Birds of Kentucky: The Official State Checklist

All 217 birds on the list

• Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens
• American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus
• American Black Duck Anas rubripes
• American Coot Fulica americana
• American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
• American Golden-plover Pluvialis dominica
• American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis
• American Kestrel Falco sparverius
• American Pipit Anthus rubescens
• American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla
• American Robin Turdus migratorius
• American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea
• American Woodcock Scolopax minor
• Bachman's Sparrow Peucaea aestivalis
• Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
• Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
• Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
• Barn Owl Tyto alba
• Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
• Barred Owl Strix varia
• Bell's Vireo Vireo bellii
• Belted Kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
• Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
• Black Tern Chlidonias niger
• Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
• Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
• Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
• Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus
• Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax
• Black-throated Green Warbler Setophaga virens
• Blackburnian Warbler Setophaga fusca
• Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata
• blue grosbeak Passerina caerulea
• Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
• Blue-headed Vireo Vireo solitarius
• Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora cyanoptera
• Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus
• Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus
• Brown Creeper Certhia americana
• Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum
• Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
• Canada Goose Branta canadensis
• Canada Warbler Cardellina canadensis
• Cape May Warbler Setophaga tigrina
• Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
• Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
• Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
• Cerulean Warbler Setophaga cerulea
• Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
• Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
• Chuck-will's-widow Antrostomus carolinensis
• Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
• Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
• Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
• Common Raven Corvus corax
• Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago
• Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
• Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
• Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis
• Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii
• Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
• Dickcissel Spiza americana
• Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
• Dunlin Calidris alpina
• Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
• Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
• Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
• Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
• Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio
• Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
• Eastern Wood Pewee Contopus virens
• Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus
• Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
• Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
• Gadwall Anas strepera
• Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
• Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa
• Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera
• Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum
• Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
• Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus
• Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
• Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus
• Great Egret Ardea alba
• Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
• Greater Scaup Aythya marila
• Green Heron Butorides virescens
• Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
• Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
• Henslow's Sparrow Centronyx henslowii
• Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
• Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus
• Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
• Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
• House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
• House Sparrow Passer domesticus
• House Wren Troglodytes aedon
• Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
• Interior Least Tern Sternula antillarum athalassos
• Kentucky Warbler Geothlypis formosa
• Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
• King Rail Rallus elegans
• Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
• Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus
• Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
• Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
• Lincoln's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
• Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
• Long-eared Owl Asio otus
• Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla
• Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
• Merlin Falco columbarius
• Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
• Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
• Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
• Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
• Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius
• Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
• Northern Saw-whet Owl Aegolius acadicus
• Dendroica caerulescens
• Dendroica castanea
• Dendroica coronata
• Dendroica dominica
• Dendroica magnolia
• Dendroica palmarum
• Dendroica pensylvanica
• Dendroica petechia
• Dendroica pinus
• Oporornis philadelphia
• Parula americana
• Seiurus noveboracensis
• Vermivora celata
• Vermivora peregrina
• Vermivora pinus
• Vermivora ruficapilla
• Wilsonia citrina
• Wilsonia pusilla
• Olive-sided Flycatcher Contopus cooperi
• Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius
• Osprey Pandion haliaetus
• ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla
• Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
• Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus
• Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
• Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
• Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus
• Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
• Prairie Warbler Setophaga discolor
• Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
• Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus
• Purple Martin Progne subis
• Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
• Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
• Red-cockaded Woodpecker Dryobates borealis
• Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus
• Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus
• Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
• Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
• Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
• Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
• Rock Pigeon Columba livia
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus
• Roughleg Buteo lagopus
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
• Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus
• Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus
• Sanderling Calidris alba
• Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis
• Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
• Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea
• Sedge Wren Cistothorus stellaris
• Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis
• Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
• Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus
• Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
• Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus
• Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
• Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
• Sora Porzana carolina
• Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
• Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
• Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
• Swainson's Thrush Catharus ustulatus
• Swainson's Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii
• Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana
• Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
• Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator
• Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
• Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
• Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
• Veery Catharus fuscescens
• Virginia Rail Rallus limicola
• Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus
• Whip-poor-will Antrostomus vociferus
• White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
• White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
• White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
• White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
• Whooping Crane Grus americana
• Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
• Willow Flycatcher Empidonax traillii
• Wilson's Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor
• Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
• Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
• Wood Duck Aix sponsa
• Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
• worm-eating warbler Helmitheros vermivorum
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flaviventris
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
• Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens
• Yellow-crowned Night-heron Nyctanassa violacea
• Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons

Birds people confuse

Bald eagle or Golden eagle?

Bald eagle Not stated

No confirmed photo of Golden eagle

Golden eagle Not stated

Young bald eagles lack the white head and tail and are often mistaken for golden eagles. Bald eagles have unfeathered lower legs and hold their wings flat when soaring; TWRA says golden eagles have feathered legs, limited white under the wing, and lift the outer wing in a slight V.

Bald eagle or Turkey vulture?

Bald eagle Not stated

Turkey vulture Not stated

Turkey vultures hold their wings in a shallow V; bald eagles soar on flat wings.

Red-tailed hawk or Red-shouldered hawk?

Red-tailed hawk Not stated

No confirmed photo of Red-shouldered hawk

Red-shouldered hawk Not stated

A red-tail's rust-colored, broad, short tail distinguishes it from the smaller red-shouldered hawk (North Carolina). Tennessee: the red-shouldered hawk has a black and white banded tail and appears more uniformly colored.

Turkey vulture or Black vulture?

Turkey vulture Not stated

No confirmed photo of Black vulture

Black vulture Not stated

Black vulture: grayish-black head, shorter tail, a white patch near the wing tips (seen from below), and wings held nearly horizontal when soaring, with frequent flapping (Missouri). Tennessee and NPS Everglades say the same: black head, white patch at the wing tips, wings held flat. Turkey vulture: red head (adults), two-toned wings held in a V, rarely flaps. Note: juvenile turkey vultures also have dark heads.

Northern cardinal or Summer tanager?

Northern cardinal Not stated

Summer tanager Not stated

MDC: the adult male summer tanager is entirely rosy red, slightly darker on wings and tail, and is a summer resident; the adult male northern cardinal has a crest and a black area around its large red bill and is present year-round. TWRA says the summer tanager is the only other all-red songbird in Tennessee.

Photos show typical adults; individuals vary. Never get close to compare.

When birds are active in Kentucky

Records of birds in Kentucky peak in March to June and September to October. They show when people record birds, not how many there are (about month bars).

If you see one

Official advice from KDFWR:

• Black bears: if approached, stand your ground, raise your arms and yell; never run; back away slowly if a bear huffs or pops its jaws. Feeding bears is illegal in Kentucky. KDFWR

About this list

Venom does not apply to birds.