Oklahoma Birds: the complete species guide to all 212 species recorded in the state

Oklahoma Birds: a species guide by habitat and season

This Oklahoma birds species guide sits along both the Central and Mississippi flyways, two of the busiest bird migration corridors in North America, which is a large part of why the state's bird list runs past 200 species despite Oklahoma not being a particularly large state. Year-round residents like the Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, and Red-tailed Hawk share the state with spring and fall migrants passing through, summer breeders such as the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Painted Bunting that stick around only for the warm months, and winter visitors like Harris's Sparrow that show up once the weather turns cold farther north.

The filters above sort by habitat — forest, wetland, grassland, or city and backyard — and by whether a species is active by day or night, since the overwhelming majority of Oklahoma birds are daytime fliers; only a small handful (7 on this roster) are genuinely nocturnal. Search by name if you already have a guess, or browse a habitat filter if you're trying to place something you saw at a specific kind of location. For a more systematic approach to identifying an unfamiliar bird, the identification guide walks through the same four questions — size, location, field marks, and behavior — used throughout this site.

Raptors are especially well represented on the roster: the Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel are year-round residents in open country statewide, the Mississippi Kite arrives each summer to hunt large flying insects over towns and shelterbelts, and Bald Eagles concentrate around the state's larger reservoirs from late fall through early spring as winter visitors from farther north. Waterfowl follow a similar seasonal pattern — ducks and geese are far more numerous on Oklahoma lakes in winter than in summer, when most have moved north to breed.