This page offers bird species that can and have been found in Southern California, primarily Orange County.  It is estimated that over 450 different unique species have been accounted for in Orange County alone.

I’ve photographs of the majority of species below and will over time have them posted here for your perusal. If there is a particular species that you are seeking but its not accessible below, please do drop me a note via the contact form.  Also, be sure to use the Search window on the left to search this entire site as there are photos within Posts that may not below below

The list is by alphabetical by Family such as “Raptors, Falcons & Kites” and then alphabetically by species/sub-species.  Feel free to drill down to specific species within this taxonomic structure.  I’d be most interested in hearing any comments or feedback you may have to make this a better web site for all that visit.  There’s a Contact Form on top of the main page which will notify me directly.  This web site a labor of love and a continuous work in progress as of March 2014 when this site was first erected.

The list below is continuously updated and modified.  All listings on this page are “non-exotic / non caged birds” that have naturally migrated to southern California.  All photos are the exclusive property of ocbirds.com and Anthony Gliozzo. Please inquire about any photo should you wish to license electronically or in printed form by contacting us HERE .

How to Search:  A page search can be conducted by performing these key strokes: CTRL + F.  A small window should appear in the left corner of your screen.  Type any word or phrase.  If a match is found it will take you directly to that location on this page.  Use the Up and Down arrow keys to go to the Next or Previous match.  Alternatively, the vertical slider will work or the Search button on the left margin however this will search the entire web site.

**When viewing any species, if the MAP button is available, this will take you to the precise location where the image was taken.  The list below is not yet complete but species and photographic additions are frequent.

Feel free to use the Search button on any page for any species that is not available below.  This will poll this entire web site for any images or articles on your target species.  Try “Northern Harrier” as an example.

If a species is Highlighted in Green, it’s declared as a Year-Round Bird in Orange County

For a quick view of what has been tracked in Orange County from 2010 – 2015 please click> Orange County List Of Birds from 2010 through 2015

  • Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Tanagers and Buntings

      • Rose-breasted Grosbeak (rare)
      • Hepatic Tanager (rare)
      • Scarlet Tanager (rare)
      • Dickcissel (rare)
      • Indigo Bunting (rare)
      • Lark Bunting (rare)
      • Painted Bunting (rare)
      • Northern Cardinal (rare)
  • Chickadees and their Allies (Titmice, Chickadees, Verdin, Bushtit)
    • Bushtit (similar to “Wrentit” though vocalization is quite different) (added March 7, 2015)
    • Chestnut-backed Chickadee (*found only north of Santa Barbara)
    • Mountain Chickadee
    • Oak Titmouse
    • Verdin (rare in Orange County)
  • Ducks, Geese and Swans
    • Ducks
      • American Wigeon
      • Bufflehead
      • Canvasback
      • Common Goldeneye
      • Gadwall
      • Eurasian-American Wigeon (hybrid)
      • Long-tailed Duck
      • Mallard (*males and females cannot be differentiated in summer)
      • Mandarin Duck
      • Muscovy Duck
      • Northern Shoveler
      • Northern Pintail
      • Redhead
      • Ring-necked Duck
      • Ruddy Duck
      • Scaups
        • Greater Scaup
        • Lesser Scaup
      • Teals
        • Blue-winged Teal (*possible but uncommon in May/June)
        • Cinnamon Teal
        • Green-winged Teal (*possible but uncommon late May through mid August)
      • Tufted Duck (Rare-1st Orange County record)
      • Wood Duck
    • Geese & Swans

      • Canada Goose
      • Egyptian Goose
      • Emperor Goose
      • Graylag Goose (domestic)
      • Greater White-fronted Goose
      • Ross’s Goose
      • Snow Goose (added 2-2-15)
      • Mute Swan
  • Finches and their Allies

    • American Goldfinch
    • Cassin’s Finch (rare)
    • House Finch
    • Lawrence’s Goldfinch (*uncommon/nomadic)
    • Lesser Goldfinch
    • Purple Finch (uncommon)
    • Pine Siskin
    • Scaly-breasted Munia (aka Nutmeg Mannikin)
    • Evening Grosbeak (not related to Grosbeaks) (rare)
  • Flycatchers, Phoebes, Waxwings, Pewees

  • Frigatebirds, Boobies, Cormorants, Darters and Allies

    • Boobies
      • Blue-footed Booby
      • Brown Booby
    •  Cormorants
      • Brandt’s Cormorant
      • Double-crested Cormorant
      • Neotropic Cormorant (rare)
      • Pelagic Cormorant (rare)
    • Magnificent Frigatebird (rare)
  • Gnatcatchers
  • Greater Roadrunner, Cuckoos and Anis
  • Grebes
  • Hummingbirds & Swifts

    • Allen’s Hummingbird
    • Anna’s Hummingbird
    • Black-chinned Hummingbird
    • Broad-tailed Hummingbird (very rare – 1st OC Record August 2016)
    • Calliope Hummingbird
    • Costa’s Hummingbird
    • Rufous Hummingbird
    • Black Swift (rare)
    • White-throated Swift
    • Vaux’s Swift
  • Jays, Crows and Ravens

    • American Crow
    • Common Raven
    • Western Scrub-Jay (aka California Scrub-Jay as of July 2016)
    • Steller’s Jay (commonly found in surrounding counties, not in OC)
  • Juncos
  • Kingfishers
    • Belted Kingfisher (uncommon May/June)
  • Kinglets
  • Larks
  • Loons
  • Nightjars (includes nighthawks and poorwills)

  • Nuthatches and Creepers

  • Orioles, Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Grackles and Cowbirds
    • Orioles
    • Blackbirds
      • Brewer’s Blackbird
      • Red-winged Blackbird
      • Rusty Blackbird (rare)
      • Tricolored Blackbird (rare)
      • Yellow-headed Blackbird (rare)
    • Great-tailed Grackle
    • Western Meadowlark (uncommon in August)
    • Brown-headed Cowbird
    • Bobolink (rare)
  • Owls
    • Barn Owl
    • Western-screech Owl (added 9-11-14)
    • Great-horned Owl
    • Burrowing Owl
    • Spotted Owl
    • Long-eared Owl
    • Short-eared Owl
    • Northern Saw-whet Owl
  • Parrots
    • Lilac-crowned Parrot
    • Red-crowned Parrot
    • Red-lored Parrot
  • Pigeons and Doves
    • Eurasian-collared Dove
    • Mourning Dove
    • Band-tailed Pigeon
    • Rock Pigeon (feral)
  • Pipits
    • American Pipit
    • Olive-backed Pipit (Extremely rare found 11-1-2014) This was the 4th North American sighting
    • Red-throated Pipit
  • Plovers, Sandpipers and Allies (includes Gulls)

    • Gulls (all cycles)
      • Bonaparte’s Gull
      • California Gull (large)
      • Franklin’s Gull (rare) (added 1-5-15)
      • Glaucous Gull (rare – large)
      • Glaucous-winged Gull (large)
      • Heermann’s Gull
      • Mew Gull (rare)
      • Ring-billed Gull
      • Western Gull (large)
    • Plovers and Lapwings
    • Oystercatchers
      • American Oystercatcher (rare/Pacific)
      • Black Oystercatcher
    • Stilts and Avocets
      • Black-necked Stilt
      • American Avocet
    • Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies
    • Terns and Skimmers
      • Black Skimmers
      • Caspian Tern
      • Elegant Tern
      • Forster’s Tern
      • Least Tern
      • Royal Tern
    • Auks, Murres and Puffins
      • Common Murre
  • Quail and Allies

    • California Quail
    • Gambel’s Quail (rare)
    • Mountain Quail (uncommon)
    • Indian Peafowl (aka Peacock – specific areas)
  • Raptors, Falcons & Kites
  • Pelicans, Herons, Ibises, Egrets and Bitterns
  • Rails, Gallinules and Coots
    • American Coot
    • Common Gallinule
    • Ridgway’s Rail (previously Clapper Rail)
    • Virginia Rail
    • Sora (added 3-15-2015)
  • Shearwaters and Petrels

    • Ashy Storm-Petrel
    • Black Storm-Petrel
    • Black-vented Shearwater
    • Flesh-footed Shearwater
    • Manx Shearwater
    • Northern Fulmar
    • Pink-footed Shearwater
    • Sooty Shearwater
  • Shrike

    • Loggerhead Shrike
  • Swallows

    • Bank Swallow
    • Barn Swallow
    • Cliff Swallow
    • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
    • Tree Swallow
    • Violet-green Swallow (added 5-26-2015)
  • Sparrows
    • Song Sparrow
    • Swamp Sparrow (rare)
    • Vesper Sparrow (rare)
    • White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel’s)
  • Starlings
    • European Starling
  • Thrashers, Mockingbirds and Catbirds

  • Thrushes, Old World Warblers and their Allies

  • Towhees
  • Vireos
    • Blue-headed Vireo (rare)
    • Cassin’s Vireo (uncommon)
    • Hutton’s Vireo
    • Philadelphia Vireo (rare)
    • Plumbeous Vireo (uncommon) (uploaded January 30-2016)
    • Red-eyed Vireo (rare)
    • Warbling Vireo
    • White-eyed Vireo (rare)
    • Yellow-throated Vireo (rare)
    • Yellow-greeen Vireo (rare)
  • Warblers, Yellowthroats, Redstarts

    • American Redstart
    • Bay-breasted Warbler (rare)
    • Black-and-white Warbler
    • Black-throated Blue Warbler (rare)
    • Black-throated Gray Warbler
    • Black-throated Green Warbler (rare)
    • Blackburnian Warbler
    • Blackpoll Warbler
    • Chestnut-sided Warbler
    • Common Yellowthroat
    • Hermit Warbler
    • MacGillivray’s Warbler
    • Nashville Warbler
    • Northern Waterthrush
    • Orange-crowned Warbler
    • Painted Redstart (rare)
    • Prothonotary Warbler
    • Townsend’s Warbler
    • Wilson’s Warbler
    • Worm-Eating Warbler (rare)
    • Yellow-breasted Chat
    • Yellow-throated Warbler (rare)
    • Yellow-rumped warbler
    • Yellow Warbler
  • Woodpeckers, Flickers & Sapsuckers

    • Acorn Woodpecker
    • Downy Woodpecker
    • Hairy Woodpecker
    • Lewis’ Woodpecker
    • Nuttall’s Woodpecker
    • White-headed Woodpecker (rare)
    • Red-breasted Sapsucker
    • Red-naped Sapsucker
    • Williamson’s Sapsucker
    • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
    • Williamson’s Sapsucker
    • Norther Flicker
  • Wrens
    • Cactus Wren
    • House Wren
    • Marsh Wren
    • Bewick’s Wren
    • Rock Wren (updated 11-28-2014)
    • Canyon Wren (uncommon)
  • Other (non ABA) birds

    • Bronze Mannikin
    • Northern Red Bishop
    • Orange-cheeked Waxbill
    • Pin-tailed Whydah
    • Japanese White-eye

(This Page first created on 3-23-14 – Updates Frequently)