Birds of New York State
Fall and Winter Months
Cardinals don’t migrate or molt, so males are bright red year-round. Females are duller red-olive, gray color. Usually, the first bird at your feeders in the morning and last to leave at night. Listen to the cardinal's song:
Small, chunky with a red-brown round body, long tail, large head and white eyebrow. Males sing, but females may chime in to bond. Prefer suet and platform feeders with sunflower seeds, peanut hearts and mealworms. Listen to the Carolina wren's song:
Peaceful and soothing birds with distinctive “coo-coo” sound, mate for life. Often seen cuddling, perched in trees or on high wires. Forage for seed from platform feeders or below feeders on the ground. Listen to the mourning dove's coo
Large body, with bold, blue feathers, white underparts and perky crest. Highly intelligent. Known to be aggressive at feeders. Prefers tray or hopper feeders with peanuts, sunflower seed and suet. Listen to the blue jay's call:
Small birds with round heads and large eyes. Males are bright blue with rust-colored chests. Females have muted browns. Prefer insects and mealworm, but will eat suet, sunflower hearts, fruits & berries in winter. Listen to the bluebird's song:
Males are bright golden yellow in spring and summer, transitioning to duller olive in winter like females. Prefer small seed such as thistle. Ability to cling to mesh feeders, even eat upside down. Listen to the goldfinch's song:
Small-bodied and similar to the house sparrow, females are brown with white streaks. Males have rosy heads and upper bodies. Finches prefer seed high in oil, notably thistle and black oil sunflower seed.
Listen to the house finch's song:
Possibly the world’s most abundant bird. Comfortable around humans. Sparrows are frequent visitors to backyard feeders. They eat most kinds of seed, especially sunflower, millet and corn. Listen to the house sparrow's song:
“Snowbirds” migrate south from Canada. Sparrow sized with rounded head and short, pink bill. Slate gray above with white underbelly. Prefer feeders with roofs, but often forage millet and corn below feeders. Listen to the dark-eyed junco's song:
Black body with distinctive red plumage and yellow “cap” of color on male wings are instantly recognizable. Females have duller brown plumage. Ground feeders that prefer cracked corn and millet. Listen to the red-winged blackbird's song:
Namesake “tuft” of plumage on their head, patch of black above the bill,
and peach sides, gives character to gray and white coloring. They’ll scout feeders, fly in quickly for a seed, then retreat to a branch to eat. Listen to the tufted titmouse's song:
Tiny, with oversized black heads, identified by the distinctive “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call. Known to hide seeds and remember thousands of hiding places. Comfortable around humans. Listen to the black-capped chickadee's song:
Medium-sized with large triangular bill. Adult males are black-and-white with a red chevron on the breast. Females are streaked brown. Prefer sunflower and safflower from tube feeders with trays. Listen to the rose-breasted grosbeak's song:
Medium-sized with long, thin tail and white patches seen in flight. Skilled singer mimics hundreds of bird songs and manmade noises. In winter, eats mostly fruit, berries, mealworms and suet. Listen to the northern mockingbird's songs:
Friendly, but territorial and live in pairs. Black cap and neck frame white face looking like a hood. Frequents feeders for shelled peanuts, black sunflower, raisins and suet. Listen to the white-breasted nuthatch's song:
Smaller than their white-breasted cousin with reddish underneath, dark stripe through the eye and no visible neck. Frequent visitors to feeders with sunflower seed and suet. Listen to the red-breasted nuthatch's song:
Smallest of the North American woodpeckers. Black and white
wings and white chest. Males have a signifying red nape. Frequents suet and nut feeders, fond of black oil sunflower seed, millet and peanuts. Listen to the downy woodpecker's song:
Counter-intuitively identified by a red patch of plumage on its nape and black and white barred wings. Males have a red cap. Enjoys suet, peanuts and sunflower from feeders with large perches or trays. Listen too the red-bellied woodpecker's song:
Largest woodpecker in North America with striking red head makes it one of the most recognizable. Often seen and heard pecking at trees for insects. Attract with suet feeders. Listen to the pileated woodpecker;s song: