
  • Northern Flicker

Falcons and Caracaras

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

Cockatoos

  • Cockatiel

New World and African Parrots

  • Scarlet Macaw

Tyrant Flycatchers

  • Olive-sided Flycatcher
  • Western Wood-Pewee
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee
  • Yellow-bellied 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
  • Cassin's Kingbird
  • Western Kingbird
  • Eastern Kingbird
  • Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis

  • White-eyed Vireo
  • Bell's Vireo
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Cassin's Vireo
  • Blue-headed Vireo
  • Plumbeous Vireo
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Eastern Warbling Vireo
  • Western Warbling Vireo
  • Red-eyed Vireo

Shrikes

  • Loggerhead Shrike
  • Northern Shrike

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

  • Canada Jay
  • Pinyon Jay
  • Steller's Jay
  • Blue Jay
  • California Scrub-Jay
  • Black-billed Magpie
  • Clark's Nutcracker
  • American Crow
  • Common Raven

Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice

  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Mountain Chickadee
  • Chestnut-backed Chickadee
  • Boreal Chickadee

Larks

  • Horned Lark

Swallows

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

Kinglets

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet

Nuthatches

  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Pygmy Nuthatch
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch

Treecreepers

  • Brown Creeper

Gnatcatchers

  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Wrens

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

Dippers

  • American Dipper

Starlings

  • European Starling

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

  • Gray Catbird
  • Curve-billed Thrasher
  • Brown Thrasher
  • Sage Thrasher
  • Northern Mockingbird

Thrushes and Allies

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

Waxwings

  • Bohemian Waxwing
  • Cedar Waxwing

Accentors

  • Siberian Accentor

Old World Sparrows

  • House Sparrow
  • Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Wagtails and Pipits

  • White Wagtail
  • American Pipit
  • Sprague's Pipit

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

  • Brambling
  • Evening Grosbeak
  • Pine Grosbeak
  • Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
  • Black Rosy-Finch
  • House Finch
  • Purple Finch
  • Cassin's 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

  • Cassin's Sparrow
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Clay-colored Sparrow
  • Field Sparrow
  • Brewer's Sparrow
  • Black-throated Sparrow
  • Lark Sparrow
  • Lark Bunting
  • American Tree Sparrow
  • Fox Sparrow
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • White-crowned Sparrow
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow
  • Harris's Sparrow
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Sagebrush Sparrow
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • LeConte's Sparrow
  • Nelson's Sparrow
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Baird'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
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Rusty Blackbird
  • Brewer's Blackbird
  • Common Grackle
  • Great-tailed Grackle

New World Warblers

  • Ovenbird
  • Northern Waterthrush
  • Golden-winged Warbler
  • Blue-winged Warbler
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Prothonotary 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
  • Cape May 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
  • Hermit Warbler
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Wilson's Warbler
  • Painted Redstart

Cardinals and Allies

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

Most common birds in Montana

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

  1. Yellow-rumped WarblerSetophaga coronata
  2. Rock PigeonColumba livia
  3. Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  4. American CootFulica americana
  5. Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
  6. European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  7. American WigeonMareca americana
  8. Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
  9. Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
  10. Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
  11. Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
  12. MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  13. American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
  14. GadwallMareca strepera
  15. American RobinTurdus migratorius
  16. Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
  17. Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
  18. Double-crested CormorantNannopterum auritum
  19. House SparrowPasser domesticus
  20. Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus

Largest bird families in Montana

Among its regular birds.

  • Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl36
  • Sandpipers and Allies28
  • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers23
  • New World Warblers21
  • New World Sparrows21
  • Hawks, Eagles, and Kites12
  • Finches, Euphonias, and Allies12
  • Tyrant Flycatchers11

Reported in the last 30 days

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

Lesser Scaup, Great Blue Heron, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Common Raven, American Wigeon, American Coot, Eared Grebe, Horned Grebe, Canada Goose, White-crowned Sparrow, Ring-necked Duck, Rock Pigeon, Blue-winged Teal, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Mallard, Gadwall, American Crow, Black-billed Magpie, European Starling, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Greater White-fronted Goose, Northern Harrier, Common Loon, Townsend's Solitaire, Northern Flicker, Ring-billed Gull, American Robin, Pine Siskin, Western Grebe, American Pipit, Black-capped Chickadee, Bald Eagle, Red-necked Grebe, Hooded Merganser, Yellow-billed Loon, Pygmy Nuthatch, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, …

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