List of birds of Minnesota

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File:Commonloonudfs.jpg
The common loon is the state bird of Minnesota.

This list of birds of Minnesota includes species documented in the U.S. state of Minnesota and accepted by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (MOURC). As of October 2020, there are 446 species included in the official list. Of them, 89 are classed as accidental, 41 are classed as casual, eight have been introduced to North America, two are extinct, and one has been extirpated.[1][2][3] Two additional accidental species have been added from different sources.

This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS).[4] Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them.

Unless otherwise noted, all species listed below are considered to occur regularly in Minnesota as permanent residents, summer or winter visitors, or migrants. The following codes are used to define some categories of occurrence:

  • (A) Accidental - "Species for which there are accepted records in no more than two of the past ten years" per the MOURC
  • (C) Casual - "Species for which there are accepted records in three to eight of the past ten years" per the MOURC
  • (I) Introduced - Species established in North America as a result of human action
  • (E) Extinct - a recent species that no longer exists
  • (Ex) Extirpated - Species which "formerly occurred regularly in the state but disappeared and are not expected to recur" per the MOURC

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Ducks, geese, and waterfowl

File:Lesser.snow.goose.blue.arp.600pix.jpg
Snow goose
File:Wood ducks.JPG
Wood ducks
File:Aythya-collaris-001.jpg
Ring-necked duck
File:Common Merganser Drake (12972878775).jpg
Common merganser

Order: AnseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Anatidae

The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.

New World quail

Order: GalliformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Odontophoridae

The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.

  • Northern bobwhite, Colinus virginianus (Ex) ("All recent observations are likely of released or escaped birds" per the MOURC)

Pheasants, grouse, and allies

Greater prairie chicken
Greater prairie-chicken

Order: GalliformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies including the partridges, grouse, turkeys, and Old World quail. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump, with broad, relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.

Grebes

File:ClarksGrebe23.jpg
Clark's grebe

Order: PodicipediformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Podicipedidae

Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.

Pigeons and doves

File:Zenaida macroura1.jpg
Mourning dove

Order: ColumbiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

Cuckoos

File:Black-billed-cuckoo2.jpg
Black-billed cuckoo

Order: CuculiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs.

Nightjars and allies

Order: CaprimulgiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs, and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is cryptically colored to resemble bark or leaves.

Swifts

Order: ApodiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Apodidae

The swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have very long, swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.

Hummingbirds

File:Rubythroathummer65.jpg
Ruby-throated hummingbird

Order: ApodiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Trochilidae

Hummingbirds are small birds capable of hovering in mid-air due to the rapid flapping of their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

Rails, gallinules, and coots

File:Moorhen.jpg
Common gallinule

Order: GruiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. The most typical family members occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, which are difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.

Cranes

Order: GruiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, long-legged, and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".

Stilts and avocets

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.

Plovers and lapwings

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.

Sandpipers and allies

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Greater yellowlegs
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Dunlin
File:Americanwoodcock.jpg
American woodcock

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.

Skuas and jaegers

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Parasitic jaeger

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Stercorariidae

Skuas and jaegers are related to gulls, shorebirds, auks, and skimmers. In the three jaeger species (all Holarctic), breeding adults have the two central tail feathers obviously elongated and at least some adults have white on the underparts and pale yellow on the neck, characteristics that the larger species do not share.

Auks, murres, and puffins

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colors, their upright posture, and some of their habits, however they are only distantly related to the penguins and are able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. This family also includes murres and puffins.

Gulls, terns, and skimmers

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Bonaparte's gull
File:Havstrut aka Larus marinus aka Great black-backed gull.jpg
Great black-backed gull
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Caspian tern

Order: CharadriiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds and includes gulls, terns, kittiwakes, and skimmers. They are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet.

Loons

File:RedthroatedLoon23.jpg
Red-throated loon

Order: GaviiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Gaviidae

Loons are aquatic birds the size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. Their plumage is largely gray or black, and they have spear-shaped bills. Loons swim well and fly adequately, but are almost hopeless on land, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body.

Shearwaters and petrels

File:Northern Fulmar.jpg
Northern fulmar

Order: ProcellariiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterized by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.

Storks

Order: CiconiiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, heavy, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills and wide wingspans. They lack the powder down that other wading birds such as herons, spoonbills, and ibises use to clean off fish slime. Storks lack a pharynx and are mute.

Frigatebirds

Order: SuliformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.

Cormorants and shags

File:Phalacrocorax-auritus-007.jpg
Double-crested cormorant

Order: SuliformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Cormorants are medium-to-large aquatic birds, usually with mainly dark plumage and areas of colored skin on the face. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed.

Pelicans

Order: PelecaniformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Pelecanidae

Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes.

Herons, egrets, and bitterns

File:Green Heron (7648494222).jpg
Green heron

Order: PelecaniformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the herons, egrets, and bitterns. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more secretive. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills.

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: PelecaniformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings. Their bodies tend to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills.

New World vultures

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Turkey vulture

Order: CathartiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Cathartidae

The New World vultures are not closely related to Old World vultures, but superficially resemble them because of convergent evolution. Like the Old World vultures, they are scavengers However, unlike Old World vultures, which find carcasses by sight, New World vultures have a good sense of smell with which they locate carcasses.

Osprey

File:OspreyNASA.jpg
Osprey

Order: AccipitriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Pandionidae

Pandionidae is a family of fish-eating birds of prey possessing a very large, powerful, hooked beak for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. The family is monotypic.

Hawks, eagles, and kites

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Broad-winged hawk

Order: AccipitriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Accipitridae

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight.

Barn-owls

Order: StrigiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Tytonidae

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons.

Owls

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Snowy owl

Order: StrigiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Strigidae

The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.

Kingfishers

Order: CoraciiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails.

Woodpeckers

File:BlackbackedWoodpecker23.jpg
Black-backed woodpecker

Order: PiciformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Picidae

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails, and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.

Falcons and caracaras

File:Falco sparvius5071clip.jpg
American kestrel

Order: FalconiformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Falconidae

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey, notably the falcons and caracaras. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.

Tyrant flycatchers

File:YellowbelliedFlycatcher23.jpg
Yellow-bellied flycatcher

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Tyrannidae

Tyrant flycatchers are Passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers, but are more robust and have stronger bills. They do not have the sophisticated vocal capabilities of the songbirds. Most are rather plain. As the name implies, most are insectivorous.

Vireos, shrike-babblers, and erpornis

File:Vireo bellii1.jpg
Bell's vireo

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Vireonidae

The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are typically greenish in color and resemble wood warblers apart from their heavier bills.

Shrikes

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey.

Crows, jays, and magpies

File:Blackbilledmagpie12.JPG
Black-billed magpie

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Corvidae

The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers, and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.

Tits, chickadees, and titmice

File:Tufted Titmouse-27527-2.jpg
Tufted titmouse

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.

Larks

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.

Swallows

File:Cliff Swallow Santa Cruz.jpg
Cliff swallow

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. These adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and short bills with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.

Kinglets

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Regulidae

The kinglets are a small family of birds which resemble the titmice. They are very small insectivorous birds. The adults have colored crowns, giving rise to their names.

Waxwings

File:Bombycilla garrulusII.jpg
Bohemian waxwing

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Bombycillidae

The waxwings are a group of birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.

Nuthatches

File:Sitta canadensis.jpg
Red-breasted nuthatch

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Sittidae

Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet.

Treecreepers

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Certhiidae

Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.

Gnatcatchers

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Polioptilidae

These dainty birds resemble Old World warblers in their structure and habits, moving restlessly through the foliage seeking insects. The gnatcatchers are mainly soft bluish gray in color and have the typical insectivore's long sharp bill. Many species have distinctive black head patterns (especially males) and long, regularly cocked, black-and-white tails.

Wrens

File:SedgeWren23.jpg
Sedge wren

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Troglodytidae

Wrens are small and inconspicuous birds, except for their loud songs. They have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.

Mockingbirds and thrashers

File:Mimus-polyglottos-001.jpg
Northern mockingbird

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Mimidae

The mimids are a family of passerine birds that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. These birds are notable for their vocalization, especially their remarkable ability to mimic a wide variety of birds and other sounds heard outdoors. The species tend towards dull grays and browns in their appearance.

Starlings

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. They are medium-sized passerines with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.

Dippers

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Cinclidae

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae. They are a group of perching birds named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They usually inhabit the banks of fast-moving hillside rivers, though some nest near shallow lakes.

Thrushes and allies

File:EasternbluebirdB9.jpg
Eastern bluebird

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Turdidae

The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.

Old World flycatchers

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Muscicapidae

This is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. The species below only occurs in North America as vagrants. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.

Old World sparrows

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Passeridae

Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or grayish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.

Wagtails and pipits

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws, and pipits. They are slender, ground-feeding insectivores of open country.

Finches, euphonias, and allies

File:Purple Finch.jpg
Purple finch
File:Carduelis pinus.jpg
Pine siskin

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Fringillidae

Finches are seed-eating passerine birds that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.

Longspurs and snow buntings

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Calcariidae

The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds that were traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.

New World sparrows

File:Eastern Towhee-27527-3.jpg
Eastern towhee
File:LarkSparrow23.jpg
Lark sparrow
File:Song sparrow in Prospect Park (93031).jpg
Song sparrow

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Passerellidae

Until 2017, these species were considered part of the family Emberizidae. Most of the species are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many of these have distinctive head patterns.

Yellow-breasted chat

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Icteriidae

This species was historically placed in the wood-warblers (Parulidae) but nonetheless most authorities were unsure if it belonged there. It was placed in its own family in 2017.

Troupials and allies

File:Dolichonyx oryzivorus1.jpg
Bobolink
File:OrchardOriole23.jpg
Orchard oriole

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Icteridae

The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red.

New World warblers

File:Dendroica-fusca-001.jpg
Blackburnian warbler
File:Setophaga ruticilla.jpg
American redstart
File:Commonyellowthroat159.jpg
Common yellowthroat
File:Wilsonswarbler34.jpg
Wilson's warbler

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Parulidae

The wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some like the ovenbird and the two waterthrushes, are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.

Cardinals and allies

File:RosebreastedGrosbeak23.jpg
Rose-breasted grosbeak

Order: PasseriformesScript error: No such module "String".Family: Cardinalidae

The Cardinalidae are a family of robust seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages.

See also

Notes

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References

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External links

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