Checklist of the Birds of Connecticut

A printable checklist (PDF formatted for 8 1/2 x 11″, 2 sides) of the Birds of Connecticut is available in the Members Only section. You must log in and have a current account to access it.

The list below includes the 451 bird species recorded in Connecticut and accepted by the Avian Records Committee of Connecticut (ARCC). The names and sequences of species follow the A.O.S. Checklist of the Birds of North America (7th ed. 1998 and supplements to the 64th, Aug., 2022).

The Checklist of the Birds of Connecticut

Legend: * Rare in CT – ARCC requests details,  (S) Sight record only, (I) Introduced, (EX) Extirpated, (E) Extinct

Ducks, Geese, Swans
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck*
Fulvous Whistling-Duck*
Snow Goose
Ross’s Goose*
Graylag Goose*
Greater White-fronted Goose
Pink-footed Goose*
Brant
Barnacle Goose*
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Mute Swan (I)
Trumpeter Swan*
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck
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
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck

New World Quail
Northern Bobwhite (EX)

Partridges, Grouse, Turkeys
Wild Turkey
Ruffed Grouse
Ring-necked Pheasant (I) (EX)

Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe*
Western Grebe*

Pigeons, Doves
Rock Pigeon (I)
Band-tailed Pigeon* (S)
Eurasian Collared-Dove*
Common Ground-Dove*
White-winged Dove*
Mourning Dove

Cuckoos
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo

Goatsuckers
Common Nighthawk
Chuck-will’s-widow*
Eastern Whip-poor-will

Swifts
Chimney Swift

Hummingbirds
Mexican Violetear*
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird*
Calliope Hummingbird*
Rufous Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird*

Rails, Gallinules, Coots
King Rail
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Corn Crake*
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Purple Gallinule*
Yellow Rail*
Black Rail*

Cranes
Sandhill Crane

Stilts, Avocets
Black-necked Stilt*
American Avocet

Oystercatchers
American Oystercatcher

Lapwings, Plovers
Northern Lapwing*
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover*
Killdeer
Common Ringed Plover* (S)
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Wilson’s Plover*
Snowy Plover*

Sandpipers, Phalaropes
Upland Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew*
Bar-tailed Godwit*
Black-tailed Godwit*
Hudsonian Godwit
Marbled Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Ruff*
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper*
Stilt Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper*
Red-necked Stint*
Sanderling
Dunlin
Purple Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper
Little Stint* (S)
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
American Woodcock
Wilson’s Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Spotted Redshank*
Greater Yellowlegs
Wilson’s Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope*

Skuas, Jaegers
Pomarine Jaeger* (S)
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger*

Auks, Murres, Puffins
Dovekie*
Common Murre*
Thick-billed Murre*
Razorbill
Black Guillemot*
Atlantic Puffin*

Gulls, Terns, Skimmers
Black-legged Kittiwake*
Ivory Gull* (S)
Sabine’s Gull*
Bonaparte’s Gull
Black-headed Gull
Little Gull*
Ross’s Gull*
Laughing Gull
Franklin’s Gull*
Common Gull*
Short-billed Gull*
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull*
Herring Gull

Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (continued)
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Slaty-backed Gull*
Glaucous Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Sooty Tern*
Bridled Tern*
Least Tern
Gull-billed Tern*
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern*
Forster’s Tern
Royal Tern
Sandwich Tern*
Black Skimmer

Tropicbirds
White-tailed Tropicbird*

Loons
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon*
Common Loon

Storm-Petrels
Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
White-faced Storm-Petrel*
Leach’s Storm-Petrel*
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel* (S)

Shearwaters, Petrels
Northern Fulmar*
Black-capped Petrel*
Cory’s Shearwater*
Sooty Shearwater*
Great Shearwater*
Manx Shearwater(S)
Audubon’s Shearwater* (S)

Storks
Wood Stork*

Frigatebirds
Magnificent Frigatebird*

Gannets
Brown Booby*
Northern Gannet

Darters
Anhinga*

Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Cormorant

Pelicans
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican*

Bitterns, Herons
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Egret*
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Ibises
White Ibis*
Glossy Ibis
White-faced Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill*

New World Vultures
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture

Ospreys
Osprey

Hawks, Kites, Eagles
White-tailed Kite*
Swallow-tailed Kite
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Bald Eagle
Mississippi Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk*
Zone-tailed Hawk*
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk

Barn Owl
Barn Owl

Typical Owls
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl*
Burrowing Owl*
Barred Owl
Great Gray Owl*
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Boreal Owl*
Northern Saw-whet Owl

Kingfishers
Belted Kingfisher

Woodpeckers
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Black-backed Woodpecker*
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker

Caracaras, Falcons
Crested Caracara*
American Kestrel
Merlin
Gyrfalcon*
Peregrine Falcon

Parrots
Monk Parakeet (I)

Tyrant Flycatchers
Ash-throated Flycatcher*
Great Crested Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird*
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Gray Kingbird*
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher*
Fork-tailed Flycatcher*
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher*
Western Flycatcher*
Eastern Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe*

Shrikes
Loggerhead Shrike*
Northern Shrike

Vireos
White-eyed Vireo
Bell’s Vireo*
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo

Crows, Jays
Blue Jay
Eurasian Jackdaw*
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven

Larks
Horned Lark

Swallows
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow* (S)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Brown-chested Martin* (S)
Purple Martin

Swallows (continued)
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cave Swallow

Chickadees and Titmice
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee*
Tufted Titmouse

Nuthatches
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch

Creepers
Brown Creeper

Wrens
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren

Gnatcatchers
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Kinglets
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Old World Flycatchers
Northern Wheatear*

Thrushes
Eastern Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird*
Townsend’s Solitaire*
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Bicknell’s Thrush**
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Fieldfare*
American Robin
Varied Thrush*

Mockingbirds, Thrashers
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird

Starlings
European Starling (I)

Waxwings
Bohemian Waxwing*
Cedar Waxwing

Old World Sparrows
House Sparrow (I)
Eurasian Tree Sparrow*

Wagtails, Pipits
American Pipit
Sprague’s Pipit*

Finches and Allies
Brambling*
Evening Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak*
House Finch
Purple Finch
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll*
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

Longspurs, Snow Buntings
Lapland Longspur
Chestnut-collared Longspur*
Smith’s Longspur*
Snow Bunting

Towhees, Sparrows
Grasshopper Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Bunting*
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow*
Fox Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow* (S)
Harris’s Sparrow*
White-throated Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
LeConte’s Sparrow*
Seaside Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow*
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee*
Spotted Towhee*
Eastern Towhee

Yellow-breasted Chats
Yellow-breasted Chat

Blackbirds, Orioles
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark*
Orchard Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole*
Baltimore Oriole
Black-backed Oriole* (S)

Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird* (S)
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle

Wood-Warblers
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler* (S)
Mourning Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
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

Cardinals, Tanagers
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Western Tanager*
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak*
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting*
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting*
Dickcissel

** details needed only for
recordings and banding records.

Extinct (E) or Extirpated (EX) (7 species):
Labrador Duck (E), Gray Partridge (EX), Eskimo Curlew (E), Greater Prairie-Chicken (Heath Hen subsp. (E)), Passenger Pigeon (E). Native populations of Northern Bobwhite (EX). Breeding Populations of Ring-necked Pheasant (EX).

Updated 3/16/23 by Frank Gallo