Most states lose birds in winter. New Mexico gains them, like a retirement community where every new arrival shows up in a flock and nobody brings a golf cart (that I know of). That's what makes winter birds in New Mexico so good: tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese pour into the Rio Grande Valley, sparrows and kinglets fill the bosque, and three kinds of rosy-finch drop onto a mountaintop near Albuquerque.
The state bird doesn't go anywhere. The Greater Roadrunner has been New Mexico's official state bird since March 16, 1949, and it lives here year-round, mostly below 7,000 feet, so it's on the list too. Below are 35 New Mexico winter birds, each with ID tips, male vs female differences, calls, where to find them in the state, and what they'll eat at a feeder.
Types of Winter Birds in New Mexico
There are 3 types of winter birds in New Mexico you'll see on the list:
- Resident New Mexico Birds – found year-round. Some shift downhill or into the river valleys when the mountains get snow
- Winter Migrants / Visitors – birds that come to New Mexico for the winter from the north, like Sandhill Cranes, Snow and Ross's Geese, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and two of the three rosy-finches. Look for them at hot spots like Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, where numbers peak from early November to late January
- Irruptive Species – birds that show up in big numbers some winters and barely at all in others, usually when seed or cone crops fail elsewhere
The list starts with the birds you're most likely to see at a New Mexico feeder, roughly following Project FeederWatch's Southwest region rankings, then heads out to the desert, the river, and the mountaintops. If you're wondering where all the northern birds are coming from, here's where birds go in the winter.
1. House Finch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Haemorhous mexicanus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The House Finch is the bird most likely to be on your feeder right now. It topped FeederWatch's Southwest counts, showing up at 94% of sites, and it's a true Southwest native (the eastern ones descend from pet-store finches released in the 1940s, which is a very different origin story). It eats almost nothing but seeds and moves around in chatty winter flocks.
Males have a red to orange wash on the head, breast, and rump. The shade depends on diet, so you'll occasionally see a yellowish male. Females are plain gray-brown with blurry streaks and no red.
The House Finch song is a long, rambling warble that usually ends on a buzzy, rising note. The call is a short cheep.
House Finches are common in towns, farms, and desert neighborhoods across New Mexico, from Las Cruces to Farmington.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer
2. Dark-eyed Junco
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Junco hyemalis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Winter Migrant
The Dark-eyed Junco is a small, ground-feeding sparrow, and New Mexico is one of the best places in the country to see how many different outfits one species can own. According to American Bird Conservancy's list of must-see New Mexico birds, junco variety in the state peaks in winter, when northern forms join the locals.
The Gray-headed form, with its gray head and rusty back patch, breeds in New Mexico's mountains. In winter it's joined by Oregon juncos with dark hoods and pinkish sides, plus Pink-sided and Slate-colored birds. In most forms, males are darker and crisper while females are browner and softer. All of them have a pale pink bill and 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.
Juncos winter statewide, from Santa Fe backyards to the foothills of the Sandias, usually in small flocks on the ground.
Feeder favorites: white millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn scattered on the ground
3. White-crowned Sparrow
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Zonotrichia leucophrys
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The White-crowned Sparrow is one of the most common winter arrivals in New Mexico's lowlands. It breeds in the far north and in high western mountains, then spends the cold months in brushy edges, hedgerows, and yards, scratching for seeds.
Adults have bold black-and-white stripes on the crown, a gray face and breast, and a pink to yellowish bill. First-winter birds wear brown-and-tan head stripes instead, so a mixed flock looks like it can't agree on a dress code. 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.
In New Mexico they winter in river valleys, farm country, and neighborhoods statewide, especially along the Rio Grande.
Feeder favorites: white millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn on the ground
4. Northern Flicker
- Family – Picidae
- Species – Colaptes auratus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Northern Flicker is a big brown woodpecker that spends a surprising amount of time on the ground, digging for ants. In winter it switches to berries, seeds, and suet, and it's one of the most widespread birds in the Southwest feeder counts.
New Mexico's flickers are the "red-shafted" form, with salmon-pink under the wings and tail that flashes in flight. Both sexes have a black-barred brown back, a black-spotted belly, and a black crescent on the chest. Males have a red mustache stripe, while females don't.
The Northern Flicker call is a loud kyeer, plus a long, rolling wick-wick-wick series.
Flickers are found statewide, from cottonwood bosques to pinyon-juniper hills and city parks.
Feeder favorites: suet, peanuts, black oil sunflower
5. Mourning Dove
- Family – Columbidae
- Species – Zenaida macroura
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Mourning Dove is a slim, soft-colored seed eater that stuffs its crop at the feeder and then sits on a wire to digest, which is my exact approach to a holiday buffet.
It's gray-brown with black spots on the wings and a long, pointed tail edged in white. Males have a rosy wash on the breast and a bluish crown, while females are a little browner.
The Mourning Dove call is a soft, mournful coo-OO-oo-oo-oo, and its wings whistle on takeoff.
In New Mexico, Mourning Doves are common in farm country and towns across the state, though many from the north move south for winter and numbers thin out in the high country.
Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, black oil sunflower on a platform or the ground
6. Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Family – Columbidae
- Species – Streptopelia decaocto
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird (Non-Native Species)
The Eurasian Collared-Dove is a chunky, pale dove that spread across North America after being introduced in the Bahamas, and it's now a fixture in New Mexico towns. It nearly tied the Downy Woodpecker in FeederWatch's Southwest counts.
It's pale gray-tan with a thin black half-collar on the back of the neck and a squared-off tail. It's larger and paler than a Mourning Dove. Males and females look alike.
The Eurasian Collared-Dove call is a three-part koo-KOO-kook, repeated with all the urgency of someone who's lost their car keys.
You'll find them around towns, grain elevators, and farmyards statewide, often perched on utility poles.
Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn, sunflower on a platform or the ground
7. Lesser Goldfinch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Spinus psaltria
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Lesser Goldfinch is the Southwest's own goldfinch. It's smaller than the American Goldfinch and stays brightly colored all year, which makes it the easiest goldfinch to ID in a New Mexico winter.
Males have a black cap, yellow underparts, and black wings with white patches. Most New Mexico males have a greenish back, though some have black backs. Females are olive above and yellowish below with no black cap.
The Lesser Goldfinch call is a plaintive, rising tee-yee, and the song is a long, jumbled twitter that often borrows bits from other birds.
In New Mexico they're most common in the southern and central valleys in winter, and fewer stay in the colder north.
Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips
8. American Goldfinch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Spinus tristis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The American Goldfinch is mostly a winter visitor in New Mexico, and it shows up in its off-season look. The bright yellow of summer fades to a buffy olive-brown, so the first one at your feeder may read as "some finch."
In winter, males keep a yellowish face and throat and jet-black wings with bold white bars. Females are duller and grayer. Compared to a Lesser Goldfinch, look for the white under the tail and the lack of a black cap.
The American Goldfinch call is a bouncy po-ta-to-chip, given as it rises and dips in flight.
They winter in weedy fields, river bottoms, and neighborhoods across the state.
Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips, black oil sunflower
9. Pine Siskin
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Spinus pinus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Irruptive
The Pine Siskin is a tiny, streaky finch with a fine pointed bill. It breeds in New Mexico's mountain conifers, but its winter numbers swing wildly. The Taos News backyard birding column calls it nomadic and most common in winter, often at thistle feeders.
It's brown and heavily streaked, with flashes of yellow in the wings and tail. Males usually show a bit more yellow than females.
The Pine Siskin call is a rising, buzzy zreeee that sounds like a tiny zipper.
Siskins can turn up anywhere in New Mexico in winter, from mountain towns to Albuquerque feeders.
Feeder favorites: nyjer, sunflower chips. Clean feeders often, since big siskin flocks are prone to salmonella
10. Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
- Family – Corvidae
- Species – Aphelocoma woodhouseii
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay is a lanky, crestless jay of the pinyon-juniper hills. It eats acorns, pinyon nuts, insects, and the occasional egg, and it buries extra food all over the neighborhood to dig up later.
It's blue on the head, wings, and tail, with a gray-brown back, a pale streaked throat, and grayish underparts. Males and females look alike.
The Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay call is a harsh, rising shreep, usually given from the top of a shrub where everyone can hear it.
In New Mexico it's common in foothills, juniper woodland, and older neighborhoods across most of the state.
Feeder favorites: peanuts, black oil sunflower
11. Mountain Chickadee
- Family – Paridae
- Species – Poecile gambeli
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Mountain Chickadee is the chickadee you'll most likely meet in New Mexico. It ranked seventh in the Southwest FeederWatch counts and lives in conifer and pinyon-juniper forests, where it hides seeds by the thousands for winter.
It looks like a classic chickadee with a white eyebrow cutting through the black cap. Males and females look alike.
The Mountain Chickadee call is a hoarse, slightly lazy chick-a-dee-dee, and the song is a sweet, descending fee-bee-bee.
In New Mexico it lives in mountains and foothills statewide, and some drift down into Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque's East Mountains in winter.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, suet, peanuts
12. White-breasted Nuthatch
- Family – Sittidae
- Species – Sitta carolinensis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The White-breasted Nuthatch walks headfirst down tree trunks, wedges seeds 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 have a grayer one.
The White-breasted Nuthatch call is a nasal, repeated yank. Birds in the interior West sound a little different from eastern ones, with a faster, higher chatter.
In New Mexico it lives in ponderosa pine forests, mountain canyons, and cottonwood groves.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, peanuts, suet
13. Spotted Towhee
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Pipilo maculatus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Winter Migrant
The Spotted Towhee is a big, flashy sparrow that forages with a double-footed backward hop, kicking leaves out of the way like it's searching for a dropped earring.
Males have a black hood and back, rusty sides, a white belly, white wing spots, and red eyes. Females have the same pattern in dark gray-brown.
The Spotted Towhee call is a cat-like, rising mew, and the song is a short, buzzy trill.
In New Mexico they winter in brushy bosque edges, foothill thickets, and yards with good cover.
Feeder favorites: white millet, sunflower chips, cracked corn on the ground
14. Canyon Towhee
- Family – Passerellidae
- Species – Melozone fusca
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Canyon Towhee is the plain brown bird under the feeder that's easy to ignore and fun to get to know. It's robin-sized and spends most of its time on the ground, picking up seeds and insects.
It's gray-brown overall, with a rusty cap, a buffy throat edged with fine streaks, a dark spot in the center of the chest, and rusty feathers under the tail. Audubon's Canyon Towhee guide notes males and females look similar.
The Canyon Towhee call is a sharp chud-up, and pairs often call back and forth as they move around a yard.
In New Mexico it's common in desert foothills, canyons, pinyon-juniper, and brushy neighborhoods across much of the state.
Feeder favorites: white millet, cracked corn, sunflower chips on the ground
15. Curve-billed Thrasher
- Family – Mimidae
- Species – Toxostoma curvirostre
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Curve-billed Thrasher is a gray-brown desert songbird with a long, down-curved bill that it uses to dig through dirt and leaf litter. It eats insects, seeds, and cactus fruit, and it loves a cholla for nesting.
It's dusty gray-brown with faint spots on the breast and bright orange eyes that give it a permanently unimpressed look. Males and females look alike.
The Curve-billed Thrasher call is a loud, sharp whit-wheet, a whistle so human that people turn around looking for whoever did it.
In New Mexico it lives in desert scrub, grasslands with cholla, and towns in the central and southern parts of the state, including Albuquerque, Socorro, and Las Cruces.
Feeder favorites: suet, chopped fruit, mealworms, seed scattered on the ground
16. Gambel's Quail
- Family – Odontophoridae
- Species – Callipepla gambelii
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Gambel's Quail is a plump desert quail with a forward-drooping head plume. In winter it travels in groups called coveys, scurrying from shrub to shrub instead of flying.
Males have a chestnut crown, a black face edged in white, a black belly patch, and a tall black plume. Females are grayer, with a smaller plume and no black face or belly patch.
The Gambel's Quail call is a loud, three- or four-part chi-CA-go-go that's easy to remember once you've heard it.
In New Mexico, look for them in desert scrub and mesquite in the southern and central parts of the state, including the Rio Grande Valley.
Feeder favorites: millet, cracked corn scattered on the ground
17. Pyrrhuloxia
- Family – Cardinalidae
- Species – Cardinalis sinuatus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird (southern New Mexico)
The Pyrrhuloxia is a desert cardinal with a thick, stubby yellow bill that looks borrowed from a parrot. Audubon's Pyrrhuloxia guide says winter flocks often wander away from where they nested, so you may find them in hedgerows and open woods you'd never check in summer.
Males are gray with red on the face, crest, wings, and center of the breast. Females are buffy gray with just a hint of red and a thin, spiky crest. Both have that curved, dull yellow bill, which is the quickest way to tell a female from a female Northern Cardinal.
The Pyrrhuloxia song is a series of whistles like a cardinal's, only thinner and shorter. Calls are sharp chips.
In New Mexico, look for them in mesquite and desert scrub in the south, including around Las Cruces and the lower Rio Grande Valley.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, safflower, millet
18. Greater Roadrunner
- Family – Cuculidae
- Species – Geococcyx californianus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- New Mexico State Bird (resident)
The Greater Roadrunner is a ground cuckoo that would rather sprint than fly. According to the National Park Service's roadrunner page, it can run up to 20 miles per hour and will eat almost anything it can catch, from lizards and mice to scorpions and rattlesnakes. It also has black skin under its feathers, which helps it warm up on cool days.
It's long and lanky, streaked brown and white, with a shaggy crest and a long tail that flicks up when it stops. Males and females look nearly identical.
The Greater Roadrunner call is a series of six to eight descending coos, often mistaken for a dove, and it does not, I'm sorry to report, say meep meep.
In winter, lizards are scarce, and KUNM reports Albuquerque roadrunners lean on the "Bird Feeder Economy", meaning the sparrows and mice that come to backyard seed. Look for them statewide below about 7,000 feet, on walls, trails, and roadsides.
19. 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 flicks its wings nonstop, like it just had a triple espresso. It eats insects and spiders gleaned from twigs, and in winter it'll come to suet.
It's olive-gray with a white eye ring broken at the top and bottom and white wing bars. Males have a red crown patch that's usually hidden unless they're excited or annoyed, and females don't have one.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet call is a husky, two-note ji-dit. Males sometimes start singing their surprisingly loud song in late winter.
In New Mexico they winter in cottonwood bosques, desert washes, and leafy neighborhoods, especially in the southern and central parts of the state.
Feeder favorites: suet, including the spreadable kind smeared on bark
20. Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Family – Parulidae
- Species – Setophaga coronata
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the warbler that didn't get the memo about migrating to the tropics. It can digest waxy berries most warblers can't, so it winters farther north than its relatives, and southern New Mexico is plenty warm enough.
In winter it's a brownish-gray warbler with a bright yellow rump patch and a dab of yellow on the sides. New Mexico gets both the "Audubon's" form, with a yellow throat, and the "Myrtle" form, with a white throat. Males are grayer and crisper, while females are browner.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler call is a flat chep, which you'll hear from the treetops before you see the bird.
In New Mexico they winter along the Rio Grande and in southern valleys and towns, often in loose flocks in cottonwoods and junipers.
Feeder favorites: suet, mealworms, and a bird bath
21. American Robin
- Family – Turdidae
- Species – Turdus migratorius
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Winter Migrant
The American Robin doesn't disappear in winter. It just stops hunting worms and starts roaming in flocks after fruit. The Taos News column notes that robins stay through winter wherever there's open water and berries like hawthorn, pyracantha, and juniper.
It has a warm orange breast, a gray-brown back, and a broken white eye ring. Males have darker heads and richer orange, while females are paler.
The American Robin call in winter is mostly a low tut-tut and a thin, high whistle in flight.
In New Mexico, robin flocks wander statewide in winter, from Taos neighborhoods to the bosque.
Feeder favorites: chopped fruit, softened raisins, mealworms, and fresh water
22. Cedar Waxwing
- Family – Bombycillidae
- Species – Bombycilla cedrorum
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Cedar Waxwing is a sleek, crested berry eater that moves in tight flocks, strips a tree clean, and leaves. It's the bird equivalent of a bachelorette party at a brunch spot.
It's soft brown-gray with a black mask, a pale yellow belly, a yellow-tipped tail, and white undertail feathers. Some have little red waxy tips on the wing feathers. Males and females look very similar.
The Cedar Waxwing call is a high, thin, buzzy sreee that's easy to miss if you've been to too many concerts.
In New Mexico, waxwings wander statewide in winter wherever there's fruit, especially junipers, crabapples, and pyracantha in towns.
23. Western Bluebird
- Family – Turdidae
- Species – Sialia mexicana
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Western Bluebird is a small thrush that switches from insects to berries in winter, especially juniper and mistletoe berries. Winter flocks roam through pinyon-juniper country looking for a good crop.
Males are deep blue on the head, wings, and tail with a rusty breast and often a rusty patch on the back. Females are gray-brown with a soft orange wash on the breast and blue in the wings and tail.
The Western Bluebird call is a soft, short kew or pew, often given in flight.
In New Mexico they're found in pinyon-juniper and open pine woods, and some move down to lower valleys in winter.
Feeder favorites: mealworms, suet, chopped fruit
24. Mountain Bluebird
- Family – Turdidae
- Species – Sialia currucoides
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Winter Migrant
The Mountain Bluebird hunts by hovering over open ground and dropping onto insects. In winter it eats more berries and gathers in flocks in grasslands and open country. Audubon's guide to birding New Mexico lists it among the winter birds at Bosque del Apache and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge.
Males are sky blue all over, paler underneath, with no orange. Females are gray-brown with pale blue on the wings and tail.
The Mountain Bluebird call is a soft, thin few.
In New Mexico, look for winter flocks in open grassland, pinyon-juniper edges, and farm fields, often perched on fences.
Feeder favorites: mealworms
25. Sandhill Crane
- Family – Gruidae
- Species – Antigone canadensis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime (dawn fly-outs, dusk fly-ins)
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Sandhill Crane is the headliner of New Mexico winter birds. American Bird Conservancy puts the Rio Grande Valley's wintering population at about 23,000, usually from November to February. They spend nights standing in shallow water for safety, then fly out at dawn to feed on waste grain and tubers in the fields.
They're tall and gray with a red forehead and a long neck. Many look rusty-brown, because they preen iron-rich mud into their feathers. Males and females look alike, though males are a bit larger.
The Sandhill Crane call is a loud, rolling, bugling garoo-a-a-a that carries for miles. Pairs call in unison, and you'll sometimes catch them dancing, with bows, leaps, and wing-flaps.
In New Mexico, the classic spot is Bosque del Apache near Socorro, where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the first cranes usually arrive at the end of October. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell, Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge, and Ladd S. Gordon Wildlife Management Area also host winter flocks.
26. Snow Goose
- Family – Anatidae
- Species – Anser caerulescens
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Snow Goose is the other half of the Bosque del Apache show. Tens of thousands winter in the Rio Grande Valley, and near dawn they lift off the roost ponds at once in a roaring white blizzard. (If you're going for the blast-off, bring gloves and a thermos. Dawn in the desert is a lot colder than the word "desert" suggests.)
Most are white with black wingtips and a pink bill with a dark "grin patch" along the edge. A dark form, called the "blue goose," has a white head and a dusky gray-brown body. Males and females look alike.
The Snow Goose call is a high, nasal, constant honking, and a big flock sounds like a stadium.
In New Mexico, look for them at Bosque del Apache and Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and in farm fields along the middle Rio Grande Valley.
27. Ross's Goose
- Family – Anatidae
- Species – Anser rossii
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Ross's Goose is a pocket-sized Snow Goose, and finding one in a flock is a winter rite of passage. Large numbers winter at Bosque del Apache mixed in with the Snow Geese.
It's white with black wingtips, like a Snow Goose, but smaller, with a rounder head and a short, stubby pink bill that lacks the black grin patch. Males and females look alike.
The Ross's Goose call is a higher, squeakier version of the Snow Goose's honk.
In New Mexico, look for them in Snow Goose flocks at Bosque del Apache and Bitter Lake. Scan for the smallest, cutest heads.
28. Northern Pintail
- Family – Anatidae
- Species – Anas acuta
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Northern Pintail is an elegant, long-necked dabbling duck that feeds on seeds by tipping up in shallow water. The FWS lists it among the more than 20 duck and goose species that regularly winter at Bosque del Apache.
Males have a chocolate-brown head, a white stripe running up the side of the neck, a gray body, and a long, needle-pointed tail. Females are mottled brown with a slim gray bill and a shorter pointed tail.
The Northern Pintail call is a soft, whistled prrip from males, while females give a hoarse quack.
In New Mexico, look on shallow wetlands and ponds along the Rio Grande, at Bosque del Apache, and at Bitter Lake.
29. Bald Eagle
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor
The Bald Eagle is mostly a winter visitor in New Mexico, and it follows the waterfowl. Audubon notes that Bald Eagles are common at Bosque del Apache from November into March, and they winter at Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, where they hunt ducks.
Adults have a dark brown body, a white head and tail, and a heavy yellow bill. Young eagles are blotchy brown and white and take about five years to get the full look. Males and females look alike, though females are larger.
The Bald Eagle call is a thin, chirpy whistle, much less heroic than the soundtrack suggests.
In New Mexico, look near reservoirs, rivers, and refuges with big waterfowl flocks, often perched in cottonwoods.
30. Ferruginous Hawk
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Buteo regalis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird / Winter Migrant
The Ferruginous Hawk is North America's largest hawk and a grassland specialist. In winter it hunts prairie dogs, rabbits, and ground squirrels, sometimes waiting on the ground beside a burrow.
Light-morph adults are rusty above with a pale head, white underparts, a whitish tail, and rusty feathered legs that make a dark "V" when it flies overhead. Males and females look alike, but females are larger.
The Ferruginous Hawk call is a harsh, descending kree-a, though it's quiet most of the winter.
In New Mexico, look over open grasslands and prairie dog towns, and Audubon lists it among the winter raptors at Bosque del Apache.
31. Cooper's Hawk
- Family – Accipitridae
- Species – Astur cooperii
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The Cooper's Hawk is a crow-sized hawk that hunts doves and songbirds by dashing through yards. If every bird at your feeder suddenly vanishes, check the nearest tree.
Adults are blue-gray above with a dark cap, fine orange barring on the chest, and a long, rounded, banded tail. Young birds are brown and streaky. Males and females look alike, but females are much bigger.
The Cooper's Hawk call is a loud, repeated cak-cak-cak, mostly heard near nests.
In New Mexico it's found statewide in wooded neighborhoods, parks, and bosques. The smaller, similar Sharp-shinned Hawk is also a winter feeder visitor.
32. American Kestrel
- Family – Falconidae
- Species – Falco sparverius
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird
The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America, and it hunts insects, mice, and small birds, often hovering in place before dropping.
Males have slate-blue wings and a rusty back and tail, while females are rusty brown throughout with dark barring. Both have two bold black stripes on the face.
The American Kestrel call is a rapid, shrill klee-klee-klee.
In New Mexico, look on power lines and fence posts along rural roads, especially in farm country and grasslands.
33. Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Leucosticte australis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Resident New Mexico Bird (northern peaks) / Winter Visitor (Sandia Crest)
The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch nests on alpine tundra in Colorado and the northern New Mexico high peaks and almost nowhere else. In winter, flocks drop down to places like Sandia Crest east of Albuquerque, which is one of the easiest spots in the country to see all three rosy-finch species in one day.
It's warm brown with pink on the belly, rump, and wings. Males have a darker brown cap and more pink, while females are duller.
The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch call is a husky, buzzy chew.
At Sandia Crest, rosy-finches show up from about late November to early March. Researchers who band them there told the New Mexico Wildlife magazine that flocks that used to number in the hundreds now often top out around 50 or 60 birds, so every sighting counts.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips
34. Black Rosy-Finch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Leucosticte atrata
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant (uncommon, Sandia Crest)
The Black Rosy-Finch breeds in the high peaks of the Great Basin and northern Rockies, and the Sandias are at the southern edge of its winter range. It's usually the one people drive up the mountain hoping for.
Males are blackish-brown with a gray band on the back of the head and pink on the belly and wings. Females are grayer and duller, with less pink.
The Black Rosy-Finch call is a buzzy chew, just like its cousins, so you'll have to sort them by looks.
In New Mexico, look for them mixed into rosy-finch flocks at and around the Sandia Crest parking area. The road is usually plowed, but check conditions after a storm.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips
35. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
- Family – Fringillidae
- Species – Leucosticte tephrocotis
- Primary Activity Time – Daytime
- Diurnal
- Winter Migrant / Visitor (Sandia Crest)
The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is the most widespread of the three, breeding from Alaska down through the northern Rockies and wintering as far south as the Sandias.
It's chocolate-brown with a black forehead, a gray band around the back of the head, and pink on the belly and wings. Some, from the "Hepburn's" group, have gray across the whole cheek. Males are brighter and pinker than females.
The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch call is a buzzy chew that blends with the flock.
In New Mexico, look for them with other rosy-finches at Sandia Crest in winter, especially after snow pushes them off the high ground.
Feeder favorites: black oil sunflower, sunflower chips
Where to See Birds of New Mexico in Winter
New Mexico has 549 recorded bird species, the fourth-highest state total in the country, and winter is when a lot of the big crowds show up. A few spots cover most of this list:
- Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The big one, south of Socorro. Come for sunrise, when the geese blast off the roosts, and stay for the cranes heading out to feed. The FWS says roost and feeding spots shift through the season, so check in at the visitor center first
- Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Near Roswell, with thousands of geese, ducks, and cranes from fall through spring
- Sandia Crest. At about 10,600 feet, it's the place for all three rosy-finches, plus Mountain Chickadees and juncos on the way up
- The Rio Grande bosque in Albuquerque. Easy access to winter sparrows, kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and cranes flying over the city
- Northern refuges. Las Vegas and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuges add cranes, Bald Eagles, Prairie Falcons, and the odd Northern Shrike
One thing the desert is short on in winter is unfrozen water, and a bird bath can pull in birds that never touch a feeder, like bluebirds, waxwings, and robins. Before you buy a fancy heated model, see if you can make do with what you have. Here's how to keep a bird bath from freezing in winter.
New Mexico Winter Birds FAQ
What birds come to New Mexico for the winter?
Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, Ross's Geese, and more than 20 kinds of ducks and geese winter along the Rio Grande and at refuges like Bosque del Apache and Bitter Lake. Smaller arrivals include White-crowned Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Goldfinches, northern juncos, and two of the three rosy-finches. Next door, the list looks different. See our guides to winter birds in Colorado and winter birds in Arizona.
What are the most common New Mexico birds in winter?
At feeders, the regulars are House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Flicker, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mountain Chickadee, Lesser and American Goldfinches, White-crowned Sparrow, and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. In FeederWatch's Southwest region, House Finches showed up at 94% of sites and juncos at 82%.
When is the best time to see Sandhill Cranes at Bosque del Apache?
Bird numbers peak from early November to late January. The first cranes and geese usually arrive at the end of October, and many leave by late February. Sunrise and sunset are the best times to watch the flocks fly.
Where can you see rosy-finches in New Mexico?
Sandia Crest, east of Albuquerque, is the place. All three species visit from about late November to early March, and numbers usually climb after a snowstorm.
What are the best birds of New Mexico to see only in winter?
Sandhill Cranes, Snow and Ross's Geese, Black and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, and wintering Bald Eagles are birds you'll mostly see in New Mexico between November and March. The state bird, the Greater Roadrunner, isn't one of them. It's here all year.
What New Mexico Winter Birds Have You Seen?
Whether you're watching a Snow Goose blast-off at dawn or counting rosy-finches at the top of the Sandias, share your sightings and find birders near you on the Sparkbird App.
And if a roadrunner sprints across your trail this winter, don't bother checking the sky for a falling anvil. I've looked. It's never there.
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