In the heart of North America, Kansas has a diverse range of bird species. This state offers plenty of opportunities for bird-watching enthusiasts, from colourful songbirds to majestic raptors. There are approximately 31 backyard birds that can be commonly seen in Kansas.
One of the most common backyard birds in Kansas is the Black-capped Chickadee. With its black wings and white breast, this small bird can be easily spotted at bird feeders or flitting through trees. Another common bird with similar markings is the White-breasted Nuthatch, which has a brown head and white spots on its wings.
A beloved symbol of spring, American Robins are also commonly found in Kansas. These birds have a black head, brown back and wings with black spots, white cheeks, and a bright orange belly. Another bird known for its vibrant colour is the Eastern Bluebird, with its stunning blue feathers and rusty-coloured chest.
The Black-capped Chickadee and Downy Woodpecker are great options for those who enjoy attracting winter birds to their backyard. These birds can be seen year-round and thrive on black oil sunflower seeds. Another winter favourite is the Tufted Titmouse, which has a tuft of feathers on its head and a white belly.
Common Year-Round Residents
1. Northern Cardinal – The Fiery Red Songsters
Scientific Name: Cardinalis cardinalis
Length: 8-9 inches
Weight: 1.5-1.8 ounces
Wingspan: 10-12 inches
Habitat and Description: The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of seven US states, including Kansas. This striking bird is a year-round resident in Kansas and can be easily identified by its bright red plumage, distinctive crest, and conical solid bill.
Fun Fact: Male Cardinals are known for their beautiful singing voices and can learn up to 24 songs. They often sing in duets with their mates.
2. Blue Jay – The Noisy Neighbors
Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata
Length: 8-12 inches
Weight: 2.5-3.5 ounces
Wingspan: 13-17 inches
Habitat and Description: Blue Jays are known for their bold blue feathers, white belly, and black head crest. They are also known to be quite vocal birds, often making loud calls and imitating other bird species.
Fun Fact: Blue Jays are social birds and live in large groups called flocks, consisting of up to 100 individuals.
3. American Robin – The Early Birds
Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius
Length: 8-11 inches
Weight: 2.7-3 ounces
Wingspan: 12-16 inches
Habitat and Description: American Robins are one of North America’s most common backyard birds and can be seen year-round in Kansas. They have a brown head, grey upperparts, and a rusty-red belly.
Fun Fact: Despite their name, American Robins are not true robins. They belong to the thrush family.
4. Mourning Dove – The Soft Coos
Scientific Name: Zenaida macroura
Length: 9-13 inches
Weight: 4-6 ounces
Wingspan: 17-19 inches
Habitat and Description: Mourning Doves are common in Kansas, especially in the suburbs and rural areas. They have a soft, buff-coloured body with black spots on their wings and a long pointed tail.
Fun Fact: Mourning Doves are one of the few bird species that can drink water by sucking it up through their bill. Most birds have to scoop water into their mouths.
5. House Sparrow – The Ubiquitous Flock
Scientific Name: Passer domesticus
Length: 5.5-7 inches
Weight: 0.9-1.4 ounces
Wingspan: 8-10 inches
Habitat and Description: Originally from Europe, House Sparrows have adapted well to urban and suburban environments in North America. They have brown and gray body with black wings and a thick bill.
Fun Fact: House Sparrows are known to be aggressive towards other bird species, often competing for food and nesting sites.
Summer Visitors
6. American Goldfinch – The Vibrant Summer Guest
Scientific Name: Spinus tristis
Length: 4.3-5.1 inches
Weight: 0.4-0.7 ounces
Wingspan: 7.5-8.7 inches
Habitat and Description: American Goldfinches are one of the most colorful summer visitors in Kansas with bright yellow feathers, black wings, and a black cap. They can often be seen in flocks feeding on plants and flowers.
Fun Fact: American Goldfinches are one of the latest nesting birds, waiting until mid-summer when thistle and other plants have gone to seed to build their nests.
7. Ruby-throated Hummingbird – The Tiny Aerial Acrobat
Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris
Length: 3-3.5 inches
Weight: 0.1-0.2 ounces
Wingspan: 4-4.7 inches
Habitat and Description: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are common in Kansas during the summer, with their brilliant green feathers and iridescent red throat. They are known for their quick movements and ability to hover in place.
Fun Fact: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds can beat their wings up to 80 times per second, allowing them to fly backwards and even upside down.
8. Indigo Bunting – The Blue Jewel of Summer
Scientific Name: Passerina cyanea
Length: 4.7-5.9 inches
Weight: 0.4-0.7 ounces
Wingspan: 8.3-11 inches
Habitat and Description: Indigo Buntings are vibrant in Kansas with deep blue feathers, black head, and forked tail. They can often be found in open woodlands and along roadsides.
Fun Fact: The blue color of Indigo Buntings is not created by pigment but rather by the way light reflects off their feathers.
9. Baltimore Oriole – The Orange-Black Flutterer
Scientific Name: Icterus galbula
Length: 6.7-8.7 inches
Weight: 1-1.2 ounces
Wingspan: 9-12 inches
Habitat and Description: Baltimore Orioles are striking with their bright orange feathers, black wings, and white spots on their wings and tail. They can be found in woodlands, backyards, and parks.
Fun Fact: Baltimore Orioles have a unique way of building their nests, weaving fibres from plants to create a hanging pouch-like structure.
10. Brown Thrasher – The Mimic Singer
Scientific Name: Toxostoma rufum
Length: 9-11.5 inches
Weight: 2.3-3.1 ounces
Wingspan: 11.8-12.6 inches
Habitat and Description: Brown Thrashers are known for their loud and varied songs, often mimicking the calls of other birds. They are brown with a long, curved bill and white underparts.
Fun Fact: Brown Thrashers have been known to mimic the calls of over 100 bird species.
Winter Visitors
11. Dark-eyed Junco – The Snowbird
Scientific Name: Junco hyemalis
Length: 5-6 inches
Weight: 0.6-1 ounces
Wingspan: 7.9-9.8 inches
Habitat and Description: Dark-eyed Juncos are small, plump birds with a dark head, white belly, and pink bill. They can be found in open woodlands and often visit backyard bird feeders.
Fun Fact: Dark-eyed Juncos have a unique feeding technique called “double-scratching” where they use both feet to kick at the ground in search of food.
12. Northern Flicker – The Ground Forager
Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus
Length: 11-14 inches
Weight: 3.9-5.6 ounces
Wingspan: 16.5-20.1 inches
Habitat and Description: Northern Flickers are large woodpeckers with a brown head, black spots on their belly, and a white rump. They can often be seen foraging on the ground for insects.
Fun Fact: Northern Flickers’ unique tongue structure helps them dig out ants and other insects from trees.
13. Red-breasted Nuthatch – The Upside-Down Forager
Scientific Name: Sitta canadensis
Length: 4.5-5 inches
Weight: 0.3-0.4 ounces
Wingspan: 7-8.7 inches
Habitat and Description: Red-breasted Nuthatches are small birds with rusty-red breasts, blue-gray wings, and a black eye stripe. They are known for their acrobatic skills, often hanging upside down to forage on trees.
Fun Fact: Red-breasted Nuthatches have a special oil in their feathers that helps them cling to tree bark, allowing them to move upside-down easily.
14. Pine Siskin – The Iridescent Visitor
Scientific Name: Spinus pinus
Length: 4.3-5 inches
Weight: 0.4-0.6 ounces
Wingspan: 8.7-9.8 inches
Habitat and Description: Pine Siskins are small, streaky brown birds with yellow wing bars and a pointed bill. They can often be seen in flocks, visiting backyard feeders and foraging on seeds from pine cones.
Fun Fact: Pine Siskins have a unique iridescent quality to their feathers, causing them to shine different shades of yellow and green in the sunlight.
15. Snow Bunting – The Arctic Traveler
Scientific Name: Plectrophenax nivalis
Length: 6.3-7.5 inches
Weight: 1.4-2 ounces
Wingspan: 13-14 inches
Habitat and Description: Snow Buntings are medium-sized birds with a black and white plumage, resembling small snowflakes. They breed in the Arctic tundra and can sometimes be seen in large flocks during migration.
Fun Fact: The Snow Bunting is one of the few bird species that breeds exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere and never ventures to any other part of the world.
The Less Common Sightings
16. Cedar Waxwing – The Silky-Winged Berry Lover
Scientific Name: Bombycilla cedrorum
Length: 6.7-7.9 inches
Weight: 1-1.4 ounces
Wingspan: 11.8-12.6 inches
Habitat and Description: Cedar Waxwings are medium-sized birds with a tan, gray, and yellow plumage, accented by a black mask and a silky, wax-like wing tip. They can often be seen perching on branches near fruit trees.
Fun Fact: Cedar Waxwings are social birds and have been known to share berries with each other, passing them from one bird’s bill to another’s until it is consumed.
17. Eastern Towhee – The Shy Scratcher
Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus
Length: 7.1-8.3 inches
Weight: 1.2-1.9 ounces
Wingspan: 11 inches
Habitat and Description: Eastern Towhees are large, plump birds with a black hood and reddish-orange sides. They can often be found scratching through leaf litter looking for food.
Fun Fact: Eastern Towhees have two distinct songs – a “drink your tea” song and a whistled trill, which they use to communicate with other towhees.
18. Eurasian Collared-Dove – The Recent Arrivals
Scientific Name: Streptopelia decaocto
Length: 12-14 inches
Weight: 4.5-7 ounces
Wingspan: 20 inches
Habitat and Description: Eurasian Collared-Doves are medium-sized birds with a pale gray-brown plumage and a distinctive black collar. They are relatively new to North America, having first been introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s and gradually spreading across the continent.
Fun Fact: The Eurasian Collared-Dove has a unique call that sounds like “coo-COO-cook.”
19. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – The Tree Tappers
Scientific Name: Sphyrapicus various 7.5-8.3 inches
Weight: 1.4-1.9 ounces
Wingspan: 13.4-14.2 inches
Habitat and Description: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with a black and white plumage and a bright red throat patch. They are often seen tapping on trees to create sap wells, which they feed on along with any insects that get stuck in the sap.
Fun Fact: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are known for their ritualistic drumming during courtship and territorial displays.
20. Scarlet Tanager – The Flash of Color
Scientific Name: Piranga olivacea
Length: 6.3-7.1 inches
Weight: 0.9-1.2 ounces
Wingspan: 8.7-10.2 inches
Habitat and Description: Scarlet Tanagers are small, vibrant red birds with black wings and tail feathers. They can often be seen flitting through the trees and catching insects in mid-air. During breeding season, male tanagers molt into a bright yellow-green plumage.
Fun Fact: The Scarlet Tanager’s diet consists mainly of fruits and insects, but they have also been known to eat monarch butterflies, which are toxic to most other birds.
Birds of Prey
21. Red-tailed Hawk – The Soaring Hunter
Scientific Name: Buteo jamaicensis
Length: 18.1-25.6 inches
Weight: 24.3-51.5 ounces
Wingspan: 44.9-52.4 inches
Habitat and Description: Red-tailed Hawks are large birds of prey with a brown and white plumage and a distinctive rust-colored tail. They can often be seen soaring high in the sky, searching for their next meal of small mammals and birds.
Fun Fact: Red-tailed Hawks have excellent eyesight, which allows them to spot prey from over a mile away!
22. American Kestrel – The Mighty Falcon
Scientific Name: Falco sparverius
Length: 8.7-12.2 inches
Weight: 2.8-5.8 ounces
Wingspan: 20.1-24 inches
Habitat and Description: The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America and can often be seen perched on wires or hovering above open fields, ready to swoop down on its prey. They have a brown and white plumage with distinctive black markings on their face.
Fun Fact: Male American Kestrels have vibrant blue feathers on their wings, while females have red-brown feathers.
23. Great Horned Owl – The Silent Hunter
Scientific Name: Bubo virginianus
Length: 18-25 inches
Weight: 32.1-88.2 ounces
Wingspan: 39-57 inches
Habitat and Description: The Great Horned Owl is a large, powerful owl with distinctive ‘ear’ tufts on its head. They have a mottled brown and white plumage that helps them blend into their surroundings as they silently hunt for small mammals and birds.
Fun Fact: Great Horned Owls can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees!
24. Cooper’s Hawk – The Stealthy Flier
Scientific Name: Accipiter cooperii
Length: 14.6-17.7 inches
Weight: 10.6-24.0 ounces
Wingspan: 24.4-35 inches
Habitat and Description: Cooper’s Hawks are medium-sized birds of prey with a slate blue-grey back, white underbelly, and a reddish-brown barred chest. They have long, broad wings and a long tail, allowing them to quickly maneuver through dense vegetation as they hunt for smaller birds.
Fun Fact: Cooper’s Hawks are known for their incredible hunting abilities, often chasing down prey at high speeds through trees and shrubs
25. Barred Owl – The Nighttime Sentinel
Scientific Name: Strix varia
Length: 16.5-24 inches
Weight: 16.6-37 ounces
Wingspan: 38-50 inches
Habitat and Description: The Barred Owl is a medium-sized owl with striking dark eyes and a distinct pattern of brown bars on its white chest. They are primarily nocturnal and can often be heard hooting in the woods at night. They hunt for small mammals and birds, using their excellent hearing and vision to locate prey in low light.
Fun Fact: Barred Owls have been known to catch fish by swooping down from trees near bodies of water!
Water and Shorebirds
26. Mallard – The Water Lounger
Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos
Size: 23-28 inches
Weight: 2.7-3.5 pounds
Wingspan: 36-41 inches
Habitat and Description: The Mallard is a common waterfowl found throughout much of North America. They have a distinctive green head with a white ring around their neck and a brown body with white feathers on their wings. They can be found in ponds, lakes, and even urban parks.
Fun Fact: While Mallards are known for quacking, the females make a quieter “quack” while the males have a raspy “wheet-wheet” call.
27. Great Blue Heron – The Statuesque Fisher
Scientific Name: Ardea herodias
Length: 38-54 inches Weight: 4.6-8 pounds
Wingspan: 66-79 inches
Habitat and Description: The Great Blue Heron is a large water bird with long legs and a long, pointed bill. They often stand still in shallow water, waiting for fish or prey to swim by. They can be found in various wetland habitats, from marshes to coastlines.
Fun Fact: Great Blue Herons have been known to use tools like bait like bread or insects on the water’s surface to attract fish.
28. American Coot – The Floating Flock
Scientific Name: Fulica Americana
Length: 13-16 inches
Weight: 1.5-2 pounds
Wingspan: 23-28 inches
Habitat and Description: The American Coot is a dark, duck-like bird with a white bill and red eyes. They often float on the water in large groups, also known as rafts. They can be found in various aquatic habitats, including lakes, marshes, and even sewage ponds.
Fun Fact: Despite their duck-like appearance, American Coots are more closely related to Sandhill Cranes and Common Gallinules.
29. Killdeer – The Noisy Nesteroften floatScientific Name: Charadrius vociferous: 9-11 inches
Weight: 2.8-5 ounces
Wingspan: 23-25 inches
Habitat and Description: The Killdeer is a medium-sized bird with brownish upperparts, white underparts, and two black bands across their chest. They are often seen in open fields, lawns, and gravel roads. They are known for their loud, repetitive “kill-deer” call.
Fun Fact: Killdeers have a unique way of protecting their nests – they often use a broken-wing display to lure predators away from the nest.
30. Green Heron – The Patient Stalker
Scientific Name: Butorides virescens
Length: 16-18 inches
Weight: 7-8 ounces
Wingspan: 26-29 inches
Habitat and Description: The Green Heron is a small, stocky bird with a dark greenish-black back, chestnut neck, and white belly. They can be found in wetland habitats, including marshes, swamps, and streams. They are often seen patiently waiting for prey to come within striking distance before quickly snatching it up.
Fun Fact: Green Herons have been observed using tools, such as baiting fish with insects or feathers to lure them closer for easier catching.
Unique and Rare Finds
31. Painted Bunting – The Rainbow Bird
Scientific Name: Passerina ciris
Length: 5.5-6 inches
Weight: 0.8-1 ounce
Wingspan: 7.5-9 inches
Habitat and Description: The Painted Bunting is a small, brightly colored bird with a green back, red head and breast, and blue wings. They can be found in shrubby areas and thickets, often near water sources. They are rare in Kansas as they typically only pass through during migration.
Fun Fact: Male Painted Buntings go through a molting process where their green feathers turn blue, making them appear more like females to avoid competition during mating season.
