Seasonal Presence and Relative Frequency of Selected Species
This list summarizes the seasonal presence of selected bird species in California, indicating whether each species occurs year-round, during the breeding season, or during the non-breeding season (winter and migration). Within each seasonal category, species are numbered and ordered from least to most frequently observed in the United States based on eBird frequency data. This ordering reflects how commonly a species has been observed by U.S. birders over time and is used here as a relative priority indicator, not as a measure of local abundance or the likelihood of encountering a species at a specific site or season within California.
Yellow-footed Gull
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Black Rail
Spotted Owl
LeConte’s Thrasher
Greater Sage-Grouse
Great Gray Owl
Black-footed Albatross
California Condor
Cassin’s Auklet
Black-vented Shearwater
Pink-footed Shearwater
Brown Booby
Black-backed Woodpecker
Sooty Grouse
Ridgway’s Rail
Bell’s Sparrow
Northern Fulmar
Sagebrush Sparrow
California Gnatcatcher
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
American Goshawk
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Mountain Quail
Sooty Shearwater
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Gilded Flicker
White-headed Woodpecker
Crissal Thrasher
Marbled Murrelet
Pinyon Jay
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
Pine Grosbeak
Yellow-billed Magpie
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Gray Flycatcher
Sage Thrasher
Juniper Titmouse
Hermit Warbler
American Dipper
Snowy Plover
Canada Jay
Common Murre
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Clark’s Nutcracker
Black Oystercatcher
Reddish Egret
Clark’s Grebe
Pigeon Guillemot
Heermann’s Gull
Canyon Wren
Costa’s Hummingbird
Brewer’s Sparrow
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Brandt’s Cormorant
Green-tailed Towhee
California Thrasher
White-tailed Kite
Cassin’s Finch
Evening Grosbeak
White-throated Swift
Mountain Bluebird
Black-throated Sparrow
Pelagic Cormorant
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Inca Dove
Varied Thrush
Long-billed Curlew
Black Skimmer
Greater Roadrunner
Cactus Wren
Hutton’s Vireo
Phainopepla
Common Ground Dove
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Abert’s Towhee
Vermilion Flycatcher
Neotropic Cormorant
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
Pacific Wren
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin’s Kingbird
Band-tailed Pigeon
Pygmy Nuthatch
Gambel’s Quail
Townsend’s Warbler
Eared Grebe
Wrentit
Allen’s Hummingbird
Gila Woodpecker
Western Grebe
Cinnamon Teal
Royal Tern
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Verdin
Oak Titmouse
California Quail
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Western Gull
Acorn Woodpecker
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Black-billed Magpie
California Towhee
Steller’s Jay
California Scrub-Jay
Black Storm-Petrel
Ashy Storm-Petrel
Flammulated Owl
Black Swift
Short-tailed Shearwater
Bendire’s Thrasher
Gray Vireo
Tufted Puffin
Black-chinned Sparrow
Lesser Nighthawk
Virginia’s Warbler
Scott’s Oriole
Gull-billed Tern
Elegant Tern
Calliope Hummingbird
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Plumbeous Vireo
Dusky Flycatcher
Cassin’s Vireo
Vaux’s Swift
Lucy’s Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Franklin’s Gull
Bell’s Vireo
Swainson’s Hawk
Hooded Oriole
Lazuli Bunting
Least Tern
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Bullock’s Oriole
Willow Flycatcher
Western Flycatcher
Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak
Summer Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Buller’s Shearwater
Mountain Plover
Laysan Albatross
Ancient Murrelet
Rock Sandpiper
Red Phalarope
Surfbird
Wandering Tattler
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-legged Kittiwake
Pacific Golden-Plover
Rhinoceros Auklet
Ross’s Goose
Northern Shrike
Pacific Loon
Black Turnstone
Harlequin Duck
Stilt Sandpiper
Red-necked Grebe
Rough-legged Hawk
Black Scoter
Hudsonian Whimbrel
White-winged Scoter
Short-billed Gull
Red-throated Loon
Tundra Swan
Greater White-fronted Goose
Long-tailed Duck
Brant
Marbled Godwit
Cackling Goose
Ruddy Turnstone
Snow Goose
Glaucous-winged Gull
Surf Scoter
Sanderling
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Leach’s Storm-Petrel
Long-tailed Jaeger
Sabine’s Gull
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