North Carolina and South Carolina are home to over 400 bird species. Avid birders can view many of these in their backyards or local green spaces. Some of these feathered beauties are seen all over the Carolinas while others only inhabit the mountain, inland, or coastal regions.
Below are birds I have personally spotted in the Carolinas. There are other species not listed which you may encounter on your travels.
Birds of Prey
Also called raptors, birds of prey typically include buzzards, eagles, falcons, hawks, kites, ospreys, owls, and vultures that hunt and feed on vertebrates.
Eagles
- Bald Eagles
Hawks
- Red-Shouldered Hawks
Kites
- Mississippi Kites
Ospreys
- Ospreys
Owls
- Barred Owls
Vultures
- Black Vultures
- Turkey Vultures
Hummingbirds
These birds were named for the humming sound their wings make as they flap. Hummingbirds can hover in place longer than other birds and are the only ones able to fly backward.
Hummingbirds
- Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds
Songbirds (Small)
When I think of small songbirds, chickadees, gnatcatchers, kinglets, nuthatches, sparrows, swallows, titmice, treecreepers, vireos, warblers, and wrens come to mind.
Chickadees and Titmice
- Black-Capped Chickadees
- Carolina Chickadees
- Tufted Titmice
Flycatchers
- Acadian Flycatchers
Gnatcatchers
- Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers
Kinglets
- Golden-Crowned Kinglets
- Ruby-Crowned Kinglets
Nuthatches
- Brown-Headed Nuthatches
- White-Breasted Nuthatches
Sparrows
- Chipping Sparrows
- Dark-Eyed Juncos
- Field Sparrows
- Fox Sparrows
- Savannah Sparrows
- Song Sparrows
- Swamp Sparrows
- White-Throated Sparrows
Swallows
- Barn Swallows
Treecreepers
- Brown Creepers
Vireos
- Blue-Headed Vireos
Warblers
- American Redstarts
- Black-and-White Warblers
- Black-Throated Blue Warblers
- Black-Throated Green Warblers
- Common Yellowthroats
- Magnolia Warblers
- Northern Parulas
- Ovenbirds
- Palm Warblers
- Pine Warblers
- Prothonotary Warblers
- Yellow-Rumped Warblers
Wrens
- Carolina Wrens
- House Wrens
- Winter Wrens
Songbirds (Medium to Large)
Cardinals, crows, finches, flycatchers, jays, magpies, mockingbirds, ravens, starlings, thrashers, thrushes, and waxwings all fall into what I consider medium to large songbirds.
Cardinals
- Blue Grosbeaks
- Indigo Buntings
- Northern Cardinals
Chats
- Yellow-Breasted Chats
Corvids
- American Crows
- Blue Jays
Finches
- American Goldfinches
- House Finches
- Pine Siskins
Flycatchers
- Eastern Kingbirds
- Eastern Phoebes
- Great Crested Flycatchers
Icterids
- Boat-Tailed Grackles
- Brown-Headed Cowbirds
- Common Grackles
- Red-Winged Blackbirds
- Rusty Blackbirds
Mimids
- Brown Thrashers
- Gray Catbirds
- Northern Mockingbirds
Starlings
- Common Starlings
Thrushes
- American Robins
- Eastern Bluebirds
- Hermit Thrushes
Towhees
- Eastern Towhees
Waxwings
- Cedar Waxwings
Water Birds
I grouped birds that are found in and around water such as anhingas, bitterns, cormorants, ducks, egrets, geese, herons, ibises, loons, pelicans, plovers, sandpipers, swans, and terns.
Anhingas
- Anhingas
Cormorants
- Double-Crested Cormorants
Ducks
- Black-Bellied Whistling-Ducks
- Blue-Winged Teals
- Buff Orpingtons
- Duclair Ducks
- Hooded Mergansers
- Mallards
- Muscovy Ducks
- Swedish Blues
- Wood Ducks
Geese
- Canadian Geese
Gulls
- Laughing Gulls
- Ring-Billed Gulls
Herons and Egrets
- Black-Crowned Night Herons
- Great Blue Herons
- Great Egrets
- Green Herons
- Little Blue Herons
- Snowy Egrets
- Tricolored Herons
- Yellow-Crowned Night Herons
Ibises
- White Ibises
Kingfishers
- Belted Kingfishers
Loons
- Common Loons
Pelicans
- Brown Pelicans
Plovers
- Killdeer
Rails
- American Coots
- Common Gallinules
- Soras
Skimmers and Terns
- Black Skimmers
- Least Terns
Woodpeckers
Using their beaks, these birds drill holes in trees to nest and roost. Their diet includes fruit, eggs, small animals, and tree sap. Often, I spot woodpeckers because of their drumming or chirping calls.
Woodpeckers
- Downy Woodpeckers
- Northern Flickers
- Pileated Woodpeckers
- Red-Bellied Woodpeckers
- Red-Headed Woodpeckers
- Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers
I love spotting a new bird and trying to figure out which species it is! There are always birds to see or songs to hear on hikes in the Carolinas.
What is your favorite bird? Comment below!
BEAUTIFUL photography! Makes me want to step outside…on second thought, I AM stepping outside?
Thank you! Great, enjoy your time outside and hopefully you spot some feathered friends 🙂
I didn’t know you have seen that many different birds.
Nice pictures.
Hopefully you will be able to see some more this spring/summer.
Yes! I’m becoming a proper birder now 😉
We get a lot of those birds… The name of the one that puzzles me most is the red bellied woodpecker… They have a red head but no red belly… At least not the ones that come here… Great pictures though…
Thanks Ken! Yes, red-bellied woodpeckers are confusing. There is a small, red patch on their bellies often hidden by their other feathers. Red-headed woodpeckers’ faces are full red while red-bellied woodpeckers have white faces.