Bird List
Numerous species of waterfowl, shorebirds, and song birds find the refuge attractive during the spring and fall migration periods. Wintering populations vary widely depending on ice conditions.
Among the colorful songbirds that we enjoy each summer are “neotropical migrants.” These are birds that make a trip during our winter season to the tropical habitats found from southern Mexico to Argentina. Such birds nest in the U.S. and Canada, but spend most of the year in the neotropics - the Caribbean Islands, Mexican lowlands and Central and South America. The neotropical migrants are shown on this list with a darker background and are marked “(NT).”
If you would like a copy of this bird list in Adobe pdf format, click here (File size: 79KB). The print on this version is rather small, but the list does fit on two sheets of standard paper, which makes it easy to take into the field with you.
The following list of 228 species of birds have been observed on the refuge since 1975. Those marked with an asterisk (*) nest on the refuge. Those marked with a pound sign (#) are suspected to nest at least occasionally, but further confirmation is needed.North Platte National Wildlife Refuge Bird Checklist |
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Legend: a = Abundant - Common species that is numerous Darker background = Neotropical migrant |
S=Spring s=Summer F=Fall W=Winter |
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|
Herons |
Waterfowl |
Hawks |
Rails |
Shorebirds |
Gulls |
Owls |
Woodpeckers. Flycatchers | Swallows | Wrens | Thrushes | Warblers | Sparrows | Finches | Bottom |
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| Common Name | S | s | F | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loons | Legend | |||
| Pacific Loon | x | |||
| Common Loon | u | r | u | x |
| Grebes | Legend | |||
| Pied-billed Grebe # | u | u | u | |
| Horned Grebe | r | r | ||
| Red-necked Grebe | x | |||
| Eared Grebe | c | u | c | x |
| Western Grebe | c | u | c | o |
| Clark's Grebe | x | |||
| Pelicans | Legend | |||
| American White Pelican | u | o | u | x |
| Cormorants | Legend | |||
| Double-crested Cormorant * | u | c | u | |
| Herons and Bitterns | Legend | |||
| American Bittern | r | |||
| Great Blue Heron * | u | u | u | r |
| Great Egret | x | |||
| Cattle Egret | x | |||
| Green Heron | x | |||
| Black-crowned Night Heron * | r | r | o | |
| Yellow-crowned Night Heron | x | |||
| Ibises | Legend | |||
| White-faced Ibis | x | |||
| Vultures | Legend | |||
| Turkey Vulture | r | r | r | |
| Swans, Geese, and Ducks | Legend | |||
| Trumpeter Swan | x | |||
| Tundra Swan | o | |||
| Greater White-fronted Goose | o | |||
| Snow Goose | u | r | ||
| Ross's Goose | o | o | ||
| Canada Goose * | c | u | a | a |
| Wood Duck * | u | u | u | |
| Gadwall | c | o | u | o |
| American Wigeon * | c | r | u | o |
| Mallard * | a | u | a | a |
| Blue-winged Teal * | c | r | c | |
| Cinnamon Teal | o | |||
| Northern Shoveler | c | r | u | r |
| Northern Pintail | c | r | u | o |
| Green-winged Teal | c | c | r | |
| Canvasback | c | u | r | |
| Redhead | a | o | c | r |
| Ring-necked Duck | c | u | ||
| Lesser Scaup | a | o | u | |
| Surf Scoter | x | |||
| White-winged Scoter | x | |||
| Long-tail Duck | x | |||
| Bufflehead | u | c | o | |
| Common Goldeneye | u | c | u | |
| Barrow's Goldeneye | o | o | o | |
| Hooded Merganser | r | r | o | |
| Common Merganser | a | u | a | u |
| Red-breasted Merganser | r | r | o | |
| Ruddy Duck | c | o | u | |
| Hawks and Eagles | Legend | |||
| Osprey | o | o | ||
| Bald Eagle * | u | r | u | c |
| Northern Harrier | o | o | u | r |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | r | o | o | |
| Cooper's Hawk | r | |||
| Northern Goshawk | x | |||
| Red-shouldered Hawk | x | |||
| Broad-winged Hawk (NT) | o | |||
| Harris's Hawk | x | |||
| Swainson's Hawk (NT) | o | r | o | |
| Red-tailed Hawk * | u | u | u | u |
| Rough-legged Hawk | r | u | u | |
| Ferruginous Hawk | o | r | ||
| Golden Eagle | r | o | ||
| Falcons | Legend | |||
| American Kestrel * | c | c | c | u |
| Merlin (NT) | o | o | ||
| Peregrine Falcon (NT) | o | |||
| Prairie Falcon | r | |||
| Upland Game Birds | Legend | |||
| Ring-necked Pheasant # | u | u | u | u |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse # | o | o | o | o |
| Wild Turkey | u | u | u | u |
| Northern Bobwhite | o | o | o | o |
| Rails and Coots | Legend | |||
| Virginia Rail | o | o | ||
| Sora | o | o | ||
| American Coot * | c | u | c | o |
| Cranes | Legend | |||
| Sandhill Crane | r | r | ||
| Shorebirds | Legend | |||
| Black-bellied Plover | o | o | ||
| Semipalmated Plover | o | o | o | |
| Killdeer # | c | u | c | r |
| Black-necked Stilt | x | x | ||
| American Avocet | r | r | r | |
| Greater Yellowlegs | r | r | r | |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | u | o | u | |
| Solitary Sandpiper | r | o | o | |
| Willet | r | o | ||
| Spotted Sandpiper | u | r | u | |
| Upland Sandpiper (NT) | x | |||
| Long-billed Curlew (NT) | o | |||
| Marbled Godwit | r | o | o | |
| Ruddy Turnstone | x | |||
| Sanderling | o | r | u | |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | r | r | r | |
| Western Sandpiper | o | o | ||
| Least Sandpiper | o | u | u | |
| White-rumped Sandpiper | r | |||
| Baird's Sandpiper | o | u | c | |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | u | |||
| Dunlin | x | |||
| Stilt Sandpiper | r | r | r | |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper | x | |||
| Long-billed Dowitcher | u | u | ||
| Common Snipe | r | o | r | u |
| Wilson's Phalarope | u | r | ||
| Red-necked Phalarope | o | o | ||
| Gulls and Terns | Legend | |||
| Franklin's Gull | u | r | c | |
| Bonaparte's Gull | u | r | r | |
| Ring-billed Gull | a | u | a | u |
| California Gull | x | |||
| Herring Gull | u | u | o | |
| Glaucous Gull | x | |||
| Black-legged Kittiwake | x | |||
| Sabine's Gull | x | |||
| Caspian Tern | x | |||
| Common Tern | o | o | o | |
| Forster's Tern | u | o | r | |
| Black Tern * | r | o | o | |
| Doves | Legend | |||
| Rock Dove | r | r | r | r |
| Mourning Dove * | c | a | c | o |
| Cuckoos and Roadrunners | Legend | |||
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo (NT) | r | |||
| Owls | Legend | |||
| Barn Owl | x | |||
| Eastern Screech Owl * | u | u | u | u |
| Great Horned Owl # | u | u | u | u |
| Nighthawks and Nightjars | Legend | |||
| Common Nighthawk # (NT) | r | r | ||
| Common Poorwill | o | |||
| Kingfishers | Legend | |||
| Belted Kingfisher # | u | u | u | u |
| Woodpeckers | Legend | |||
| Red-Headed Woodpecker # | r | u | u | |
| Red-naped Sapsucker | o | |||
| Downy Woodpecker * | u | u | u | u |
| Hairy Woodpecker | r | o | o | r |
| Northern Flicker * | c | c | c | u |
| Flycatchers | Legend | |||
| Olive-sided Flycatcher | o | |||
| Western Wood Pewee # (NT) | r | u | o | |
| Willow Flycatcher | o | |||
| Least Flycatcher (NT) | r | |||
| Cordilleran Flycatcher (NT) | x | |||
| Say's Phoebe | r | o | o | |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | x | |||
| Cassin's Kingbird | o | |||
| Western Kingbird * (NT) | c | c | a | |
| Eastern Kingbird # (NT) | c | u | c | Shrikes | Legend |
| Loggerhead Shrike # | r | r | ||
| Northern Shrike | r | r | r | Vireos | Legend |
| Warbling Vireo * (NT) | u | u | u | |
| Red-eyed Vireo # (NT) | o | r | o | Jays, Magpies and Crows | Legend |
| Blue Jay * | u | u | u | u |
| Pinyon Jay | x | |||
| Black-billed Magpie * | c | c | c | c |
| American Crow * | o | o | o | |
| Larks | Legend | |||
| Horned Lark * | c | u | c | c |
| Swallows | Legend | |||
| Tree Swallow * | u | u | o | |
| Violet-green Swallow (NT) | o | |||
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow # (NT) | u | u | ||
| Bank Swallow (NT) | o | o | o | |
| Cliff Swallow * (NT) | c | a | ||
| Barn Swallow * (NT) | c | c | c | |
| Chickadees and Titmice | Legend | |||
| Black-capped Chickadee * | c | c | c | c |
| Mountain Chickadee | x | x | ||
| Nuthatches | Legend | |||
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | o | |||
| White-breasted Nuthatch # | c | c | u | |
| Creepers | Legend | |||
| Brown Creeper | o | |||
| Wrens | Legend | |||
| Rock Wren | o | |||
| House Wren * (NT) | c | c | u | |
| Marsh Wren | o | o | ||
| Kinglets, Bluebirds, and Thrushes | Legend | |||
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | x | |||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | o | u | ||
| Eastern Bluebird | o | |||
| Mountain Bluebird | o | o | ||
| Townsend's Solitaire | o | o | o | |
| Veery | x | |||
| Swainson's Thrush (NT) | r | |||
| Hermit Thrush | o | |||
| American Robin * | a | c | a | a |
| Varied Thrush | x | |||
| Mimics | Legend | |||
| Gray Catbird | x | |||
| Sage Thrasher | x | |||
| Brown Thrasher * | u | u | r | |
| Starlings | Legend | |||
| European Starling # | c | c | c | c |
| Pipits | Legend | |||
| American Pipit | u | u | ||
| Waxwings | Legend | |||
| Cedar Waxwing | o | o | o | |
| Warblers | Legend | |||
| Tennessee Warbler | x | |||
| Orange-crowned Warbler (NT) | u | u | ||
| Yellow Warbler * (NT) | u | u | ||
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | c | c | ||
| Townsend's Warbler | x | |||
| Blackpoll Warbler | o | o | ||
| American Redstart (NT) | o | |||
| Ovenbird | x | |||
| Common Yellowthroat # (NT) | u | u | ||
| Wilson's Warbler (NT) | o | o | r | |
| Yellow-breasted Chat (NT) | o | |||
| Tanagers | Legend | |||
| Western Tanager (NT) | o | o | ||
| Sparrows, Buntings, and Grosbeaks | Legend | |||
| Spotted Towhee | o | o | o | |
| American Tree Sparrow | c | c | u | |
| Chipping Sparrow (NT) | u | r | u | |
| Clay-colored Sparrow (NT) | r | r | ||
| Field Sparrow | o | o | ||
| Vesper Sparrow | r | r | r | |
| Lark Sparrow * (NT) | u | c | u | |
| Lark Bunting # | r | r | r | |
| Savannah Sparrow | r | r | ||
| Baird's Sparrow | x | |||
| Grasshopper Sparrow * (NT) | r | |||
| Song Sparrow * | o | o | o | |
| Lincoln's Sparrow (NT) | o | r | ||
| Swamp Sparrow | x | |||
| White-throated Sparrow | o | o | ||
| Harris' Sparrow | o | |||
| White-crowned Sparrow | u | u | ||
| Dark-eyed Junco | u | u | u | |
| McCown's Longspur | o | |||
| Lapland Longspur | o | o | ||
| Chestnut-collared Longspur | o | |||
| Black-headed Grosbeak (NT) | o | |||
| Blue Grosbeak | o | |||
| Blackbirds and Orioles | Legend | |||
| Bobolink (NT) | o | |||
| Red-winged Blackbird * | u | u | u | |
| Western Meadowlark * | a | a | a | o |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird * (NT) | r | u | o | |
| Brewer's Blackbird | o | |||
| Common Grackle * | a | a | a | |
| Brown-headed Cowbird * | u | u | ||
| Orchard Oriole * (NT) | u | u | u | |
| Baltimore Oriole | r | r | ||
| Bullock's Oriole * (NT) | u | u | ||
| Finches | Legend | |||
| Gray-crowned Rosy Finch | x | |||
| House Finch | o | o | o | o |
| Red Crossbill | x | |||
| Pine Siskin | o | o | r | |
| American Goldfinch # | u | u | u | r |
| Old World Sparrows | Legend | |||
| House Sparrow * | u | u | u | u |
Last updated:
March 21, 2011
