U.S. Hometown Boreal Bird Species Lists

U.S. Cities Birding Lists

The United States is a boreal bird's home away from home, with an estimated 1.5 billion boreal birds wintering in the U.S. each year. More boreal bird species winter in the U.S. Lower 48 than in any other country or region. Furthermore, the entire wintering population of several boreal bird species occurs only within the U.S. In almost half the states (23), the official bird is a boreal bird.

Select a city to see which species near you breed in the boreal forest.

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Boreal Birds of the Philadelphia Area

Philadelphia is known for its cream cheese and cheesesteaks but did you know that the city gave its name to a small songbird that nests almost entirely within the boreal forest of Canada? That species, the Philadelphia Vireo, was named for the city where it was discovered in 1851 though it is actually an uncommon migrant (more abundant in the fall) in the region. The species winters in Central America from Guatemala and Belize south to Panama.

At least 39 of the 90 boreal breeding species that the Philadelphia area hosts are, like the Philadelphia Vireo, on their way to Central or South America or the Caribbean to spend the winter. Gray-cheeked Thrushes, which migrate through in October, will spend the winter in lush tropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Andes Mountains from Venezuela to Brazil. The Blue-winged Teal flocks that you may see in Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in the fall may have nested in the Northwest Territories of Canada and may be on their way to winter in the oppressive heat of Bigi Pan in Surinam along the coast of northern South America.

Other species spend the winter in the Philadelphia area or within the southern U.S. The Rusty Blackbird, an October migrant in wet woodlands in the Philadelphia area whose call sounds like a rusty hinge, has declined by an estimated 90% over the last 30 years within its boreal forest breeding range. Of the 350 or so regularly-occurring bird species in the Philadelphia area, more than 25% (90 species) have breeding ranges that lie wholly or largely within the boreal forest of Canada.

Gull-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring
Bonaparte's Gull	Fall	Winter	Spring
Caspian Tern	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Tern	Fall		Spring
Herring Gull	Fall	Winter	Spring

Hawk-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Bald Eagle	Fall	Winter	Spring
Golden Eagle	Fall	Winter	Spring
Merlin	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Goshawk	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Harrier	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Osprey	Fall		Spring	Summer
Sharp-shinned Hawk	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer

Owls
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Short-eared Owl	Fall	Winter	Spring

Perching Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Alder Flycatcher	Fall		Spring
American Robin	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Tree Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Bay-breasted Warbler	Fall		Spring
Belted Kingfisher	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Black-throated Green Warbler	Fall		Spring	Summer
Blackburnian Warbler	Fall		Spring
Blackpoll Warbler	Fall		Spring
Blue-headed Vireo	Fall		Spring
Canada Warbler	Fall		Spring
Cape May Warbler	Fall		Spring
Chipping Sparrow	Fall		Spring	Summer
Dark-eyed Junco	Fall	Winter	Spring
Eastern Kingbird	Fall		Spring	Summer
Fox Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Golden-crowned Kinglet	Fall	Winter	Spring
Gray-cheeked Thrush	Fall		Spring
Hermit Thrush	Fall	Winter	Spring
Least Flycatcher	Fall		Spring	Summer
Lincoln's Sparrow	Fall		Spring
Magnolia Warbler	Fall		Spring
Mourning Warbler	Fall		Spring
Nashville Warbler	Fall		Spring
Northern Shrike		Winter
Northern Waterthrush	Fall		Spring
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Fall		Spring
Palm Warbler	Fall		Spring
Philadelphia Vireo	Fall		Spring
Purple Finch	Fall	Winter	Spring
Red-eyed Vireo	Fall		Spring	Summer
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Fall	Winter	Spring
Rusty Blackbird	Fall	Winter	Spring
Savannah Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Swainson's Thrush	Fall		Spring
Swamp Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Tennessee Warbler	Fall		Spring
White-crowned Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
White-throated Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Wilson's Warbler	Fall		Spring
Winter Wren	Fall	Winter	Spring
Yellow Warbler	Fall		Spring	Summer
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	Fall		Spring
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Fall	Winter	Spring

Long-legged Waders
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Bittern	Fall		Spring	Summer

Tree-clinging Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Northern Flicker	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Fall	Winter	Spring
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Fall	Winter	Spring

Upland Ground Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Common Nighthawk	Fall		Spring	Summer

Duck-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Black Duck	Fall	Winter	Spring
American Wigeon	Fall	Winter	Spring
Blue-winged Teal	Fall		Spring
Bufflehead	Fall	Winter	Spring
Canada Goose	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Canvasback	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Goldeneye	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Loon	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Merganser	Fall	Winter	Spring
Green-winged Teal	Fall	Winter	Spring
Lesser Scaup	Fall	Winter	Spring
Mallard	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Northern Pintail	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Shoveler	Fall	Winter	Spring
Pied-billed Grebe	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Red-throated Loon	Fall	Winter	Spring
Redhead	Fall	Winter	Spring
Ring-necked Duck	Fall	Winter	Spring

Sandpiper-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Greater Yellowlegs	Fall		Spring
Killdeer	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Least Sandpiper	Fall		Spring
Lesser Yellowlegs	Fall		Spring
Short-billed Dowitcher	Fall		Spring
Solitary Sandpiper	Fall		Spring
Spotted Sandpiper	Fall		Spring	Summer
Wilson's Snipe	Fall		Spring