Birds in Illinois: Identification Guide for Birdwatchers

Illinois is a great state for birdwatching because it has prairies, forests, wetlands, rivers, lakes, farms, city parks, and neighborhoods. This mix gives birders a chance to see backyard birds, water birds, hawks, owls, woodpeckers, sparrows, blackbirds, herons, ducks, warblers, and many migrating songbirds.

Birds in Illinois change by season and habitat. Spring and fall migration can bring warblers, shorebirds, waterfowl, hawks, and songbirds through the state. Wetlands and rivers attract ducks, geese, herons, and egrets, while forests and neighborhoods are home to cardinals, robins, blue jays, chickadees, woodpeckers, wrens, and nuthatches.

This guide covers common and interesting birds in Illinois, with simple identification tips based on color, size, habitat, season, and behavior. You can also explore our main Birds in the United States guide to find bird identification pages for all 50 states.

Quick Look at Birds in Illinois

Bird	Main ID Clue	Common Habitat
Northern Cardinal	Bright red male, crest	Backyards, shrubs, woodland edges
American Robin	Orange chest, gray-brown back	Lawns, parks, open woods
Blue Jay	Blue body, crest, loud call	Forests, yards, parks
Black-capped Chickadee	Black cap, white cheeks	Woods, feeders, neighborhoods
Red-bellied Woodpecker	Barred back, red head markings	Woodlands, feeders, yards
Downy Woodpecker	Small black-and-white woodpecker	Yards, woods, parks
Red-tailed Hawk	Broad wings, reddish tail	Roadsides, fields, forests
Great Blue Heron	Tall gray-blue wading bird	Rivers, ponds, wetlands
Mallard	Green-headed male duck	Lakes, ponds, rivers
Red-winged Blackbird	Black male, red shoulder patches	Marshes, fields, wetlands