Most commonly seen birds in California

Written by:
January 12, 2023
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Most commonly seen birds in California

Stacker compiled a list of the most common birds seen near feeders in California using data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch. Birds are ranked by the percent of sites visited from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6. Ties are broken by the average group size when seen, any further ties were not broken. Data was collected at 340 count sites in California. States with less than 10 count sites were not included in rankings for each bird.

Project FeederWatch, a citizen science project where participants collect data on birds at their feeders, was founded in Ontario by Erica Dunn and the Long Point Bird Observatory in 1976. The project partnered with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology after 10 years to scale the project across the U.S. and Canada and now has over 20,000 participants.

The data Project FeederWatch collects is used by scientists to understand trends in bird populations. If you would like to participate as a FeederWatcher you can learn more about the project here.

Read on to see which birds are most commonly seen in your state.

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#50. Sharp-shinned Hawk

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 4%
- Average group size: 1.0
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Idaho: 16%
--- #2. Missouri: 7%
--- #2. Kansas: 7%
--- #2. Utah: 7%
--- #5. Connecticut: 6%
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#49. Red-shouldered Hawk

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 4%
- Average group size: 1.05
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Florida: 11%
--- #2. Maryland: 9%
--- #2. Oklahoma: 9%
--- #4. North Carolina: 8%
--- #4. Virginia: 8%
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#48. Red-winged Blackbird

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 4%
- Average group size: 6.36
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 35%
--- #2. Mississippi: 27%
--- #3. Colorado: 23%
--- #4. Texas: 20%
--- #5. Utah: 19%
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#47. Red-breasted Nuthatch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 5%
- Average group size: 1.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 71%
--- #2. Alaska: 61%
--- #3. Washington: 50%
--- #4. Wisconsin: 48%
--- #4. Michigan: 48%
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#46. Scaly-breasted Munia

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 5%
- Average group size: 6.89
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 5%

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#45. White-throated Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 6%
- Average group size: 1.53
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 79%
--- #2. Maryland: 74%
--- #3. New Jersey: 70%
--- #4. Virginia: 68%
--- #5. Delaware: 67%
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#44. Western Bluebird

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 6%
- Average group size: 2.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 13%
--- #2. Arizona: 9%
--- #3. California: 6%
--- #4. Oregon: 3%
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#43. European Starling

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 6%
- Average group size: 3.35
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Indiana: 74%
--- #2. Kentucky: 69%
--- #3. Ohio: 67%
--- #4. Delaware: 64%
--- #5. Missouri: 56%
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#42. Band-tailed Pigeon

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 6%
- Average group size: 4.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 6%
--- #2. Washington: 2%
--- #3. Arizona: 1%
--- #3. Oregon: 1%
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#41. Cedar Waxwing

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 6%
- Average group size: 6.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Texas: 16%
--- #2. Mississippi: 9%
--- #2. Idaho: 9%
--- #4. South Carolina: 8%
--- #5. North Carolina: 7%

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#40. Common Raven

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 7%
- Average group size: 2.1
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Alaska: 25%
--- #2. New Mexico: 19%
--- #3. Wyoming: 12%
--- #4. Arizona: 8%
--- #5. California: 7%
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#39. Orange-crowned Warbler

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 8%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Texas: 28%
--- #2. Mississippi: 18%
--- #3. Nevada: 13%
--- #4. Louisiana: 9%
--- #5. California: 8%
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#38. Purple Finch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 8%
- Average group size: 2.07
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 27%
--- #2. Arkansas: 25%
--- #2. Georgia: 25%
--- #4. Missouri: 23%
--- #5. North Carolina: 22%
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#37. Pygmy Nuthatch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 10%
- Average group size: 2.89
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Colorado: 18%
--- #2. California: 10%
--- #3. New Mexico: 9%
--- #4. Arizona: 7%
--- #5. South Dakota: 6%
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#36. California Quail

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 10%
- Average group size: 9.27
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 33%
--- #2. Idaho: 20%
--- #3. California: 10%
--- #4. Oregon: 7%
--- #4. Washington: 7%

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#35. Bushtit

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 12%
- Average group size: 5.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. New Mexico: 44%
--- #2. Oregon: 35%
--- #2. Colorado: 35%
--- #4. Washington: 30%
--- #5. Nevada: 27%
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#34. Cooper's Hawk

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 13%
- Average group size: 1.01
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 33%
--- #2. Arizona: 24%
--- #3. Kentucky: 21%
--- #4. New Jersey: 20%
--- #5. Illinois: 17%
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#33. Acorn Woodpecker

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 13%
- Average group size: 1.97
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 13%
--- #2. Oregon: 9%
--- #3. Arizona: 8%
--- #4. New Mexico: 2%
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#32. Allen's Hummingbird

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 14%
- Average group size: 1.34
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 14%
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#31. Downy Woodpecker

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 15%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arkansas: 92%
--- #2. Connecticut: 91%
--- #2. Minnesota: 91%
--- #4. Massachusetts: 90%
--- #5. Iowa: 88%

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#30. Northern Flicker

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 15%
- Average group size: 1.23
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Montana: 72%
--- #2. Colorado: 67%
--- #3. Washington: 65%
--- #4. Oregon: 62%
--- #5. Nevada: 53%
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#29. Fox Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 15%
- Average group size: 1.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 24%
--- #1. Oregon: 24%
--- #3. Oklahoma: 18%
--- #4. California: 15%
--- #5. Kentucky: 10%
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#28. Steller's Jay

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 15%
- Average group size: 2.46
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 53%
--- #2. Oregon: 42%
--- #3. Nevada: 33%
--- #4. Colorado: 21%
--- #5. Alaska: 18%
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#27. American Goldfinch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 15%
- Average group size: 3.95
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 79%
--- #2. Missouri: 76%
--- #3. Wisconsin: 75%
--- #3. Arkansas: 75%
--- #5. Maine: 74%
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#26. Black Phoebe

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 16%
- Average group size: 1.07
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 16%
--- #2. Arizona: 1%

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#25. Northern Mockingbird

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 16%
- Average group size: 1.12
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Mississippi: 64%
--- #2. South Carolina: 57%
--- #3. Alabama: 53%
--- #4. Georgia: 49%
--- #5. Tennessee: 46%
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#24. Townsend's Warbler

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 16%
- Average group size: 1.19
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 19%
--- #2. California: 16%
--- #3. Washington: 7%
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#23. Hermit Thrush

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 17%
- Average group size: 1.11
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. North Carolina: 18%
--- #2. California: 17%
--- #3. Georgia: 15%
--- #4. Virginia: 13%
--- #5. Alabama: 8%
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#22. Eurasian Collared-Dove

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 18%
- Average group size: 2.76
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Wyoming: 65%
--- #1. South Dakota: 65%
--- #3. Utah: 63%
--- #4. Idaho: 55%
--- #5. Colorado: 48%
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#21. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 19%
- Average group size: 1.08
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Georgia: 47%
--- #2. South Carolina: 37%
--- #3. Mississippi: 36%
--- #4. Alabama: 33%
--- #5. North Carolina: 32%

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#20. Song Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 19%
- Average group size: 1.29
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 57%
--- #2. Kentucky: 54%
--- #3. Oregon: 49%
--- #4. West Virginia: 38%
--- #4. Pennsylvania: 38%
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#19. Nuttall's Woodpecker

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 21%
- Average group size: 1.14
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 21%
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#18. American Crow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 23%
- Average group size: 2.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oklahoma: 44%
--- #2. Maine: 42%
--- #2. Arkansas: 42%
--- #4. Minnesota: 38%
--- #5. Virginia: 32%
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#17. American Robin

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 24%
- Average group size: 2.31
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 47%
--- #2. Tennessee: 41%
--- #2. North Carolina: 41%
--- #4. Washington: 39%
--- #4. New Mexico: 39%
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#16. White-breasted Nuthatch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 25%
- Average group size: 1.37
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Maine: 87%
--- #2. West Virginia: 85%
--- #3. Connecticut: 84%
--- #3. Vermont: 84%
--- #5. Massachusetts: 83%

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#15. House Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 26%
- Average group size: 3.85
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Iowa: 91%
--- #2. Illinois: 87%
--- #2. Nebraska: 87%
--- #4. Indiana: 80%
--- #5. Ohio: 79%
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#14. Bewick's Wren

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 31%
- Average group size: 1.09
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 33%
--- #2. California: 31%
--- #3. Texas: 20%
--- #3. New Mexico: 20%
--- #5. Oregon: 14%
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#13. Spotted Towhee

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 35%
- Average group size: 1.55
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 67%
--- #2. Oregon: 66%
--- #3. Nevada: 47%
--- #3. New Mexico: 47%
--- #5. Utah: 44%
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#12. Yellow-rumped Warbler

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 39%
- Average group size: 1.5
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 60%
--- #2. Georgia: 58%
--- #3. South Carolina: 55%
--- #4. North Carolina: 46%
--- #5. Florida: 45%
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#11. Chestnut-backed Chickadee

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 39%
- Average group size: 2.22
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Washington: 51%
--- #2. California: 39%
--- #2. Oregon: 39%
--- #4. Alaska: 7%
--- #5. Montana: 3%

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#10. Oak Titmouse

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 43%
- Average group size: 1.32
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 43%
--- #2. Oregon: 4%
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#9. Golden-crowned Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 43%
- Average group size: 2.79
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 43%
--- #2. Oregon: 36%
--- #3. Washington: 34%
--- #4. Alaska: 11%
--- #5. Nevada: 7%
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#8. California Scrub-Jay

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 49%
- Average group size: 1.57
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 53%
--- #2. California: 49%
--- #3. Nevada: 40%
--- #4. Washington: 10%
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#7. California Towhee

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 56%
- Average group size: 1.48
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. California: 56%
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#6. Dark-eyed Junco

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 59%
- Average group size: 3.58
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nebraska: 97%
--- #2. Washington: 95%
--- #2. Oregon: 95%
--- #4. Missouri: 92%
--- #4. Delaware: 92%

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#5. Lesser Goldfinch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 59%
- Average group size: 4.4
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 80%
--- #2. California: 59%
--- #3. Utah: 52%
--- #4. Arizona: 47%
--- #5. Oregon: 43%
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#4. Mourning Dove

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 64%
- Average group size: 3.69
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. West Virginia: 87%
--- #1. Kentucky: 87%
--- #3. New Jersey: 86%
--- #4. Mississippi: 82%
--- #4. Indiana: 82%
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#3. Anna's Hummingbird

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 65%
- Average group size: 1.74
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Oregon: 70%
--- #1. Washington: 70%
--- #3. California: 65%
--- #4. Arizona: 48%
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#2. White-crowned Sparrow

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 69%
- Average group size: 4.59
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Nevada: 73%
--- #2. California: 69%
--- #3. Arizona: 59%
--- #4. New Mexico: 31%
--- #5. Washington: 20%
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#1. House Finch

- Sites visited Dec. 24 to Jan. 6: 83%
- Average group size: 4.68
- States with the highest percent of sites visited
--- #1. Arizona: 91%
--- #2. Kentucky: 87%
--- #3. Colorado: 86%
--- #3. New Mexico: 86%
--- #3. Indiana: 86%

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