34 Winter Birds in Nevada

Every winter, thousands of visitors fly into Nevada, ignore the slot machines, and head straight for the nearest pond (honestly, they're better with their money than I am). Those are the winter birds in Nevada, and they split the state in two. Up north in Reno and the Great Basin, winter means snow, frozen marshes, and eagles. Down south in Las Vegas and the Mojave, it means mild sunny days and a wave of sparrows, warblers, and ducks that came here specifically to skip the cold.

The state bird is a maybe. The Mountain Bluebird is Nevada's official bird, and while many head south for the season, some winter in Nevada's pinyon-juniper country and drop to lower valleys when snow pushes them down. It varies a lot by year: one Southern Nevada Christmas Bird Count tallied 34 Mountain Bluebirds, and a later, rainier count found no bluebirds at all.

Birds of Nevada in Winter: North vs. South

Nevada birds in winter depend on which half of the state you're standing in.

Northern Nevada (Reno, Carson City, Fallon, Elko) is high desert with cold winters. This is where the big winter spectacles happen: Tundra Swans on the marshes, Canvasbacks by the thousand at Stillwater, Bald Eagles in the Carson Valley, and rosy-finches blowing through the mountain valleys. Feeders are busy with juncos, chickadees, magpies, and California Quail.

Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Henderson, the Mojave) stays mild, so the story is who arrives. White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and flocks of ducks show up in fall and stay until about March. They join year-round desert locals like Gambel's Quail, Verdins, roadrunners, and Anna's Hummingbirds.

Types of Winter Birds in Nevada

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

Resident Nevada Birds – species that live here all year, from magpies and ravens in the north to roadrunners and Verdins in the south. Some mountain birds, like Steller's Jays and Mountain Chickadees, just move downhill
Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that breed farther north or higher up and spend the cold months here, including swans, ducks, sparrows, kinglets, warblers, and Rough-legged Hawks. At Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge near Fallon, Lahontan Audubon notes that roughly half of the Pacific Flyway's Canvasbacks spend the winter
Irruptive Species – birds like Pine Siskins that show up in big numbers some winters and barely at all in others

Each entry covers ID, male vs female, calls, where to find the bird in Nevada, and its feeder favorites if it visits feeders. If you're wondering why the desert suddenly fills up every November, here's where birds go in the winter.

1. House Finch

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

The House Finch is the most dependable feeder bird in this part of the country. In Project FeederWatch's Southwest region rankings, it visited about 94% of count sites, more than any other species. It eats seeds and fruit and travels in chatty little groups that can empty a tube feeder by noon.

Males have a rosy-red head, breast, and rump, though the shade runs from strawberry to orange depending on diet. Females are plain gray-brown with blurry streaks and no red at all.

The House Finch song is a long, rambling warble that usually ends on a buzzy, rising note, and its call is a bright cheep.

In Nevada winters, House Finches are everywhere people are, from Reno and Carson City backyards to Las Vegas apartment balconies.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer

2. Dark-eyed Junco

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Junco hyemalis
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird / Winter Migrant

The Dark-eyed Junco was the second most widespread bird in the Southwest FeederWatch rankings, found at about 82% of sites. Some breed in Nevada's mountains and simply move down to the valleys for winter, while others arrive from farther north. In Las Vegas, they're strictly winter guests.

Most of Nevada's juncos are the "Oregon" type. Males have a crisp black hood, a brown back, and pinkish-buff sides, while females wear a softer gray hood and look a bit washed out. Both have a pale pink bill and flash white outer tail feathers when they fly.

The Dark-eyed Junco call is a sharp tick or smack, and the song is a quick, dry trill.

In Nevada winters, look for small flocks hopping under feeders, along foothill brush, and at the edges of parks statewide.

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

3. Northern Flicker

Family – Picidae
Species – Colaptes auratus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird / Winter Migrant

The Northern Flicker is a woodpecker that spends a surprising amount of time on the ground poking for ants. It ranked third in the Southwest FeederWatch list, and in Las Vegas it's one of the birds that shows up for winter rather than sticking around all year.

Nevada's flickers are mostly the "Red-shafted" type, with salmon-red under the wings and tail. They're brown with black bars on the back, a spotted belly, and a black crescent on the chest. Males have a red mustache stripe, and females don't.

The Northern Flicker call is a loud, single kyeer and a long, rolling wick-wick-wick. They also drum on metal gutters, which is how many people meet a flicker at 6 a.m.

In Nevada winters, flickers are widespread in towns, parks, golf courses, and river corridors.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower

4. White-crowned Sparrow

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Zonotrichia leucophrys
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The White-crowned Sparrow is the sparrow most likely to be under your feeder in a Las Vegas winter. It arrives in fall, works the lawns and shrubs in loose flocks, and leaves in spring for breeding grounds farther north. Winter birds here are mostly the "Gambel's" form, with an orange-pink bill.

Adults have bold black-and-white crown stripes, a clean gray face and breast, and a streaky brown back. Males and females look alike. First-winter birds have brown and tan crown stripes instead.

The White-crowned Sparrow call is a sharp pink, and its whistled song often starts up before the birds head north.

In Nevada winters, look for them in desert landscaping, parks, farm edges, and brushy yards, from the Las Vegas Valley to the lowlands around Reno.

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

5. Mountain Chickadee

Family – Paridae
Species – Poecile gambeli
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird

The Mountain Chickadee is the chickadee that showed up with eyeliner. It lives in conifer forests and pinyon-juniper woods, and in winter it drifts downhill, so foothill neighborhoods near the mountains often get a few at their feeders.

It looks like a Black-capped Chickadee but with a bold white stripe over each eye breaking up the black cap. Males and females look alike.

The Mountain Chickadee call is a hoarse, buzzy chick-a-dee-dee, and the song is a clear whistle of three or four descending notes.

In Nevada winters, look in the Carson Range around Lake Tahoe, the Spring Mountains near Mount Charleston, and pinyon-juniper woods across the Great Basin ranges.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, shelled peanuts

6. Black-capped Chickadee

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

The Black-capped Chickadee is a tiny, fearless omnivore that hides seeds in bark all fall and somehow finds most of them again (I can't find a parked car at the Reno airport, so I'm impressed). In Nevada, it's a northern bird and doesn't reach the Las Vegas area.

It has a black cap and bib, white cheeks with no eyebrow stripe, a gray back, and buffy sides. Males and females look the same.

The Black-capped Chickadee call is the namesake chick-a-dee-dee-dee, with more dees when it's upset, and its song is a sweet, two-note fee-bee.

In Nevada winters, look in cottonwoods and willows along the Truckee, Carson, and Humboldt Rivers, and in leafy neighborhoods in northern towns.

Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, shelled peanuts

7. Lesser Goldfinch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Spinus psaltria
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird

The Lesser Goldfinch is the small, green-backed goldfinch of the West, and it visited about 43% of Southwest FeederWatch sites. Unlike the American Goldfinch, it keeps its yellow underparts all year, so it doesn't go drab for winter.

Males have a black cap, a green back, and bright yellow underparts. Females are olive above and dull yellow below with no black cap. Both show white patches on dark wings.

The Lesser Goldfinch call is a plaintive, rising tee-yee, and its song is a fast jumble that often includes bits borrowed from other birds.

In Nevada winters, look for small flocks at tube feeders and seeding weeds in Reno, Carson City, and the Las Vegas Valley.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

8. Pine Siskin

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

The Pine Siskin is a streaky little finch that follows the conifer seed crop, so some winters it floods Nevada feeders and other winters it's nowhere. It showed up at nearly half of the Southwest FeederWatch sites.

It's brown and heavily streaked with a thin, pointed bill and flashes of yellow in the wings and tail. Males tend to show more yellow than females, though there's overlap.

The Pine Siskin call is a rising, buzzy zreeeee, like a tiny zipper being pulled up fast.

In Nevada winters, look in mountain towns, conifer stands, and well-stocked backyard feeders, especially in the north. Siskins are prone to salmonella outbreaks at crowded feeders, so clean yours often when they're around.

Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips

9. Eurasian Collared-Dove

Family – Columbidae
Species – Streptopelia decaocto
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (Non-Native Species)

The Eurasian Collared-Dove wasn't part of Nevada's birdlife until fairly recently, and now it sits on power lines in nearly every town in the state. It's a non-native dove that spread across North America after reaching Florida, and it visited about half of the Southwest FeederWatch sites.

It's pale sandy gray with a thin 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 three-part coo-COO-cook, repeated with the persistence of someone who has a lot of time on their hands.

In Nevada winters, look in farm towns, ranch yards, and suburbs statewide.

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

10. Mourning Dove

Family – Columbidae
Species – Zenaida macroura
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Partial Migrant

The Mourning Dove is the slimmer native dove you'll see sharing the ground with collared-doves. Some leave northern Nevada for winter, but plenty stay, and the Las Vegas Valley holds them all year.

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

The Mourning Dove call is a soft, sad coo-OO-oo-oo-oo that people often mistake for an owl, and its wings whistle on takeoff.

In Nevada winters, look in farm country, suburbs, and anywhere seed hits the ground.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on the ground

11. American Robin

Family – Turdidae
Species – Turdus migratorius
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Partial Migrant

The American Robin doesn't leave Nevada so much as change its menu. In winter it gives up on worms and travels in roving flocks to strip berries from junipers, Russian olives, and ornamental trees. It visited about 62% of Southwest FeederWatch sites.

It has a dark gray back and a warm orange breast. Males have a darker, almost black head and richer orange, while females are paler overall.

In winter, the American Robin call is mostly a low tut-tut and a thin tseep in flight. The full song waits for spring.

In Nevada winters, robins are common in towns with fruiting trees, river corridors, and parks. Lahontan Audubon lists them as abundant year-round in the day use area of Washoe Lake State Park.

Feeder favorites: chopped apples, softened raisins, and a heated bird bath

12. Spotted Towhee

Family – Passerellidae
Species – Pipilo maculatus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird / Winter Migrant

The Spotted Towhee is a big, flashy sparrow that forages by hopping backward with both feet to kick leaf litter out of the way. It's loud about it, too, so you often hear one rummaging under the shrubs before you see it.

Males have a jet-black hood and back, rusty sides, a white belly, and white spots on the wings. Females have the same pattern, but with a warm brown hood instead of black. Both have red eyes.

The Spotted Towhee call is a nasal, rising, catlike mew, and its song is a quick buzzy trill.

In Nevada winters, look in brushy yards, foothill scrub, and thickets along creeks, and under feeders with dense cover nearby.

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

13. California Scrub-Jay

Family – Corvidae
Species – Aphelocoma californica
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (western Nevada)

The California Scrub-Jay is the bold, crestless blue jay of Reno and Carson City backyards. It hides acorns and seeds all fall and digs them back up all winter. Most of the rest of Nevada has its close relative, the Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay, a paler-chested bird of pinyon-juniper country. Together, the two showed up at nearly 39% of Southwest FeederWatch sites.

It's bright blue above with a gray-brown back, a whitish throat edged by a blue "necklace," and pale underparts. Males and females look alike.

The California Scrub-Jay call is a harsh, rising shreep, usually given from the top of a shrub to let everyone know it's there.

In Nevada winters, look in older neighborhoods, parks, and foothill brush around Reno, Carson City, and Washoe Valley.

Feeder favorites: peanuts, black oil sunflower, suet

14. Steller's Jay

Family – Corvidae
Species – Cyanocitta stelleri
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird

The Steller's Jay is the crested mountain jay that treats every campground picnic table as a personal buffet. It eats seeds, nuts, and insects, and it stashes pine seeds for the lean months.

It has a sooty black head and tall crest, a deep blue body, and faint blue streaks on the forehead. Males and females look alike.

The Steller's Jay call is a harsh shook-shook-shook, and it does a convincing Red-tailed Hawk scream when it wants the feeder to itself.

In Nevada winters, look in conifer forests around Lake Tahoe and the Carson Range and in the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas. Big snows can push a few into lower foothill neighborhoods.

Feeder favorites: peanuts, black oil sunflower, suet

15. Black-billed Magpie

Family – Corvidae
Species – Pica hudsonia
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (northern Nevada)

The Black-billed Magpie is the bird Las Vegas visitors see on a trip up north and immediately ask about. It's a loud, flashy corvid with a tail longer than its body, and it eats almost anything: insects, seeds, carrion, and whatever the dog left in its bowl.

It's black and white with an iridescent blue-green sheen on the wings and tail. Males and females look alike, though males run slightly larger.

The Black-billed Magpie call is a harsh, rapid shek-shek-shek that sounds a bit like shaking a box of gravel.

In Nevada winters, magpies are common across the ranch country and towns of northern Nevada. Lahontan Audubon calls them abundant year-round at Washoe Lake. You won't find them around Las Vegas.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, cracked corn

16. Common Raven

Family – Corvidae
Species – Corvus corax
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird

The Common Raven is Nevada's all-terrain bird. It's as comfortable over a casino parking lot as it is over a sagebrush valley or a mountain pass, and it eats carrion, scraps, eggs, and small animals.

It's all black and larger than a crow, with a heavy bill, shaggy throat feathers, and a wedge-shaped tail in flight. Males and females look alike.

The Common Raven call is a deep, croaking gronk, plus knocks, gurgles, and bell-like notes that sound like it's practicing a jazz solo.

In Nevada winters, ravens are statewide, from Interstate 80 rest stops to the Las Vegas Strip.

17. Mountain Bluebird

Family – Turdidae
Species – Sialia currucoides
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Nevada State Bird (resident / partial migrant)

The Mountain Bluebird is Nevada's state bird, and in winter it becomes a wanderer. According to Audubon, winter birds are most common in pinyon-juniper woods and also use grassland, desert, and farm fields, often in flocks of up to hundreds. Berries make up a big part of the winter diet.

Males are sky blue all over, a little paler on the belly. Females are gray-brown with blue in the wings and tail, and sometimes a faint orange wash on the chest.

The Mountain Bluebird call is a soft, low few or tew, often given in flight.

In Nevada winters, look in juniper country, open valleys, and desert edges. Numbers swing a lot depending on snow and berry crops, so treat a winter flock as a bonus, not a guarantee.

18. Townsend's Solitaire

Family – Turdidae
Species – Myadestes townsendi
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Winter Migrant

The Townsend's Solitaire is a slim gray thrush that spends winter guarding a patch of juniper berries like it's the last slice of pizza at the office party. Solitaires breed in mountain forests and come down to the junipers for the cold months, sometimes even into the desert edges around Las Vegas. They turned up on the Corn Creek Christmas Bird Count in 2022.

It's plain gray with a bold white eye ring, buffy patches in the wings, and white outer tail feathers. Males and females look alike.

The Townsend's Solitaire call is a single, clear, piping whistle, repeated from a treetop to warn other solitaires away from its berries.

In Nevada winters, look in juniper woodlands and canyons across the Great Basin and in the foothills of the Spring Mountains.

19. Yellow-rumped Warbler

Family – Parulidae
Species – Setophaga coronata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the warbler that refuses to leave for the tropics like its cousins. It can eat berries and waxy fruit that other warblers can't digest, so it winters much farther north, and Las Vegas parks fill with them every winter. Birders call them "butterbutts," which is affectionate and also accurate.

In winter, they're brownish gray with a bright yellow rump, yellow patches on the sides, and (in the western "Audubon's" form) a yellow throat. Males show sharper contrast and more yellow, while females are browner and softer overall.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler call is a sharp chep that you'll hear from every leafy tree in the park once you know it.

In Nevada winters, look in parks, golf courses, wetlands, and backyard trees across southern Nevada, with smaller numbers in milder spots up north.

Feeder favorites: suet, peanut butter mixes, and water

20. Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Family – Regulidae
Species – Corthylio calendula
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a tiny, olive bird that can't sit still. It flicks its wings constantly while it searches leaves and bark for insects and eggs, and it shows up in southern Nevada each winter along with the warblers.

It's olive-gray with a broken white eye ring and a white wing bar edged by a dark bar. Males have a red crown patch, usually hidden unless they're excited. Females don't have the red.

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet call is a husky, two-part ji-dit. On mild late-winter days, males sometimes start their surprisingly loud song.

In Nevada winters, look in mesquite, willows, park trees, and landscaped yards in the Las Vegas Valley and at Clark County Wetlands Park.

Feeder favorites: suet, mealworms

21. Anna's Hummingbird

Family – Trochilidae
Species – Calypte anna
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (southern Nevada)

The Anna's Hummingbird is the answer to "do hummingbirds stay in Nevada in winter?" In southern Nevada, the answer is yes. The Las Vegas Review-Journal lists it as a year-round resident in the valley, where flowering landscaping and backyard feeders keep it going all winter.

Males have an iridescent rose-pink head and throat that flashes from dark to brilliant in the right light. Females are green above and grayish below, often with a small patch of rosy feathers on the throat.

The Anna's Hummingbird song is a scratchy, buzzy jumble, and males make a loud chirp at the bottom of a steep courtship dive.

In Nevada winters, look in Las Vegas and Henderson yards with flowering shrubs and nectar feeders. Keep feeders clean and fresh, and bring them in on the rare nights when they might freeze.

Feeder favorites: nectar (one part white sugar to four parts water, no dye)

22. Gambel's Quail

Family – Odontophoridae
Species – Callipepla gambelii
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (southern Nevada)

The Gambel's Quail is the desert quail with a single black topknot that bobs when it runs. In winter, family groups gather into bigger coveys, and one Corn Creek Christmas Bird Count logged 119 of them.

Males have a chestnut cap, a black face outlined in white, and a black patch on a creamy belly. Females are plainer gray-brown with a smaller plume and no black face.

The Gambel's Quail call is a loud, three- or four-note chi-CA-go-go, which is a lot of Midwest energy for a Mojave bird.

In Nevada winters, look for coveys in desert washes, mesquite, and brushy yards across southern Nevada, including the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn scattered on the ground near cover

23. California Quail

Family – Odontophoridae
Species – Callipepla californica
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (northern Nevada)

The California Quail is northern Nevada's version of the topknot quail. Coveys march out from under the hedge, eat everything on the ground, and march back again, like a very anxious parade.

Males have a black face outlined in white, a brown cap, a scaly belly, and a forward-curling plume. Females are gray-brown with a smaller plume and no black face. Compared with Gambel's, California Quail have a scaly, not black, belly patch.

The California Quail call is a loud chi-CA-go, the same city the Gambel's Quail keeps shouting about.

In Nevada winters, look in brushy yards, river thickets, and parks around Reno and Carson City, including the Rosewood Nature Study Area.

Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn on the ground near cover

24. Greater Roadrunner

Family – Cuculidae
Species – Geococcyx californianus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (southern Nevada)

The Greater Roadrunner is a ground cuckoo that runs down lizards, insects, and small birds, and on cold desert mornings it warms up by turning its back to the sun and fluffing its feathers to expose dark skin. (Every January, I respect this strategy more.)

It's streaky brown and white with a shaggy crest, a long tail it cocks up and down, and a bare patch of blue and orange skin behind the eye. Males and females look alike.

The Greater Roadrunner call is a series of slow, descending dovelike coos, plus a loud clatter made by snapping the bill. It does not say "meep meep."

In Nevada winters, look in desert scrub, golf course edges, and quiet neighborhoods across the Las Vegas Valley, and at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

25. Verdin

Family – Remizidae
Species – Auriparus flaviceps
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird (southern Nevada)

The Verdin is a tiny gray desert bird with a yellow face that's busier than it has any right to be. It builds bulky, ball-shaped stick nests in thorny shrubs, and it builds extra ones just for sleeping in winter.

Adults are gray with a yellow head and a small rusty patch at the bend of the wing. Males and females look similar, though females are usually a little duller yellow.

The Verdin call is a sharp, loud tschip, and its song is a few clear, whistled tee-tee-tee notes.

In Nevada winters, look in mesquite, acacia, and desert landscaping in the Las Vegas Valley, Henderson, and the Moapa Valley.

Feeder favorites: hummingbird feeders (they'll sip nectar), suet

26. Black Rosy-Finch

Family – Fringillidae
Species – Leucosticte atrata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident / Winter Migrant (northern Nevada)

The Black Rosy-Finch is a true Great Basin specialty. Audubon calls the high mountains from northeastern Nevada to southwestern Montana the species' stronghold. In late fall, most move downhill, and winter flocks gather in high valleys and plateaus, sometimes coming into towns.

Males are blackish with a gray band on the back of the head and rosy-pink on the belly and wings. Females are much plainer and grayer, with less pink. In winter, both have a yellow bill.

The Black Rosy-Finch call is a set of low cheep notes, given constantly by flocks in flight.

In Nevada winters, look in open country near the mountains of northeastern and central Nevada, often mixed with Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches. They feed mostly on the ground, on weed and grass seeds.

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

27. Tundra Swan

Family – Anatidae
Species – Cygnus columbianus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Tundra Swan breeds on the Arctic tundra, and more than 12,000 winter in Nevada or pass through on migration. December snowstorms push them south, and the honking you hear overhead might be swans, not geese.

Adults are all white with a black bill, black legs, and usually a small yellow spot between the eye and the bill. Males and females look alike. Young birds are dusky gray.

The Tundra Swan call is a high, whooping, slightly musical honk, which earned it the old name "Whistling Swan."

In Nevada winters, look at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and around Fallon, Pyramid Lake, Washoe Lake, and Lahontan Audubon's Swan Lake Nature Study Area guide in north Reno, where Tundra Swans are common in winter. They're uncommon in southern Nevada.

28. Canvasback

Family – Anatidae
Species – Aythya valisineria
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Canvasback is a big diving duck with a long, sloping forehead that makes it look permanently unimpressed. It dives for aquatic plant roots and tubers, and Nevada matters a lot to this species: roughly half of the Pacific Flyway's Canvasbacks winter at Stillwater.

Males have a chestnut-red head, red eyes, a black chest, and a pale, almost white body. Females have a light brown head and neck and a grayish-brown body, with the same sloping profile.

The Canvasback call is rarely heard in winter. Females give a harsh krrr, and males make soft cooing sounds in courtship.

In Nevada winters, look at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and Carson Lake near Fallon, plus deeper ponds in the Las Vegas Valley.

29. Northern Shoveler

Family – Anatidae
Species – Spatula clypeata
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor

The Northern Shoveler is a duck that showed up with a salad spoon for a bill. It swims in tight circles with its head low, straining tiny invertebrates and seeds out of the water through comb-like edges on its bill.

Males have a glossy green head, yellow eyes, a white chest, and rusty-chestnut sides. Females are mottled brown with an orange-edged bill. Both have that unmistakable oversized spatula of a bill.

The Northern Shoveler call is a low, hollow took-took from males, and females give a raspy quack.

In Nevada winters, look on the ponds at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Clark County Wetlands Park, and wetlands statewide.

30. American White Pelican

Family – Pelecanidae
Species – Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (southern Nevada)

The American White Pelican is one of the biggest birds in North America, with a wingspan around 9 feet, and it's not what most people picture when they think of a desert winter. Flocks gather in the Las Vegas Wash every winter, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's winter birding guide.

It's huge and white with black flight feathers that show in flight and a long orange bill and pouch. Males and females look alike, though males are larger.

The American White Pelican call is basically nonexistent. Adults are mostly silent away from their nesting colonies.

In Nevada winters, look along the Las Vegas Wash at Clark County Wetlands Park, where pelicans often fish together by herding fish into the shallows.

31. Bald Eagle

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (a few pairs nest)

The Bald Eagle was once a rare sight in Nevada, but now winter sightings are common. The Nevada Independent reports that 731 Bald Eagles were documented in Nevada from 2013 to 2018, making it the state's fourth most common raptor. Stillwater is Nevada's largest winter home for the species.

Adults have a white head and tail, a dark brown body, and a massive yellow bill. Young eagles are mottled brown and white and take about five years to get the full look. Females are larger than males.

The Bald Eagle call is a thin, high, chattering whistle, not the scream movies dub over it.

In Nevada winters, the Carson Valley is the place to go. Eagles gather on ranches around Genoa, Minden, and Gardnerville to feed on afterbirth during calving season, and Visit Carson Valley's winter wildlife guide says December through early February is the window for close-up views, with the Eagles and Agriculture tours held each January or February. Lake Tahoe's January count usually finds a couple dozen too.

32. Golden Eagle

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Aquila chrysaetos
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird / Winter Migrant

The Golden Eagle is the eagle of Nevada's wide-open country. It hunts jackrabbits and ground squirrels across sagebrush and ranchland, and winter brings extra birds into the agricultural valleys.

It's dark brown all over with a golden wash on the back of the head and neck. Young birds have white patches in the wings and a white tail base with a dark band. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.

The Golden Eagle call is a weak, high yelp, and it's mostly silent.

In Nevada winters, look over the Carson Valley ranches, Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, and open valleys statewide. In the south, one occasionally soars over the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

33. Rough-legged Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Buteo lagopus
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Winter Migrant / Visitor (northern Nevada)

The Rough-legged Hawk nests on the Arctic tundra and spends its winter hunting voles in Nevada's ranch valleys. It's one of the few big hawks that hovers in place, flapping hard while it scans the ground below.

It has feathered legs all the way to the toes (hence the name), dark patches at the wrists under the wings, and a white tail base with a dark band at the tip. Females usually show a solid dark belly band and a paler head, while males are often darker on the chest with more bands on the tail.

The Rough-legged Hawk call is a descending, catlike scream, though it's mostly quiet in winter.

In Nevada winters, look at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge and on the ranches of the Carson Valley, usually perched on a fence post or hovering over a hayfield.

34. Cooper's Hawk

Family – Accipitridae
Species – Astur cooperii
Primary Activity Time – Daytime
Diurnal
Resident Nevada Bird / Winter Migrant

The Cooper's Hawk is the hawk most likely to turn your feeder into a nature documentary. It hunts doves and songbirds by surprise, and it visited about a third of Southwest FeederWatch sites. (If your feeder suddenly goes silent, check the nearest tree.)

Adults are blue-gray above with fine orange barring below, a dark cap, and a long, rounded tail. Young birds are brown with streaky underparts. Females are much larger than males. The smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) looks very similar but has a smaller head and a squarer tail tip.

The Cooper's Hawk call is a harsh, rapid cak-cak-cak, though it's mostly quiet outside nesting season.

In Nevada winters, look in neighborhoods, parks, and wooded corridors statewide, anywhere doves and finches gather.

Nevada Winter Birds FAQ

What are the most common Nevada birds in winter?

At feeders, the most common Nevada birds in winter are House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Flickers, Mourning and Eurasian Collared-Doves, American Robins, and Lesser Goldfinches. Up north, add Black-billed Magpies and California Quail. Down south, add White-crowned Sparrows, Gambel's Quail, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

What birds stay in Nevada in the winter?

Year-round residents like ravens, scrub-jays, chickadees, magpies, and quail stay put, and in the south, so do roadrunners, Verdins, and Anna's Hummingbirds. They're joined by winter visitors like Tundra Swans, Canvasbacks, Rough-legged Hawks, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and White-crowned Sparrows. For the neighbors' lists, see our guides to winter birds in California and winter birds in Utah.

Where can I see birds of Nevada in winter?

In northern Nevada, try Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge near Fallon, Swan Lake Nature Study Area in Reno, Washoe Lake State Park, and the ranches of the Carson Valley. In southern Nevada, the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Clark County Wetlands Park, and Corn Creek at Desert National Wildlife Refuge are all good bets. Red Rock Audubon runs several Christmas Bird Counts in southern Nevada, and the Henderson count is the easiest one for newcomers to join.

Do hummingbirds stay in Nevada in winter?

Yes, in southern Nevada. Anna's Hummingbirds live in the Las Vegas Valley year-round and will use a clean nectar feeder all winter. Most other hummingbirds leave the state in fall.

Where can I see Bald Eagles in Nevada in winter?

The Carson Valley around Genoa, Minden, and Gardnerville is the best spot, especially from December through early February. Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is the state's largest winter gathering, and Lake Tahoe usually holds a couple dozen in January.

Is it OK to feed ducks bread at the park?

No. Bread fills ducks up without giving them the nutrition they need, and the Review-Journal's guide specifically asks visitors not to feed the waterfowl at Sunset Park. Bring binoculars instead. If you want to help birds at home, the best thing in a dry Nevada winter is water: a shallow dish refreshed daily goes a long way, and our guide on how to keep a bird bath from freezing in winter covers the cold northern nights without buying anything new.

What birds have you seen in Nevada lately?

Share them on the Sparkbird App, where Nevada birders from Elko to Henderson can swap sightings and settle once and for all whether that was a Gambel's or a California Quail.

And if you spend a whole weekend in Las Vegas and the only bird you see is a pigeon on the Strip, don't sweat it. The house always wins, but the Henderson ponds pay out.

Happy Birding.