Kansas in winter is mostly wind and sky, which is great news if you're a hawk and slightly less great if you're a birder whose eyes water at 20 miles an hour (hi, it's me). The upside is that winter birds in Kansas are easy to see. There aren't many leaves to hide behind, and half the state's raptors seem to be sitting on fence posts waiting to be noticed.
The state bird stays, too. The Western Meadowlark is a year-round resident across most of the central and western United States, so you'll still find it in Kansas pastures and stubble fields in January, usually in loose flocks and with its famous song turned down to a few dry chuck notes. Below are 33 of the birds of Kansas you're most likely to meet between December and February, each with ID tips, male vs female differences, calls, where to find it in Kansas, and what it eats at a feeder.
Types of Winter Birds in Kansas
There are 3 types of winter birds in Kansas you'll see on the list:
- Resident Kansas Birds – found year-round, and many of them visit feeders
- Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that breed farther north and spend the winter in Kansas, from Harris's Sparrows to Rough-legged Hawks. Wetlands like Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend fill up with geese, eagles, and harriers
- Irruptive Species – northern birds that show up in big numbers some winters and barely at all in others, depending on seed and cone crops up north
The feeder regulars come first, followed by the winter visitors and the birds you'll need to leave the yard to see. If you're wondering why some of your summer birds vanished, here's where birds go in the winter.
1. Northern Cardinal
- Family – Cardinalidae
- Species – Cardinalis cardinalis
- Primary Activity Time – Dawn and Dusk
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Northern Cardinal is the bird most people picture when they think of a winter feeder, and Kansas has plenty. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts tallied 4,151 of them in the 2019–20 season. It eats seeds, berries, and the odd insect, and it does most of its feeding early in the morning and again near dusk.
Males are bright red with a black face and a thick red-orange bill. The female Northern Cardinal is warm tan-brown with red edging on the wings, tail, and crest, and the same orange bill. Both keep the pointed crest all winter.
The Northern Cardinal song is a loud, whistled cheer-cheer-cheer or birdie-birdie-birdie, and the call is a sharp, metallic chip.
Cardinals are most common in eastern Kansas, but they follow wooded river corridors, shelterbelts, and towns well into the west. Dense shrubs or a cedar near the feeder will make them a lot more comfortable.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, safflower, cracked corn on a platform
2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Junco hyemalis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Dark-eyed Junco is the "snowbird," and in Kansas it's one of the most dependable signs that winter has arrived. Juncos breed in northern and mountain forests and spend the cold months here, working the ground under feeders in small, twitchy flocks.
Kansas gets more than one kind. Most are the "slate-colored" form: gray above, white belly, pale pink bill. You'll also see "Oregon" juncos with a dark hood and a brown back, especially in western Kansas. In both, males are darker and crisper, and females are paler and browner. Everybody flashes 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.
Look for juncos statewide in yards, field edges, shelterbelts, and brushy draws from late fall into early spring.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips scattered on the ground
3. House Finch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Haemorhous mexicanus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The House Finch is one of the most common birds in Kansas backyards, and it eats almost nothing but seeds. It also arrives in groups, so one House Finch on your feeder usually means six more in the tree.
Males have a rosy red head, breast, and rump, though some are orange or yellowish depending on what they ate while molting. Females are plain gray-brown with blurry streaks and a fairly blank face.
The House Finch song is a long, bubbly warble that often ends on a buzzy, rising note. The call is a short cheep.
House Finches live statewide in towns, farmyards, and suburbs with feeders and shrubs.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer
4. Mourning Dove
- Family – Columbidae
- Species – Zenaida macroura
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Partial Migrant
The Mourning Dove is a slim, soft gray-brown seed eater that feeds on the ground. Some Kansas doves head south in fall, but plenty stay and gather in flocks around grain fields, feedlots, and backyard feeders.
It has black spots on the wings, a small head, and a long, pointed tail edged in white. Males have a faint pink wash on the breast and a bluish crown, while females are a little browner.
The Mourning Dove call is a low, sad coo-OO-oo-oo-oo, and the wings whistle when it takes off.
Look for doves statewide, especially in farm country and on power lines near open fields.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on a platform or the ground
5. Downy Woodpecker
- Family – Picidae
- Species – Dryobates pubescens
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in Kansas and the easiest one to bring to a feeder. In winter it picks insect larvae out of bark, twigs, and even weed stems, then drops by the suet cage for dessert.
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, while females don't.
The Downy Woodpecker call is a soft pik, plus a whinny that slides down the scale.
Downies are found statewide wherever there are trees, from eastern Kansas woodlots to shelterbelts and town parks out west.
Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts
6. Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Family – Picidae
- Species – Melanerpes carolinus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Red-bellied Woodpecker has a name that only makes sense from about three feet away, since the "red belly" is a faint pinkish smudge. It eats insects, acorns, nuts, and fruit, and it wedges extra food into bark cracks for later.
Look for a black-and-white barred back and a pale face. Males have red from the bill all the way over the crown to the nape, while females only have red on the nape.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker call is a rolling churr or kwirr that carries a long way in bare winter woods.
It's most common in eastern Kansas and follows wooded rivers and towns west.
Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower
7. Blue Jay
- Family – Corvidae
- Species – Cyanocitta cristata
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Partial Migrant
The Blue Jay is loud, smart, and has never once entered a feeder quietly. It eats acorns, seeds, and insects, and it buries acorns to eat later (the ones it forgets turn into oak trees, which is the best excuse for bad memory I've heard).
Males and females look alike: bright blue above with black and white on the wings and tail, a crest, and a black necklace on a pale chest.
The Blue Jay call is a harsh jay-jay, plus bell-like notes and a convincing Red-tailed Hawk impression.
Blue Jays are most common in eastern and central Kansas, in oak woods, parks, and older neighborhoods.
Feeder favorites: peanuts in the shell, black oil sunflower, suet
8. American Goldfinch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Spinus tristis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Winter Migrant
The American Goldfinch is around all winter in Kansas, it just swaps the lemon-yellow outfit for something in olive and beige. A lot of people assume their goldfinches left in October. They didn't, they just stopped trying.
In winter, males keep some yellow on the face and throat and have black wings with bold white bars. Females are duller and grayer, with brownish wings.
The American Goldfinch call is a bouncy po-ta-to-chip, given in flight as the bird dips up and down.
Goldfinches are found statewide in weedy fields, sunflower patches, and yards with tube feeders.
Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips, black oil sunflower
9. Black-capped Chickadee
- Family – Paridae
- Species – Poecile atricapillus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Black-capped Chickadee is the chickadee for nearly all of Kansas. Only the far southeastern corner of the state gets the Carolina Chickadee instead, and where the two meet, I'd let the song do the talking. Chickadees eat seeds and dormant insects and stash food in bark to find later.
It has a black cap and bib, white cheeks, a gray back, and buffy sides. Males and females look alike.
The call is the namesake chick-a-dee-dee-dee, and the song is a clear, two-note fee-bee. (The Carolina whistles four notes.)
Look for chickadees in woodlots, river timber, shelterbelts, and wooded neighborhoods across the state.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet
10. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Family – Sittidae
- Species – Sitta carolinensis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The White-breasted Nuthatch spends the winter walking headfirst down tree trunks like gravity is more of a suggestion. It wedges seeds and nuts into bark and hacks them open with its bill.
It's blue-gray above with a white face and breast and a rusty wash under the tail. Males have a glossy black cap, while females usually show a grayer one.
The White-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal yank or quank, often in a series.
They're found in mature trees across Kansas, most often in eastern woods and along wooded rivers farther west.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet
11. Harris's Sparrow
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Zonotrichia querula
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Harris's Sparrow is the bird birders from other states come to Kansas to see. It's the largest sparrow in North America, it breeds only in northern Canada, and it winters in a narrow band of the southern Great Plains with Kansas right in the middle. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts tallied 9,594 in 2019–20, with the Udall and Winfield counts in south-central Kansas leading the way.
Adults have a black crown, face, and bib, gray cheeks, and a bright pink bill. First-winter birds have less black and a whitish throat. Males and females look alike.
The Harris's Sparrow call is a sharp weenk, and on mild days you may hear its song, a few long, quavering whistles on one pitch.
Look in hedgerows, plum thickets, brushy draws, and under backyard feeders, often mixed in with juncos and White-crowned Sparrows. It's more common in central and eastern Kansas than the far west.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips on the ground
12. White-crowned Sparrow
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Zonotrichia leucophrys
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The White-crowned Sparrow is a sharp-looking sparrow that breeds in the north and mountain west and winters across Kansas. It often hangs out with Harris's Sparrows, which makes for a very well-dressed brush pile.
Adults have bold black-and-white crown stripes, a gray face and breast, and a pinkish-orange bill. Young birds have brown-and-tan stripes instead. Males and females look alike.
The White-crowned Sparrow call is a sharp pink, and the song is a clear whistle followed by a buzzy jumble.
Look for them statewide in hedgerows, weedy fields, and brushy farmyards.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips on the ground
13. American Tree Sparrow
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Spizelloides arborea
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The American Tree Sparrow comes down from the Arctic edge for winter and, despite the name, spends most of its time on the ground eating weed and grass seeds. It's a small, round sparrow that seems to be built entirely out of fluff and optimism.
Look for a rusty cap, a rusty line behind the eye, a gray face, a two-toned bill (dark on top, yellow below), and a dark smudge in the middle of a plain gray breast. Males and females look alike.
The American Tree Sparrow call is a high tseet, and flocks give a soft, musical twitter.
They're found across Kansas in weedy fields, fence rows, marsh edges, and yards with brush piles.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn on the ground
14. House Sparrow
- Family – Passeridae
- Species – Passer domesticus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird (Non-Native Species)
The House Sparrow is a non-native bird that lives wherever people do, and Kansas has a lot of grain elevators, barns, and feedlots for it to love. It eats seeds and spilled grain and roosts in eaves and thick shrubs.
Males have a gray crown, chestnut sides to the head, and a black bib. Females are plain buffy-brown with a pale stripe behind the eye.
The House Sparrow call is a steady, chirpy cheep.
House Sparrows are found statewide in towns and farmsteads.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower seed
15. European Starling
- Family – Sturnidae
- Species – Sturnus vulgaris
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird (Non-Native Species)
The European Starling is another non-native that's made itself very comfortable in Kansas. It eats insects, fruit, grain, and suet, and it tends to show up in crowds that empty a feeder in minutes.
In winter, starlings are glossy black with heavy white spots and a dark bill. By spring the spots wear off and the bill turns yellow. Males and females look alike.
Starling sounds are a mash-up of whistles, clicks, rattles, and imitations of other birds.
They're found statewide, especially around cities, feedlots, and big winter roosts.
Feeder favorites: suet, cracked corn. An upside-down suet feeder helps if they're crowding out the woodpeckers
16. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Family – Columbidae
- Species – Streptopelia decaocto
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird (Non-Native Species)
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a newer arrival that spread across North America and moved into Kansas towns like a houseguest who never got the hint. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts tallied 7,464 of them in 2019–20. It eats seeds and grain and loves farmyards and small towns with a water tower and a grain elevator.
It's bigger and paler than a Mourning Dove, with a narrow black half-collar on the back of the neck and a square-tipped tail. Males and females look alike.
The Eurasian Collared-Dove call is a repeated three-part coo-COO-cook.
Look for them statewide in towns, farmsteads, and around grain elevators.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on a platform or the ground
17. Tufted Titmouse
- Family – Paridae
- Species – Baeolophus bicolor
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird (eastern Kansas)
The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray bird with a crest, big dark eyes, and the confidence of something three times its size. It eats seeds, nuts, and insects and often travels with chickadees in winter.
It's soft gray above, pale below, with peachy flanks. Males and females look alike.
The Tufted Titmouse song is a loud, whistled peter-peter-peter, and its scolding call sounds like a chickadee with a head cold.
Titmice are birds of eastern Kansas, in oak-hickory woods, river timber, and wooded neighborhoods. Head west and they thin out fast.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet
18. Northern Flicker
- Family – Picidae
- Species – Colaptes auratus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Winter Migrant
The Northern Flicker is a big brown woodpecker that spends a lot of time on the ground, digging for ants with a long, slightly curved bill. In winter it switches to more berries and seeds.
It's brown with black bars on the back, black spots below, and a black crescent on the chest. Kansas sits where the eastern "yellow-shafted" and western "red-shafted" forms overlap, so you'll see yellow or salmon-red under the wings and tail, and plenty of in-betweens. Males have a "mustache" stripe (black on yellow-shafted birds, red on red-shafted), and females don't.
The Northern Flicker call is a loud kyeer, plus a long, rolling wick-wick-wick.
Flickers are found statewide in open woods, shelterbelts, parks, and yards.
Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts
19. Hairy Woodpecker
- Family – Picidae
- Species – Dryobates villosus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Hairy Woodpecker is the Downy Woodpecker's bigger lookalike, and telling them apart is a rite of passage. It digs insects and larvae out of bark and comes to suet in winter.
Check the bill. On a Hairy, it's nearly as long as the head, while a 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 loud, sharp peek, plus a rattling call.
Hairies are found in woodlands statewide but are less common at feeders than Downies.
Feeder favorites: suet, black oil sunflower, peanuts
20. American Robin
- Family – Turdidae
- Species – Turdus migratorius
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Winter Migrant
The American Robin doesn't leave Kansas in winter so much as stop standing on lawns. Once the ground freezes, robins form roving flocks that strip cedars and hackberries. Their numbers swing wildly from year to year: Kansas Christmas Bird Counts went from 5,995 robins one season to 30,606 the next.
Robins have a gray-brown back and an orange breast. Males usually have a darker head and richer orange breast, while females are paler.
In winter, robins mostly give a low tut-tut or a sharp peek instead of their spring song.
Look for robin flocks in cedar stands, river bottoms, and neighborhoods with crabapples, junipers, or hackberries.
Feeder favorites: chopped apple, softened raisins, mealworms
21. Eastern Bluebird
- Family – Turdidae
- Species – Sialia sialis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Partial Migrant
The Eastern Bluebird is a winter bonus a lot of people don't expect. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts found 2,662 in 2019–20. In winter, bluebirds switch from insects to berries and travel in small family flocks.
Both sexes have a rusty throat and breast and a white belly. Males are bright blue above, while females are a softer gray-blue.
The Eastern Bluebird call is a soft tur-wee, and the song is a gentle, low warble.
Look for bluebirds in open country with scattered trees, along fence lines, and near cedars, mostly in eastern and central Kansas. Open water is a big draw when everything else is frozen, so a heated bird bath for winter is one of the best ways to get them into your yard.
Feeder favorites: mealworms, suet, chopped fruit
22. Western Meadowlark
- Family – Icteridae
- Species – Sturnella neglecta
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Kansas State Bird (resident)
The Western Meadowlark has been the Kansas state bird since 1937, and it's technically a blackbird, not a lark. (Finding that out is a lot like learning the bigger Kansas City is in Missouri.) In winter it forms loose flocks in pastures, prairie, and stubble fields and eats seeds and waste grain.
It's streaky brown above with a bright yellow breast and a black V on the chest, plus white outer tail feathers that flash in flight. Males and females look alike, though females are a little smaller and duller.
The song is a rich, gurgling, flute-like phrase, but in winter you'll mostly hear a low chuck and a rattling chatter. Eastern Meadowlarks also live in eastern Kansas and look nearly identical, so the song is the best way to tell them apart.
Look for meadowlarks statewide on fence posts and in open grassland, especially in central and western Kansas.
23. Red-winged Blackbird
- Family – Icteridae
- Species – Agelaius phoeniceus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident / Winter Migrant
The Red-winged Blackbird was the most abundant bird on Kansas Christmas Bird Counts in 2019–20, with 2,009,366 counted. That's two million blackbirds, which makes my inbox look manageable. They feed on waste grain and seeds in fields and gather in enormous winter roosts in cattail marshes.
Males are glossy black with red-and-yellow shoulder patches. Females are streaky brown and look like a large sparrow, which confuses everyone at least once.
The call is a sharp check, and the song is the gurgling conk-la-ree.
Look for big flocks statewide around marshes, feedlots, and crop fields.
Feeder favorites: cracked corn, millet, sunflower seed
24. Spotted Towhee
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Pipilo maculatus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Spotted Towhee is a big, flashy sparrow that winters in Kansas and spends its days kicking through leaf litter with both feet, like it lost an earring.
It has a dark hood, rusty sides, a white belly, and white spots on the back and wings, with a long tail and red eyes. Males have a black hood, while females have a dark brown one. Eastern Towhees, which lack the white back spots, also turn up in eastern Kansas.
The Spotted Towhee call is a buzzy, catlike mew.
Look for towhees in thickets, plum patches, and brushy woodland edges, and under feeders with good cover nearby.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips on the ground
25. Horned Lark
- Family – Alaudidae
- Species – Eremophila alpestris
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird & Winter Migrant
The Horned Lark is a bird of bare ground, and Kansas has acres of it. Resident birds are joined by northern flocks in winter, and they pick seeds and waste grain from plowed fields and gravel road shoulders.
It's sandy brown above with a yellow-and-white face, a black mask, a black chest band, and two tiny feather "horns." Males have bolder black markings and more obvious horns, while females are paler.
The Horned Lark call is a thin, tinkling tsee-titi, given as flocks fly up from the road ahead of your car.
Look for them statewide in open fields, pastures, and along rural roads, especially after a snow pushes them to the plowed edges.
26. Red-tailed Hawk
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Buteo jamaicensis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird & Winter Migrant
The Red-tailed Hawk is the hawk on every other utility pole along a Kansas highway. Residents are joined in winter by birds from farther north, including very pale "Krider's" types and dark birds that can be hard to place. It hunts voles, mice, and rabbits in open country.
Adults have a brick-red tail, a pale chest, and usually a band of dark streaks across the belly. Males and females look alike, though females are bigger.
The Red-tailed Hawk call is a hoarse, screaming kee-eeee-arr, the sound movies love to dub over eagles.
They're found statewide, especially along roadsides, field edges, and shelterbelts.
27. Rough-legged Hawk
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Buteo lagopus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor (uncommon)
The Rough-legged Hawk nests in the Arctic and spends winter hunting rodents over open country, often hovering in the wind. It has feathered legs all the way to the toes, so it's basically a hawk in fleece pajamas. Numbers vary a lot, and Kansas Christmas Bird Counts found only 50 in 2019–20.
Light birds have a pale head, a dark belly band, black patches at the wrist under the wing, and a white tail with a dark tip. Dark birds are chocolate brown with silvery flight feathers. Females usually have a solid dark belly, while males are more mottled and have more tail bands.
It's mostly quiet in winter but can give a downward-slurred scream.
Look for it in big open fields, pastures, and marsh edges, especially in central and western Kansas.
28. Northern Harrier
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Circus hudsonius
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Northern Harrier hunts by flying low and slow over grassland and marsh, tilting side to side and listening for mice. It has an owl-like facial disc that helps it hunt by sound. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts tallied 736 in 2019–20.
Males are pale gray with black wingtips and are nicknamed the "gray ghost." Females are brown with streaks, and both sexes have a bright white rump patch that's the best field mark.
Harriers are mostly silent in winter.
Look for them over prairie, wet meadows, and marshes like Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira.
29. Bald Eagle
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident Kansas Bird & Winter Migrant
The Bald Eagle is the headliner of a Kansas winter. Northern eagles come down to fish open water below dams and at the big reservoirs, and they also scavenge and pick off injured waterfowl. The Kansas Ornithological Society's winter count report logged 644 Bald Eagles in 2020–21, close to the 653 average since 2000, and suggested a warming climate may be keeping more of them farther north.
Adults have a dark brown body, white head and tail, and a big yellow bill. Young eagles are mottled brown and white and take about five years to get the white head. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.
The Bald Eagle call is a surprisingly thin, high-pitched chatter, nothing like the movie scream.
Look for eagles near open water at large reservoirs like Milford Lake, along rivers, and at wetlands like Cheyenne Bottoms, where they show up in recent winter sightings reported by the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. Early morning on a cold, clear day is best.
30. Snow Goose
- Family – Anatidae
- Species – Anser caerulescens
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Snow Goose passes through Kansas in huge numbers, and plenty spend the winter. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts tallied 603,660 in 2019–20. They feed in crop fields on waste grain and roost on reservoirs and marshes.
Most are white with black wingtips and a pink bill with a dark "grin" patch. A dark form, the "blue goose," has a gray-brown body and white head. Males and females look alike. The smaller Ross's Goose also winters here, so check every flock for a stubby bill and a rounder head.
Snow Goose sounds are a nonstop, nasal honking, and a big flock lifting off sounds like every group chat you're in going off at once.
Look for flocks at Cheyenne Bottoms, Quivira, the big reservoirs, and in nearby crop fields.
31. Great Horned Owl
- Family – Strigidae
- Species – Bubo virginianus
- Primary Activity Time – Night
- Nocturnal
- Resident Kansas Bird
The Great Horned Owl is the big, ear-tufted owl of Kansas, at home in river timber, shelterbelts, farmyards, and city parks. It eats rabbits, rodents, skunks, and birds, and it's one of the earliest nesters around, often sitting on eggs by late winter. That's a level of commitment I can't manage for a gym membership.
It's mottled gray-brown with ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a white throat patch. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.
The Great Horned Owl call is a deep, soft hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo. Pairs duet in winter, and the female's voice is a little higher than the male's, even though she's the bigger bird.
Listen at dusk in winter, when they're most vocal, statewide wherever there are trees.
32. Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Family – Sittidae
- Species – Sitta canadensis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Irruptive Species (uncommon, varies by year)
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a tiny northern nuthatch that comes to Kansas when conifer seed crops fail up north. Some winters it's everywhere, and some winters you'll never see one. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts found 207 one season, 24 the next, and 196 the season after that.
It's blue-gray above with a rusty breast and a bold black stripe through the eye. Males have a black cap and richer color below, 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's, like a toy horn.
Look for them in pines and cedars, including planted windbreaks, cemeteries, and parks, and at backyard feeders.
Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower
33. Pine Siskin
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Spinus pinus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Irruptive Species
The Pine Siskin is a small, streaky finch that's boom-or-bust in Kansas, a lot like my sourdough starter. Kansas Christmas Bird Counts found just 106 in 2019–20, then 2,361 the next winter, against an average of 477 a year since 2000. Purple Finches did the same thing that season, jumping from 9 to 359.
It's brown and heavily streaked, with a thin, pointed bill and yellow flashes in the wings and tail. Some males show more yellow than females, but they're tough to tell apart.
The Pine Siskin call is a rising, buzzy zreeee, like someone slowly zipping up a jacket.
In siskin years, look for them at feeders and in conifers anywhere in the state. Clean feeders often when they're around, since crowded flocks can spread disease.
Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips
Kansas Winter Birds FAQ
What birds stay in Kansas in the winter?
Year-round residents like the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, nuthatches, woodpeckers, Western Meadowlarks, and Great Horned Owls stay put. They're joined by winter visitors like Dark-eyed Juncos, Harris's Sparrows, White-crowned and American Tree Sparrows, Rough-legged Hawks, and Northern Harriers, plus irruptive birds like Pine Siskins in some years. For the view from next door, see our guides to winter birds in Missouri and winter birds in Nebraska.
What are the most common birds of Kansas at winter feeders?
The common birds in Kansas backyards in winter are the Northern Cardinal, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, and House Sparrow. In central and eastern Kansas, add Harris's and White-crowned Sparrows under the feeder. Kansas ran its own Winter Bird Feeder Survey from 1988 until 2014, when the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks folded it into the Great Backyard Bird Count, so mid-February is the time to count yours.
What is the Kansas state bird, and does it stay for winter?
The Western Meadowlark is the Kansas state bird, and yes, it stays. In winter it travels in loose flocks through pastures and stubble fields, and it mostly gives a low chuck call instead of its full song.
Where are the best places to see Kansas birds in winter?
Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge near Stafford are the big two, with geese, ducks, eagles, harriers, and owls. They occasionally surprise people, too: in January 2012, endangered Whooping Cranes lingered near Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms, which local records called unprecedented for that month. Large reservoirs with open water are reliable for Bald Eagles.
What should I feed birds in Kansas in winter?
Black oil sunflower and suet will bring in most Kansas birds. Add white millet on the ground for juncos and sparrows, nyjer for finches, and a few peanuts for jays and woodpeckers. Skip bread entirely, since it has almost no nutrition for birds. And when the wind chill hits single digits, unfrozen water is as valuable as seed.
What Kansas Birds Have You Seen This Winter?
Ten minutes at the kitchen window with a coffee counts as birding, and so does a slow drive past a fence line full of hawks. Share your sightings, find birders near you, and compare Harris's Sparrow counts on the Sparkbird App.
And if the wind steals your hat at Cheyenne Bottoms, don't chase it. Just log it as a flyover.
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