Backyard Birds of Ohio: 25 Common Species to Know

Ohio’s backyard birds at a glance

The Ohio Bird Records Committee accepts more than 450 species for the state, and about 190 of them have nested there. Only a few dozen, though, are regular in yards and at feeders. The 25 species below are the ones most Ohioans see, grouped by season.

Year-round residents

1. Northern cardinal

Ohio chose the cardinal as its state bird in 1933, and six other states share it (see our list of US state birds). Males are bright red with a black face; females are tan with red tinges and a red-orange bill. In spring, males sometimes fight their own reflection in windows, a habit explained in why cardinals attack windows.

2. Blue jay

The blue jay is a large, crested, noisy songbird, 22–30 cm (9–12 in) long. Jays carry acorns away in their throats and bury them, and they often imitate the screams of red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks.

3. Mourning dove

A slim, buff-gray dove with a long pointed tail. Its soft, mournful “coo-OO-oo-oo-oo” is often mistaken for an owl, and its wings make a whistling sound when it takes off.

4. Black-capped chickadee

The chickadee of northern Ohio, with a black cap and bib, white cheeks and whitish edges on its wing feathers. Its whistled song has two or three notes, “fee-bee.”

5. Carolina chickadee

The chickadee of central and southern Ohio. It looks almost identical to the black-capped chickadee but has grayer wings, a faster, higher “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” call and a four-note song.

6. Tufted titmouse

A small gray bird with a pointed crest and large dark eyes. Titmice take one seed at a time from a feeder and fly off to crack it against a branch.

7. White-breasted nuthatch

This compact gray-blue bird with a black cap climbs down tree trunks head-first, probing bark for insects. Its nasal “yank-yank” call carries well in winter woods.

8. Downy woodpecker

The smallest woodpecker in North America, 14–18 cm (5.5–7 in) long, black and white with a short bill. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head.

9. Hairy woodpecker

A larger copy of the downy, with a bill about as long as its head. Hairy woodpeckers are shyer and visit feeders less often.

10. Red-bellied woodpecker

Zebra-barred on the back, with a red cap and nape on males. The “red belly” is only a faint pinkish wash that is hard to see. Its rolling “churr” call is a common sound in Ohio suburbs.

11. Northern flicker

A large brown woodpecker that often feeds on the ground, eating ants. In flight it shows a white rump and yellow under the wings. Many flickers move south in fall, but some stay through the winter.

12. House finch

Males have a red head and breast; females are plain and streaked brown. House finches are native to the western US. The eastern population grew from cage birds released on Long Island, New York, around 1940, and it spread west to reach Ohio within a few decades.

13. American goldfinch

Males are bright yellow with a black cap in summer and molt into dull olive-brown for winter. Goldfinches nest unusually late, in July and August, when thistle and other plants provide seeds and soft down.

14. Song sparrow

A streaky brown sparrow with a central breast spot. It sings from shrubs and fence posts almost all year, and it is found in nearly every yard with dense cover.

15. Carolina wren

A small, rusty-brown wren with a bold white eyebrow and a very loud “teakettle-teakettle” song. It has spread north across Ohio over the past century, although harsh winters can cut its numbers.

16. American robin

The American robin is a classic sign of spring on Ohio lawns, but many robins actually stay all winter. In cold weather they switch from earthworms to berries and move in flocks, so they are less often noticed.

17. Eastern bluebird

A small thrush with a blue back and orange-red breast that hunts insects from low perches in open areas. Bluebird nest box trails have helped its numbers in Ohio, and many bluebirds stay through winter, especially in the south of the state.

18. House sparrow

A chunky, introduced sparrow from Europe and Asia that lives around buildings, farms and shopping centers. Males have a gray crown and black bib.

19. European starling

Glossy black with purple and green sheen in summer and white spots in winter. Starlings were released in New York’s Central Park in 1890 and 1891 and are now among the most numerous birds in North America.

Summer visitors

20. Ruby-throated hummingbird

Ohio’s only regularly nesting hummingbird, just 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in) long. It usually arrives from late April to mid-May and leaves by early October, migrating to Mexico and Central America.

21. House wren

A small, plain brown wren with a bubbling song that nests in birdhouses, crevices and even old boots. It spends winter in the southern US and Mexico.

22. Gray catbird

A slate-gray bird with a black cap that hides in thickets and gives a cat-like “mew.” Like its relative the mockingbird, it strings together long, varied songs.

23. Chipping sparrow

A neat little sparrow with a bright rusty cap and black eye line that feeds on lawns and nests in shrubs and small conifers.

24. Baltimore oriole

The male is flame-orange and black; the female is yellow-orange and gray. Orioles weave hanging, pouch-shaped nests near the tips of tall shade tree branches and eat insects, fruit and nectar.

Other common summer birds include red-winged blackbirds, common grackles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings, chimney swifts, purple martins and eastern phoebes. Red-winged blackbirds are among the first migrants back, often singing over marshes by late February or early March.

Winter visitors

25. Dark-eyed junco

Juncos, nicknamed “snowbirds,” arrive in October and stay until April. They are slate gray above with a white belly and flash white outer tail feathers when they fly up from the ground beneath feeders.

Winter also brings white-throated sparrows and American tree sparrows to brushy yards and field edges. In some years, when seed crops fail farther north, red-breasted nuthatches, pine siskins and purple finches arrive in large numbers; in other winters they are scarce.

Black-capped or Carolina chickadee?

Ohio is one of the few states where both chickadees are common. In the 1930s the boundary between them ran roughly along the line of today’s Interstate 70, across the middle of the state. Since then it has moved north, and the narrow zone where the two species meet and hybridize now lies roughly along U.S. Route 30. Researchers link this shift to milder winters.

Telling them apart is hard even for experts. In general, black-capped chickadees have whiter edges on the wing feathers, a slightly longer tail and a slower, lower “chick-a-dee” call, while Carolina chickadees sing four notes instead of two or three. Near the boundary, birds can sing the other species’ songs, so location is often the best clue. More detail is in our black-capped chickadee profile.

Tips for identifying Ohio backyard birds

• Downy or hairy woodpecker? Compare the bill with the head: a short, stubby bill means downy; a bill nearly as long as the head means hairy.
• Female cardinal or female house finch? The cardinal is larger, crested and plain tan with a thick red-orange bill; the house finch is smaller and heavily streaked.
• Goldfinch in winter? Look for black wings with pale wing bars on an otherwise drab olive bird.
• House sparrow or native sparrow? House sparrows stay close to buildings and have plain, unstreaked gray-brown underparts.

When and where to see birds in Ohio

Winter is the easiest time to see resident birds at feeders, and spring and fall bring migrants through every wooded park. Ohio’s Lake Erie shore is one of North America’s best places to watch spring migration. In May, Magee Marsh Wildlife Area near Toledo attracts birdwatchers from around the world, who come to see dozens of warbler species resting in the trees before they cross the lake. Ohio’s many state parks and city metro parks are good places to learn the common birds before looking for rarer ones.