Birds of Louisiana: The Official State Checklist
Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: Louisiana hosts a remarkable diversity of birds, with 493 species documented within the state's boundaries and adjacent waters (Conover and Dittmann 2025), including over 160 breeding species
This page lists 94 birds. 10 are nonnative. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries gives a total of 493; the 94 here are the birds official sources name one by one.
All 94 birds on the list
- African Collared-Dove Streptopelia roseogriseaInvasive
- American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
- American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
- American Wigeon Mareca americana
- American Woodcock Scolopax minor
- Bachman's Sparrow Peucaea aestivalis
- Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Black Skimmer Rynchops niger
- Black Tern Chlidonias niger
- Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
- Brown-headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
- Canada Goose (Feral only) Branta canadensisNonnative
- Canada Warbler Cardellina canadensis
- Canvasback Aythya valisineria
- Cerulean Warbler Setophaga cerulea
- Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagica
- Chuck-will's-widow Antrostomus carolinensis
- Clapper Rail Rallus crepitans
- Coastal Least Tern Sternula antillarum antillarum
- Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
- Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
- Eastern Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis
- Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
- Eastern Whip-poor-will Antrostomus vociferus
- Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaoctoInvasive
- European Starling Sturnus vulgarisInvasive
- Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
- Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
- Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera
- Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum
- Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
- Henslow's Sparrow Centronyx henslowii
- House Sparrow Passer domesticusInvasive
- Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica
- Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius hudsonicus
- Interior Least Tern Sternula antillarum athalassos
- Kentucky Warbler Geothlypis formosa
- King Rail Rallus elegans
- Least Bittern Botaurus exilis
- LeConte's Sparrow Ammospiza leconteii
- Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
- Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
- Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
- Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
- Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
- Louisiana Waterthrush Parkesia motacilla
- Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
- Marian's Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris marianae
- Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachusNonnative
- Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
- Muscovy Duck (Feral only) Cairina moschataNonnative
- Mute Swan Cygnus olorNonnative
- Nelson's Sparrow Ammospiza nelsoni
- Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
- Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
- Northern Pintail Anas acuta
- Painted Bunting Passerina ciris
- Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
- Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
- Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
- Red Knot Calidris canutus
- Red-cockaded Woodpecker Dryobates borealis
- Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus
- Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
- Redhead Aythya americana
- Rock Pigeon Columba liviaInvasive
- Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
- Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
- Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
- Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus
- Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
- Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulataNonnative
- Seaside Sparrow Ammospiza maritima
- Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
- Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
- Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus
- Snowy Egret Egretta thula
- Snowy Plover Anarhynchus nivosus
- Southeastern American Kestrel Falco sparverius paulus
- Sprague's Pipit Anthus spragueii
- Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
- Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
- Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
- Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
- Whooping Crane Grus americana
- Willet Tringa semipalmata
- Wilson's Plover Anarhynchus wilsonia
- Wood Stork Mycteria americana
- Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
- Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow Rail Coturnicops noveboracensis
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
- Yellow-throated Warbler Setophaga dominica
When birds are active in Louisiana
Records of birds in Louisiana peak in January to May and December. They show when people record birds, not how many there are (about month bars).
About this list
Venom does not apply to birds.
"Nonnative" and "Invasive" follow the wording of the source list. See invasive species in Louisiana.
Sources
- About Us. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
- 2025 Louisiana State Wildlife Action Plan. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. 2025 plan; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Louisiana hosts a remarkable diversity of birds, with 493 species documented within the state's boundaries and adjacent waters (Conover and Dittmann 2025), including over 160 breeding species”
- GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.