33 Winter Birds in Illinois

An Illinois winter is mostly wind with a little bit of sky attached, and somehow the birds put up with it better than I do (I own three scarves and still complain). The good news is that winter birds in Illinois don't need much from you: a feeder, a bit of cover, and someone at the window to appreciate them. Even the state bird stays home. The Northern Cardinal became Illinois's state bird in 1929 after Illinois schoolchildren voted for it, and it's a year-round resident, so the brightest bird in your yard in January is also the official one.

Types of Winter Birds in Illinois

There are 3 types of winter birds in Illinois you'll see on this list:

Resident Illinois Birds – species that live here year-round and often visit feeders
Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that breed farther north and spend the cold months in Illinois, from juncos at the feeder to Bald Eagles on the rivers
Irruptive Species – birds that show up in big, unpredictable numbers some winters and barely at all in others, usually when food runs short up north

Each entry covers ID, male vs female, calls, where to find the bird in Illinois, and feeder favorites for the ones that visit feeders. If you're wondering where all the summer birds went, here's our guide to where birds go in the winter.

1. Northern Cardinal

Family – Cardinalidae
Species – Cardinalis cardinalis
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (Illinois State Bird)

The Northern Cardinal is the bird Illinois picked first. It was the first of seven states to make the cardinal its state bird, and the cardinal has rewarded that loyalty by never leaving. In winter it switches to a seed-heavy diet, working through sunflower, safflower, and leftover berries, and it often feeds early and late in the day when the yard is quiet.

The male is bright red with a black mask around a thick orange-red bill. The female is a warm tan-brown with red edging on her wings, crest, and tail, plus the same chunky orange bill. Both wear the crest, which stays perfectly styled in a 20 mph wind in a way my hair never has.

The Northern Cardinal song is a loud, clear whistle, often written as birdie-birdie-birdie or cheer-cheer-cheer, and both males and females sing. Its call is a sharp, metallic chip you'll hear from inside a shrub before you see the bird.

Cardinals are found statewide in Illinois, from Chicago yards to the woods of the Shawnee Hills, anywhere with dense shrubs or evergreens for cover near a food source. For more on keeping them around, see Cardinals in Winter: Where They Go, What They Eat, and How to Attract Them.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, safflower, cracked corn on a platform feeder

2. Dark-eyed Junco

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Junco hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

If Illinois has an official winter mascot, it's the junco. Juncos breed in the forests of Canada and the far north, then arrive in fall and spend the winter hopping around under feeders. In Project FeederWatch's Mid-Central region rankings for 2012–13, the Dark-eyed Junco was reported at nearly 96 percent of feeder sites, edging out even the cardinal.

Illinois juncos are mostly the "slate-colored" form: dark gray above, a clean white belly, and a small pale pink bill. Males are a crisper, darker slate, while females are softer gray with a brownish wash. Both flash white outer tail feathers when they flush.

The Dark-eyed Junco call is a sharp tick or smack, and the song is a quick, musical trill that sounds a lot like a Chipping Sparrow.

Juncos winter statewide in Illinois, in yards, woodland edges, and brushy fields, usually in loose flocks on the ground.

Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips scattered on the ground

3. Downy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates pubescens
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America and one of the most reliable Illinois birds at a winter feeder. It picks insect eggs and larvae out of bark and weed stems, and it's light enough to hang from a goldenrod stalk to get at the gall inside.

It's black and white with a white stripe down the back and a short, stubby bill. Males have a small red patch on the back of the head, and females don't.

The Downy Woodpecker call is a soft pik and a high whinny that runs downhill in pitch. In late winter you'll also hear it drumming on dead branches.

Downies live statewide in Illinois, in woodlots, parks, river bottoms, and suburban yards with a few mature trees.

Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts

4. American Goldfinch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus tristis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The American Goldfinch stays in Illinois all winter, it just stops dressing for the occasion. By December the summer lemon yellow has faded to a dull olive-brown, so plenty of people assume the goldfinches left when they're actually sitting on the feeder in disguise.

Winter males keep a yellow wash on the face and throat and have black wings with bold white bars. Winter females are grayer and plainer. Both have a small, pale, cone-shaped bill.

The American Goldfinch call is the bouncy po-ta-to-chip they give as they swoop up and down in flight, plus a whiny rising note when they're perched.

Goldfinches winter statewide, in weedy fields, prairie restorations, and any yard with a tube feeder.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips, black oil sunflower

5. Black-capped Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile atricapillus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (northern and central Illinois)

Illinois is one of the few states where you have to ask which chickadee you're looking at. According to Illinois Extension's guide to Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, a rough line from Champaign-Urbana to St. Louis splits the two: chickadees north of it are almost certainly Black-capped, and those south of it are Carolina.

The Black-capped has a black cap and bib, bright white cheeks, a gray back, and buffy flanks. Males and females look alike. It's tiny, fearless, and caches seeds in bark all fall so it can find them again in winter, which is more planning than I do for my own lunch.

The Black-capped Chickadee song is a clear, two-note fee-bee, and its call is the familiar chick-a-dee-dee-dee. More dee notes usually means a bigger threat nearby.

Look for it across northern and central Illinois in woods, parks, and neighborhoods, usually leading a mixed flock of nuthatches, titmice, and woodpeckers.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, peanuts

6. Carolina Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile carolinensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (southern Illinois)

The Carolina Chickadee is the southern half of the chickadee story. It looks almost exactly like the Black-capped, with the same black cap and bib, so in Illinois location is the first clue and song is the second.

Compared with the Black-capped, the Carolina is a little smaller, with grayer flanks and less white edging on the wing feathers, but Illinois Extension notes those differences aren't reliable where the two overlap and hybridize. Males and females look alike.

The Carolina Chickadee song is typically four notes, fee-bee fee-bay, instead of the Black-capped's two. Its chick-a-dee call is faster and higher. Hybrids near the line can sing either song, so if a bird near Champaign confuses you, it's not you.

Look for it in southern Illinois woodlands, river bottoms, and yards, south of the Champaign-to-St. Louis line.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, peanuts

7. House Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Haemorhous mexicanus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The House Finch is a western bird that was released in New York in the 1940s and has since spread across the East and Midwest, including every corner of Illinois. It's a social seed eater that tends to arrive at feeders in chatty groups.

Males have a rosy-red head, breast, and rump, though the shade varies from orange to deep red depending on diet. Females are plain gray-brown with blurry streaks and no strong face pattern.

The House Finch song is a long, cheerful warble, often ending in a buzzy note, and its call is a sharp cheep.

House Finches winter statewide, most densely in towns and suburbs where feeders and ornamental shrubs are easy to find.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer

8. Blue Jay

Family – Corvidae
Species – Cyanocitta cristata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Blue Jay is the loudest bird at most Illinois feeders and probably knows it. It eats acorns, seeds, and insects, and in fall it caches acorns by the hundreds, some of which it forgets and accidentally plants. (Forgetting where you put things and calling it reforestation is a strategy I'd like to borrow.)

Males and females look alike: bright blue above, white below, a black necklace, and a pointed crest. Males average slightly larger, but you won't see that in the field.

The Blue Jay call is a harsh jay-jay, but it also makes soft gurgles, squeaky-gate noises, and a convincing imitation of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

Some Illinois jays migrate south in fall and others stay, so winter numbers vary. Look for them statewide wherever oaks and feeders are close together.

Feeder favorites: peanuts, black oil sunflower, suet

9. Red-bellied Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Melanerpes carolinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has one of birding's least accurate names, since the red belly is a faint pink wash you'll almost never see. What you'll notice is the bold black-and-white barred back and the red on its head.

Males have red running from the bill all the way over the crown to the nape. Females have red only on the nape, with a gray crown. Both have pale gray faces and underparts.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker call is a rolling churr or kwirr, one of the most common sounds in Illinois woods in winter.

It's common across Illinois in deciduous woods, river bottoms, and wooded suburbs, and it's a regular at backyard feeders.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower

10. White-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta carolinensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The White-breasted Nuthatch spends the winter walking headfirst down tree trunks, finding food that upward-climbing woodpeckers miss. It wedges seeds into bark and hammers them open, which is where the "hatch" in nuthatch comes from.

It's blue-gray above with a white face and breast and a rusty patch under the tail. Males have a glossy black cap, while females usually show a duller gray or dark gray cap.

The White-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal yank-yank, lower and less tinny than the Red-breasted Nuthatch.

It's found statewide in Illinois in mature deciduous woods, parks, and yards with big trees, often traveling with chickadees and titmice.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

11. Mourning Dove

Family – Columbidae
Species – Zenaida macroura
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Mourning Dove fills its crop with seeds as fast as it can and then flies off to digest somewhere safe, which is basically how I approach a holiday buffet. In winter, Illinois doves gather in flocks around farm fields and backyard feeders.

It's slim and soft gray-brown, with black spots on the wings and a long, pointed tail edged in white. Males have a bluish-gray crown and a faint rosy breast, while females are a little browner.

The Mourning Dove call is a soft, mournful coo-OO-oo-oo-oo that people often mistake for an owl. Their wings also make a whistling sound on takeoff.

Doves are common statewide in Illinois, especially in farm country and suburbs.

Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on a platform or the ground

12. American Robin

Family – Turdidae
Species – Turdus migratorius
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (nomadic in winter)

Robins don't all leave Illinois in winter, they just stop hanging around the lawn. With the ground frozen and worms out of reach, winter robins switch to fruit and travel in roaming flocks, so you'll find them in crabapples, hackberries, and juniper rather than on the grass.

Males have a deep brick-orange breast and a darker, almost black head. Females are a bit paler, with a grayer head and a more washed-out breast.

The American Robin call in winter is mostly a clucking tut-tut and a high, thin seee. The cheerily-cheer-up song usually comes back in late winter.

Look for winter flocks statewide in fruiting trees, river bottoms, and older suburbs with ornamental plantings.

Feeder favorites: chopped apples, softened raisins, mealworms. Open water helps too, since a frozen birdbath is just a very small ice rink

13. Tufted Titmouse

Family – Paridae
Species – Baeolophus bicolor
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray bird with a crest and big black eyes that make it look permanently surprised. It's a chickadee relative that often travels in the same winter flocks, grabbing a single seed and flying off to crack it open somewhere private.

It's soft gray above and pale below, with a rusty wash on the flanks and a black patch just above the bill. Males and females look alike.

The Tufted Titmouse song is a loud, whistled peter-peter-peter, and its calls include scolding notes that sound like a raspy chickadee.

Titmice are found across Illinois but are most common in the wooded central and southern parts of the state.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet

14. Carolina Wren

Family – Troglodytidae
Species – Thryothorus ludovicianus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Carolina Wren is a small, round, rusty bird with a voice several sizes too big for it. It doesn't migrate, so a hard winter with deep snow can knock its numbers back, especially at the northern edge of its range.

It's warm cinnamon-brown above and buffy below, with a long white eyebrow stripe and a tail it likes to cock upward. Males and females look alike.

The Carolina Wren song is a loud, rolling teakettle-teakettle-teakettle, and only the males sing it, even in winter. Both sexes give harsh chattering calls.

It's most common in central and southern Illinois in brushy woods, brush piles, and yards with dense tangles, and less common in the north.

Feeder favorites: suet, mealworms, peanut pieces

15. Northern Flicker

Family – Picidae
Species – Colaptes auratus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird / Partial Migrant

The Northern Flicker is the woodpecker that would rather be on the ground. It eats ants and beetles in summer and shifts to fruits and seeds in winter, when many Illinois flickers head south and others stay behind.

It's brown with black bars and spots, a black crescent on the chest, and a white rump that flashes in flight. Illinois flickers are the "yellow-shafted" form, with bright yellow under the wings and tail. Males have a black mustache stripe, and females don't.

The Northern Flicker call is a loud, piercing kyeer and a long, rolling wick-wick-wick-wick.

Look for flickers statewide in winter, more often in southern and central Illinois, in open woods, parks, and yards with big trees.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts

16. Hairy Woodpecker

Family – Picidae
Species – Dryobates villosus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Hairy Woodpecker is the Downy Woodpecker's bigger look-alike, the bird that makes every new birder at the feeder say "wait, which one is it?" It forages deeper in bark for beetle larvae and visits feeders less often than the Downy, but it does show up for suet.

The giveaway is the bill: a Hairy's bill is nearly as long as its head, while the Downy's is short and stubby. Males have a red patch on the back of the head, and females don't.

The Hairy Woodpecker call is a sharp, loud peek, stronger than the Downy's pik, plus a rattle that stays on one pitch instead of running downhill.

Hairy Woodpeckers live statewide in Illinois in mature forests, woodlots, and wooded neighborhoods.

Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts

17. House Sparrow

Family – Passeridae
Species – Passer domesticus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (Non-Native Species)

The House Sparrow came from Europe in the 1800s and has lived alongside people ever since, which is why you'll almost never see one far from a building. In winter, flocks huddle in hedges and eaves and descend on feeders together.

Males have a gray crown, chestnut sides on the head, and a black bib that gets bigger and darker toward spring. Females are plain buffy brown with a pale stripe behind the eye.

The House Sparrow call is a constant, chirpy cheep or chirrup, usually from several birds at once.

They're found in every Illinois city, town, and farmstead.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, sunflower seed

18. European Starling

Family – Sturnidae
Species – Sturnus vulgaris
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird (Non-Native Species)

The European Starling is another non-native resident, released in New York's Central Park in 1890 and now found across the continent. In winter, starlings gather in huge flocks that roost together at night and spread out over fields and towns by day.

In fresh fall and winter plumage, starlings are glossy black covered in white spots, with a dark bill. The spots wear off by spring and the bill turns yellow. Males and females look similar.

The European Starling song is a jumble of whistles, clicks, rattles, and mimicry of other birds and even car alarms.

Starlings are common statewide in Illinois, especially around cities, livestock farms, and landfills.

Feeder favorites: suet, cracked corn. If they're emptying your suet in an afternoon, an upside-down suet feeder helps

19. White-throated Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Zonotrichia albicollis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (mostly central and southern Illinois)

The White-throated Sparrow is a sharp-looking sparrow that breeds in Canada and the northern woods and winters across much of Illinois, especially the central and southern parts of the state. It scratches through leaf litter with a double-footed hop, kicking up seeds.

It has a bright white throat, a yellow spot between the eye and bill, and a striped crown. The stripes come in two forms, white-striped and tan-striped, and they aren't a male-female difference. Males and females look alike.

The White-throated Sparrow song is a clear, whistled Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody-Peabody, and you'll sometimes hear it on mild winter days. Its call is a sharp pink.

Look for flocks in brushy thickets, woodland edges, and under backyard feeders with nearby cover.

Feeder favorites: white millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn scattered on the ground

20. American Tree Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Spizelloides arborea
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The American Tree Sparrow breeds near the tree line in the far north and only visits Illinois in winter, where it spends most of its time on the ground, despite the name. (Bird names are rarely accountable to anyone.) It eats weed and grass seeds in fields, ditches, and under feeders.

It has a rusty cap, a rusty line behind the eye, a gray face, a two-toned bill that's dark above and yellow below, and a small dark spot in the middle of a plain breast. Males and females look alike.

The American Tree Sparrow call is a thin tseet, and winter flocks give a soft, musical twitter.

They winter statewide but are most common in northern Illinois, in weedy fields, prairie edges, hedgerows, and yards with brush piles.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn scattered on the ground

21. Red-breasted Nuthatch

Family – Sittidae
Species – Sitta canadensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a tiny conifer specialist that moves south in big numbers when cone crops fail in the north woods. Some winters Illinois feeders are full of them, and some winters you'll be lucky to find one in a pine grove.

It's blue-gray above with a rusty-orange breast and a bold black eye stripe under a white eyebrow. Males have a black cap and a deeper orange breast, while females have a grayer cap and paler underparts.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal yank-yank, higher and more tinny than the White-breasted Nuthatch, like a toy horn.

In irruption years, look for it statewide in pine and spruce plantings, cemeteries with evergreens, and feeders near conifers.

Feeder favorites: suet, shelled peanuts, black oil sunflower

22. Pine Siskin

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus pinus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species

The Pine Siskin is a small, streaky finch whose Illinois numbers depend on seed crops in Canada's forests rather than anything happening in your yard. In good siskin winters, flocks crowd thistle feeders alongside goldfinches.

It's brown and heavily streaked, with a thin, pointed bill and yellow edging on the wings and tail that flashes in flight. Males often show more yellow than females, but the two can be hard to tell apart.

The Pine Siskin call is a buzzy, rising zreeee, plus a constant chatter from the flock.

In irruption years, siskins can turn up anywhere in Illinois, especially around conifers and well-stocked feeders. Because crowded feeders can spread disease among siskins, clean feeders regularly when they're around.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

23. Purple Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Haemorhous purpureus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (irregular, uncommon)

The Purple Finch is the House Finch's classier cousin, a northern breeder that visits Illinois in winter in varying numbers. It isn't purple, but birders have long since stopped arguing with bird names.

Males look like they've been dipped in raspberry juice, with a rosy wash over the head, back, and breast and no brown streaks on the flanks. Females are brown and white with bold streaks and a strong face pattern, including a white eyebrow, which House Finch females lack.

The Purple Finch call is a sharp pik in flight, and its song is a rich, fast warble.

Look for it in winter across Illinois in mixed woods, conifer plantings, and feeders near woodland edges, more often in some years than others.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips

24. Redpoll

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Acanthis flammea
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Irruptive Species (uncommon to rare, mostly northern Illinois)

You might know it as the Common Redpoll or Hoary Redpoll, but in 2024 the American Ornithological Society lumped them into one species: the Redpoll. Redpolls breed in the Arctic and come south only in some winters, and they're scarcer in Illinois than Pine Siskins.

It's a small, streaky finch with a red cap (the "poll"), a black chin, and white wing bars. Males have a rosy-pink wash on the breast, while females are streakier and lack the pink. Some birds are much paler and frostier than others, which is where the old Hoary name came from.

The Redpoll call is a dry, rattling chit-chit-chit and a rising, buzzy zweee.

In flight years, look for them in northern Illinois in weedy fields, birch trees, and at thistle feeders, often mixed in with goldfinches and siskins.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

25. Cooper's Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Astur cooperii
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Cooper's Hawk is the reason your feeder sometimes goes silent all at once. It hunts other birds, slipping through yards and around houses to ambush doves, starlings, and sparrows. It's a natural part of a healthy backyard, even if it's hard to watch.

Adults have a blue-gray back, an orange-barred chest, a dark cap, and a long tail with a rounded white tip. Males and females look alike, but females are noticeably bigger. Young birds are brown with streaky chests.

The Cooper's Hawk call is a rapid, nasal kak-kak-kak, though it's mostly quiet when it hunts.

Cooper's Hawks live statewide in Illinois, and in winter they're often easiest to find in towns and suburbs, where feeders concentrate their prey.

26. Red-tailed Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo jamaicensis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Red-tailed Hawk is the big hawk you see perched on light poles along I-55 and I-57, scanning the median for voles. Resident birds are joined by others from farther north in winter, so roadside hawks seem to be everywhere.

Adults have a brick-red tail, a pale chest, and a band of dark streaks across the belly. Males and females look alike, though females are larger. Young birds have a brown, banded tail.

The Red-tailed Hawk call is a hoarse, screaming kee-eeeee-arr, the same scream Hollywood dubs over Bald Eagles because the eagle's real call isn't dramatic enough.

Red-tails are common statewide in Illinois, especially over farm fields, prairies, and highway edges.

27. Bald Eagle

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Illinois Bird & Winter Migrant

Illinois is one of the best places in the lower 48 to see wintering Bald Eagles, and it's the reason people drive to a lock and dam in January on purpose. Eagles from farther north follow the open water south, and they gather below dams on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, where turbulent water stays ice-free and fish are easy to catch.

Adults have a dark brown body, a white head and tail, and a big yellow bill. Young eagles are mottled brown and white and don't get their white heads until they're about five years old. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.

The Bald Eagle call is a surprisingly thin, high series of chirps and whistles.

Two of the best areas in the state are Starved Rock and Alton. At Starved Rock, eagles perch on Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary, an Illinois Audubon Society island in the Illinois River, and feed at the nearby lock and dam (the island itself has no public access, so you'll watch from the riverbank). Near Alton, the best time to see eagles along the Great River Road is roughly January through early March, from Melvin Price Locks and Dam up to Pere Marquette State Park in Grafton. If you cross the Clark Bridge, you're in Missouri, where there are plenty more winter birds in Missouri to find.

28. Rough-legged Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo lagopus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (uncommon, open country)

The Rough-legged Hawk breeds on the Arctic tundra and comes to Illinois for the winter, which tells you something about its idea of a warm getaway. It's named for the feathers that run all the way down its legs to the toes, built for cold. Its numbers here vary from year to year with food supplies.

It's a long-winged hawk that often hovers over fields while hunting. Light birds have a pale head, dark patches at the bend of the wing, and a white tail with a dark band at the end. Females and young birds usually show a solid dark belly band, while adult males are more mottled across the chest. Some birds are dark all over.

The Rough-legged Hawk is mostly quiet in winter. When it does call, it's a high, downslurred scream.

Look for it over big open grasslands and farm fields, more often in northern and central Illinois.

29. Great Horned Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo virginianus
Primary Activity Time – Night
Nocturnal
Resident Illinois Bird

The Great Horned Owl is Illinois's biggest common owl, and it starts nesting in the dead of winter, often in January or February, while the rest of us are still debating whether to shovel. It eats almost anything it can catch, from rabbits and rodents to skunks and other birds.

It's mottled gray-brown with long ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a white throat patch. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.

The Great Horned Owl call is a deep, soft hooting, hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo, and in winter pairs often duet, with the female's voice slightly higher.

Great Horned Owls live statewide in Illinois, in woodlots, river bottoms, parks, and even city cemeteries.

30. Snowy Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Bubo scandiacus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime and Dusk
Diurnal
Irruptive Species (uncommon, mostly the Lake Michigan shoreline)

The Snowy Owl is the winter bird everyone in Chicago suddenly cares about. It breeds on the Arctic tundra and comes south in numbers that swing wildly from year to year, depending on food up north. Unlike most owls, it's active in the daytime and sits right out in the open.

Adult males can look almost pure white. Females and young birds are heavily barred with dark brown, and the darkest are usually young females.

The Snowy Owl is mostly silent in winter, though it can give a harsh bark when disturbed.

In Illinois, the best bet is the Lake Michigan shoreline, especially Montrose Point and the beaches of Chicago, plus big open fields and airports. In late November 2025, a pair of Snowy Owls at Montrose Beach drew crowds, and the city closed part of the pier and asked people to stay at least 300 feet back. Honestly, that's a good rule anywhere. A Snowy Owl that keeps getting flushed is burning energy it needs to survive the winter, and no picture is worth that.

31. Short-eared Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Asio flammeus
Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
Crepuscular
Winter Migrant / Visitor (uncommon, large grasslands)

The Short-eared Owl is the owl to look for on a winter evening over a big, empty grassland. It hunts voles by flying low and floppy over the fields, like a giant moth, and its numbers in Illinois have dropped as grasslands have been lost.

It's tawny brown with streaks, with pale facial disks and dark smudges around yellow eyes. The "ears" are tiny tufts you'll almost never see. Females tend to be darker and more richly buff than males.

The Short-eared Owl is usually quiet in winter, though it can give a raspy, barking call.

Look for it at dusk over large grasslands and reclaimed prairies, such as Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, from a parked car or a respectful distance.

32. Northern Saw-whet Owl

Family – Strigidae
Species – Aegolius acadicus
Primary Activity Time – Night
Nocturnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (uncommon, hard to find)

The Northern Saw-whet Owl is the smallest owl in Illinois, and it winters here every year. Hardly anyone sees one, because it's small, quiet, and spends the day tucked into dense cedars and pines. A whitewash of droppings and small pellets under an evergreen is often the only clue it's there.

It's brown with white spots, a big round head with no ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a white "V" between them. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.

The Northern Saw-whet Owl call is a repeated, high too-too-too, but it's heard mostly in late winter and spring.

Look for it in dense evergreen plantings across Illinois, including arboretums and conifer groves, without playing recordings or crowding the roost.

33. Common Goldeneye

Family – Anatidae
Species – Bucephala clangula
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Common Goldeneye is a diving duck that comes south to Illinois once the northern lakes freeze, and it sticks to open water all winter. It dives for crayfish, mollusks, and aquatic insects, and its wings make a loud whistling sound in flight, which earned it the nickname "whistler."

Males are bright white with a black back, a dark green-glossed head, and a round white spot between the bill and the golden eye. Females are gray with a chocolate-brown head and a mostly dark bill. Starting in late winter, males throw their heads back over their backs in an over-the-top courtship display (I've seen less drama at karaoke).

The Common Goldeneye is mostly quiet, but displaying males give a buzzy, nasal call.

Look for goldeneyes on Lake Michigan, especially along the Chicago and Lake County shoreline, and on open stretches of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers below the dams.

Illinois Winter Birds FAQ

What birds stay in Illinois in the winter?

Year-round residents include the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, and chickadees (Black-capped in the north, Carolina in the south). They're joined by winter visitors like the Dark-eyed Junco, American Tree Sparrow, and Bald Eagle, plus irruptive finches and owls in some years. For the list one state north, see our guide to winter birds in Wisconsin.

Where can I see bald eagles in Illinois in winter?

The best spots are near the locks and dams on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, where the water stays open. Starved Rock State Park, the Great River Road between Alton and Grafton, and Melvin Price Locks and Dam are the most popular. Go on a cold morning in January or February, when ice concentrates the birds near open water.

Are there Snowy Owls in Illinois?

Yes, in some winters. Snowy Owls are irruptive, so numbers swing widely from year to year. The Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago, including Montrose Point, is the most reliable place, along with large open fields and airports.

Do cardinals stay in Illinois in the winter?

Yes. The Northern Cardinal, Illinois's state bird since 1929, is a year-round resident across the state. It's easiest to spot in winter, when the male's red stands out against bare branches and snow.

What is the best bird seed for winter in Illinois?

Black oil sunflower seed attracts the widest range of birds in Illinois. Add suet for woodpeckers and nuthatches, nyjer for goldfinches and siskins, and white millet on the ground for juncos and sparrows. Skip bread, which fills birds up without giving them the nutrition they need.

What birds have you seen in Illinois lately?

Share your sightings on the Sparkbird App, whether it's a Snowy Owl on a Chicago pier or a junco under your feeder in Carbondale.

And if you've spent a whole January staring at the Starved Rock dam and the eagles haven't shown, try again on the coldest morning of the year. The eagles love it, even if your toes don't.

Happy Birding.