Louisiana offers some of the best Wetland Birdwatching in the United States. It is no wonder that the State bird is the majestic Brown Pelican.
While there are a number of birding hotspots scattered throughout the state, for the stay-at-home birdwatching enthusiast, here are some of the most common backyard birds to be found in Louisiana:
Most Common Backyard Birds in Louisiana
1. Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged blackbirds are one of the most common medium-sized songbirds native to North America and are found in Louisiana all year round. They are typically found near water sources and also around agricultural fields.
The males are striking birds that are completely black with red shoulder patches, and white wing bars. The females are brown-black with faintly marked wings.
They breed in the boreal and temperate forests, mostly in North America, and spend their winters in the Southern United States and Central America.
2. Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebirds are small songbirds of the thrush family, native to North America, and are found all year around in Louisiana. Their numbers drastically increase during the winter months as the populations further north migrate south and into the state for the winter.
The males are a vibrant royal blue on the back and head, and warm red brown on the breast. The females have blue tinges on their wings and tail, but their colors are not as vibrant as the males.
Eastern Bluebirds have compact bodies, short strong legs and long pointed bills. They prefer areas with trees and shrubs. Eastern Bluebirds have a diverse diet which ranges from insects to fruit, but they prefer to eat insects, berries, and caterpillars.
3. Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal is a striking red bird found all year around in Louisiana. It is a medium-sized songbird, about the size of a robin and is native to North America.
Northern Cardinals are known for their reddish color and the pointed crest on their head, which they can raise to show aggression. They have a solid red color on their chest and head. The male has a black mask that covers the upper half of his face, while the female has a brown mask.
These birds can migrate long distances to find new food sources.
4. Carolina Chickadee
The Carolina Chickadee is the only chickadee species found in Louisiana and is a common sight all year around. These birds are active during the day and live in the forested areas of these states. They have a very distinctive call that you can hear from miles away.
The Carolina Chickadee is only about five inches long. It has a black cap and bib separated by stark white cheeks.
Male and female chickadees take different migration routes, with females flying further south than males. These migrations are due to seeking out food sources.
5. Brown-headed Cowbird
The Brown-headed Cowbird is a common bird in southern Canada and the United States. They are usually seen in small flocks often with other blackbirds, like the red-winged blackbird or common grackle. They can be found all year round in Louisiana. This bird is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of other passerine birds, including those of other cowbirds. They can be found in open woods, farmlands, and stockyards.
The brown-headed cowbird has a stout bill, short tail, and stocky body. Males are glossy black with a chocolate brown head. Females are gray-brown overall, without bold streaks, but slightly paler throat. The males will chase other males away from the female, then establish a territory before mating with the female. They are insectivores that forage by walking on the ground.
6. American Crow
The American Crow is a large passerine, with all black plumage.
They are one of the most intelligent birds in North America and can be found all over but tend to prefer urban areas to rural areas. They are omnivores, which means that they eat plant and animal matter.
The American Crow is about the size of the Common Raven, but with a larger bill. The bill will usually be yellow in color with a pinkish cast. The legs and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown.
Crows are known for their intelligence and resourcefulness. They are considered to be the most intelligent of all birds, and even of all animals. As a result, they have been able to adapt to a wide variety of environments, including many urban centres. One behavior that has helped them survive in these areas is the ability for some members (usually males) of the group to migrate.
7. Eurasian Collared Dove
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is not a migratory bird. They have a wide distribution in the USA. Over the last century, the Eurasian Collared-Dove has been one of the great colonisers of the bird world. They feed close to human habitation, and also visit bird tables. The largest populations are found on farms around grain stores. Flocks commonly number between 10 and 50.
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a medium-sized dove, distinctly smaller than the wood pigeon, but a similar length to a rock pigeon, although slimmer and with a longer tail. There is no difference between males and females. They are grey-buff to pinkish-gray, and darker on top, with a blue-grey underwing patch. The tail feathers are grey-buff above, and dark grey and tipped white below; the outer tail feathers are also tipped whitish above. It has a black half-collar edged with white on its nape from which it gets its name. The short legs are red and the bill is black. The eye is surrounded by a small area of bare skin, which is either white or yellow.
They make a loud, harsh screeching call particularly in flight just before landing, this lasts for about two seconds.
8. Mourning Dove
Mourning Doves are medium sized birds that live in North America and can be seen perching on telephone wires. They are very sensitive to habitat changes and can be found in rural and suburban areas throughout the year. They are primarily granivores and forage for seeds on the ground; their flight is fast and bullet straight. Their soft, drawn-out calls sound like a lament, hence the name “Mourning Dove”.
Graceful and slender-tailed, with a small head, mourning doves are light gray and brown and generally muted in color. Males and females are similar in appearance. The species is generally monogamous.
They are found all year round in Louisiana.
9. House Finch
House finches are small songbirds. They are not migratory and can be seen in Louisiana throughout the year. They have been found, however, to move around to find food or mates.
The males have red heads, brown wings, and a streaked back. The females are brown-streaked. They have a black bill and are about the size of a sparrow.
They eat grass seeds but also eat buds and parts of flowers, berries, small fruits, and insects such as aphids.
10. American Goldfinch
American Goldfinches can be found throughout most of North America and are spotted all year round in Louisiana.
American Goldfinches are popular birds with the males’ bright yellow and black coloring in spring. The females are duller brown, as are males in winter.
They can be found in weedy fields and overgrown areas foraging for sunflower, thistle, and aster plants. They are also common in suburbs, parks, and backyards.
11. Common Grackle
The Common Grackle is a medium-sized bird, about the size of a Blue Jay. They tend to flock together and tend to be rather loud and aggressive, scaring away the smaller songbirds. They can become a nuisance at backyard feeding stations as they tend to eat almost anything. They are also quite resourceful in finding food. And are found all year round in Louisiana.
They are lanky, large blackbirds that have a long tail and long bill that curves slightly downward. Loud birds, that gather in big flocks high in trees.
Male Common Grackles are black all over but show off an iridescent blue head and bronze body depending on the light. The females look similar but are slightly less glossy than the males.
The favored foods of Common Grackles are grains like corn and rice. They are a common sight in farm fields that grow these crops and gather together in enormous flocks to feast on these grains. Being the true scavengers that they are, they also eat a wide variety of seeds, fruits, insects and spiders, frogs, even fish and mice, other birds, and as well as garbage!
12. Blue Jay
The Blue Jay is a medium-sized bird and is a member of the crow family. It is native to North America and is common across the continent. The species has adapted well to human developments, often nesting in and around residential areas.
Blue Jays have a long, pointed tail and a crest. The head, wings and back are blue while the chest is white. Both genders have similar features, but the female is slightly smaller in size than the male.
Blue jays are known to be egg thieves, sometimes directly taking eggs from nests and other times following the special sounds made by parent birds. They are found all year round in Louisiana.
13. Dark-eyed Junco
The Dark-eyed Junco is a medium-sized sparrow with a rounded head, short bill, and long tail. The upper parts are grayish brown, and the underparts are whitish with dark streaks on the sides. The female is usually duller than the male. Both sexes have pinkish brown legs and feet.
Diet consists mostly of insects and seeds. In winter, when insects are scarce, they will eat more berries and fruits.
The Dark-eyed Junco is found in a variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, brushy areas, and at backyard bird feeders. They winter in the northern and central parts of Louisiana and are less common closer to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. They often form flocks outside of breeding season.
14. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a small songbird that lives in North America and is most commonly seen in Louisiana during the winter months. They are found in forests, shrubs, and trees near water.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets can be identified by a yellow head with a black crown and red feathers on the wing patch. Males are a bright green color with a black cap while females are duller with brown streaks and spots.
One of the most distinguishable features of this bird is the crown of feathers on its head, which can be seen from a distance.
15. Northern Mockingbird
Northern Mocking birds are medium-sized songbirds. Probably the most notorious of the backyard birds, is the Mockingbird. This is because they are good at mimicking other animals, sirens and crickets, as well as their own species. Studies have shown that the Mockingbird can sing up to 200 songs, including the songs of other creatures like birds, frogs and other animals. They are found all year round in Louisiana.
Males and females look similar with gray to brown upper parts and a lighter underparts. Their wings are rounded. There are white patches on the wings when they are open. The males are slightly larger than the females.
Their diet consists mainly of insects, fruits, and nectar. They migrate to the Southern United States to escape the colder winters.
16. Eastern Phoebe
Eastern phoebes are mostly migratory birds, breeding in Canada’s far north during the summer and most of the eastern United States, then traveling south into Central and Southern USA (including Louisiana), Mexico and parts of the Caribbean to spend the winter. In recent decades, there have been a few Eastern Phoebes found nesting as far south as Everglades National Park.
The Eastern Phoebe is a grayish-brown bird with a dark cap, long dark tail, and white rump. It has a long, thin bill that curves up slightly at the end. They eat flying insects.
17. American Robin
American Robins are common all year round in northern and central Louisiana. They gather in flocks around fruit trees and along roadsides. In spring, most robins migrate north to breed.
American robins are medium-sized, mostly slender birds with pointed bills. They have a long tail that is usually drooped, which helps them to balance in trees. Their plumage is predominately brownish-grey on their upper parts and they have a white or cream throat, breast and belly. The male has a reddish-orange patch on the front of his otherwise brown head while the female’s coloring is less vibrant.
18. Chipping Sparrow
The Chipping Sparrow is a small, ground-dwelling bird. They are common and widespread throughout most of North America. They are found in Louisiana all year round and more commonly in the south in winter. They occur in open woodlands, scrubby areas, or even in suburban settings. They often gather in flocks in fall and winter. They are frequently heard singing a fairly dry trill.
The Chipping Sparrow is small and slender, with a grayish breast, rusty cap, and black eyeline in the breeding season. The coloring is not as bright in winter, but it still shows a brown cap and dark eyeline. Juveniles are extensively streaky. The male and female are similar in appearance, but the male is slightly more colorful.
19. House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is one of the most common backyard birds in Louisiana all year around. They prefer to nest near humans and can be found in urban and rural areas. They build their nests in a variety of places, including trees, shrubs, and man-made structures. The House Sparrow originated in Europe. It was introduced to North America in the 1850s and is now one of the most common birds.
It is a small bird with a stout bill and streaked upper parts. The male has a gray head and chest with black streaks on the throat, while the female is brownish overall. It is not a singing sparrow, but chirps when issuing a warning.
The House Sparrow feeds on a variety of foods, including seeds, insects, and garbage. In backyard bird feeders, it will eat about anything, from sunflower seeds to suet.
20. White-throated Sparrow
This little songbird bird is commonly found in Louisiana during the winter months. They are often found in flocks.
The body of the White-throated Sparrow is brown on the upper parts and gray beneath. It has a black-and-white-striped or tan-and-buff-striped head pattern with a white throat and a tuft of yellow on either side of the head between the eyes the bill is augmented by a bright white throat and yellow between the eye and the bill, which is gray.
White-throated Sparrows mainly stay on or near the ground, in low bushes scratching through leaves to search for food. You may see them low in bushes as well, particularly in spring when they eat fresh buds.
They are popular to visit backyard and feed on millet and as sunflower seeds.
21. European Starling
Starlings are migratory birds that have adapted to the agricultural landscapes of Europe. They are found all year round in Louisiana.
The European Starling is a stocky blackbird with a short tail and long, slender beak. In flight their wings are short and pointed, giving them a star-like appearance, hence the name “starling”. At a distance, starlings appear black. In summer, they turn an iridescent purplish-green with yellow beaks; in winter their plumage is brown, covered in brilliant white spots.
22. Barn Swallow
Barn Swallows are small birds that migrate to warmer climates in summer and are a common sight in Louisiana during this season.
The male and female Barn Swallows look similar. They have a deep-blue back, wings and tail, and are reddish-brown underneath and across the face. Their tail has long outer feathers that give a deep fork.
Barn swallows feed on a wide variety of flying insects, especially flies (including house flies and horse flies), beetles, wasps, wild bees, winged ants, and true bugs. They also eat certain moths, damselflies, grasshoppers, and other insects, and a few spiders and snails.
23. Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmice live in deciduous or mixed evergreen-deciduous woods, i.e. they typically live in areas with a dense canopy and many tree species. They are also common in orchards, parks, and suburban areas. They are found all year round in Louisiana.
Tufted Titmice are very assertive over smaller birds, pushing in to get to the food first. They mostly eat insects such as caterpillars, beetles, ants, and wasps, as well as spiders and snails in summer. They will also eat seeds, nuts, and berries and will hoard shelled seeds.
Tufted Titmouse is gray on the back and white underneath with a gray crest and large eyes. They often flock with chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.
24. Pine Warbler
A warbler is “one who warbles”. The word warble comes from an Old French word meaning “to sing with trills and quavers”. The Pine Warbler is a medium-sized, rather robust and long-tailed warbler, with a noticeably stout bill. They are mostly found in pine trees throughout the year.
Pine Warblers have a variable plumage, from the bright yellowish adult male birds with olive backs, whitish bellies, and two prominent white wingbars on gray wings, to the duller colored females. They have large bill, and long narrow tail with a shallow notch.
They occasionally visit feeders, especially for suet. They are short-distance migrants, wintering entirely in the United States.
25. Yellow-rumped Warbler
There are two species of Yellow-rumped Warblers, the Audubon Warbler and the Myrtle Warbler. Only the sub-species Myrtle Warbler is found in Louisiana. They are mainly spotted here in the winter, during the non-breeding season.
Males are gray with flashes of yellow on the face, sides, and rump and white in the wings. Females may be slightly brown, and winter birds are paler brown with bright yellow rumps and sides turning bright yellow and gray again in spring.
26. Cedar Waxwing
The Cedar Waxwing is a plump bird. It has a distinctive thin, high-pitched call. It is a winter resident in Louisiana and is commonly found in open woodlands, orchards, and areas where there is a lot of shrubbery. Cedar Waxwings are usually found in flocks around fruiting trees.
The males and females look similar with a sleek crest, a black mask, pale yellow on the underparts, and a yellow-tipped tail.
Cedar Waxwings mostly eat berries and insects. To attract them to your garden, you can provide them with cut fruit on the bird feeders.
27. Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker species in North America. Although visually very similar to the Hairy Woodpecker it is a third smaller and with a smaller beak compared to other Woodpeckers. They mostly feed on a variety of insects, especially beetles and ants. They also eat seeds and berries and will eat suet at bird feeders.
They have black and white coloring with a red patch at the back of their heads.
Downy Woodpeckers do not migrate and can be spotted in most states all year round.
28. Red-bellied Woodpecker
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a small round-headed woodpecker, very common throughout Louisiana, all year round.
The male’s forehead, crown and hindneck are red. The female’s crown is gray. They have black and white barred wings. The back, head and underside are creamy white to pale gray with a pale red patch on the belly. The male and female stay together only long enough to share in the excavation of a nesting cavity in a dead tree and care for the young, up to 10 weeks after they fledge.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker prefers mature forest habitat and feeds on acorns, seeds, fruit and insects.
29. Carolina Wren
Carolina Wrens are shy birds that are dark brown on top and light brown underneath. They have a white eyebrow stripe and upright tail, and a loud ‘teakettle‘ song. They can be found in woods or thickly vegetated areas, and they will visit backyard feeders.
Carolina Wrens do not migrate. They can be spotted all year round in Louisiana by the keen birdwatcher.
FAQ
What can I do to encourage wild birds in my yard?
In order to encourage wild birds in your backyard, you must provide a source of water and food. This can be done with bird baths and bird feeders. For a more natural experience, try adding some flowers or plants around your yard to attract different species of birds.
How do I identify the birds around my backyard in Louisiana?
The best way to identify the birds in your backyard is by looking at their feathers. Their beaks tell you what they like to eat. Their feet tell you if they perch, hop or wade.
What birds are most common in Louisiana?
29 of the Most Common Backyard Birds in Louisiana will give you a small preview of what you can find in the State.
Are woodpeckers endangered?
Woodpeckers are classified as being at risk. The number of red, black, and white woodpeckers has been declining over the last seventy years. The main reason for this decrease is the loss of nesting sites due to deforestation, development and expanding agriculture.
Why might there be lots of small birds flying and diving?
It is possible that the birds are looking for food such as flying insects or there could be a predator nearby. Without further observations, it is impossible to know what is driving their behavior.
What kind of blackbirds seem to congregate on power lines?
Blackbirds are a common sight at power lines, but why? Scientists believe that the blackbirds congregate at these power lines because this is an excellent place to find food. The electricity can kill bugs, which the blackbirds can easily feed on.