Pacific Northwest Birds Identification: Common Species

Pacific Northwest bird identification starts with a short list of yard birds that turn up across Seattle, Portland and the towns around them. The marks below come from Bird Alliance of Oregon's guide to Portland backyard birds, Explore Washington State's list of common Washington birds, and the Audubon field guide.

At the feeder

• Black-capped Chickadee: round, tiny body, large head, black cap; calls its name, chicka-dee-dee-dee.
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee: the Northwest's own chickadee, only along the west coast and in the Pacific Northwest; dense forests and suburbs.
• Dark-eyed Junco: dark gray hood and bright white outer tail feathers that flash when it flies. Bird Alliance of Oregon cites an estimated 630 million across the continent.
• Red-breasted Nuthatch: plump, short-tailed, gray-blue back and a light reddish wash below; works down tree trunks.
• House Finch: males red on head, breast and rump, a color that comes from their diet.
• Pine Siskin: small, gray-brown with a yellowish wash and a needle-point bill; arrives in flocks and takes over feeders.
• American Goldfinch: bright yellow males with black cap and wings; almost exclusively seed eaters.

On the ground and in shrubs

• Spotted Towhee: robin-sized, black hood and back with bold white spots, rusty sides; scratches noisily in leaf litter.
• Song Sparrow: streaky brown sparrow of backyards, forests and wetlands.
• White-crowned Sparrow: white crown bordered by two bold black lines, gray body, yellowish triangular bill; parks and even parking lots.
• American Robin: pulls earthworms from lawns in the morning and eats more fruit later in the day.

Larger yard birds

• Steller's Jay: deep blue with a black crest; commoner near dense forest and known to imitate Red-tailed Hawks.
• California Scrub-Jay: the jay that hides peanuts in your planters, with a harsh screaming call.
• Northern Flicker: large brown woodpecker with black spots, white rump patch in flight; males have a red "mustache". Often on the ground eating ants and beetles.
• Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers: black-and-white; the Downy is North America's smallest woodpecker with a bill half the size of the Hairy's.

Hummingbirds and flocks

• Anna's Hummingbird: males with a magenta head, females green and white; year-round.
• Rufous Hummingbird: orange males, orange-and-green females; from late February.
• Bushtit: tiny gray birds moving in flocks of 10 to 40 all year; males have dark eyes, females yellow eyes.
• Cedar Waxwing: drawn to native trees and shrubs with small fruit.

• Black-capped vs Chestnut-backed Chickadee: both have a black cap and white cheeks; look at the back. The Chestnut-backed is the one with chestnut on the back; Bird Alliance of Oregon notes it lives in dense forests and suburbs, and only along the west coast and in the Pacific Northwest.
• American Robin vs Varied Thrush: the Varied Thrush has an orange throat and eyebrow, a dark chest band and extensive orange wing markings (Audubon). It lives in dense, wet coastal forest of fir, hemlock and spruce and feeds on the ground under cover.
• American Robin vs Spotted Towhee: similar size and rusty color, but the towhee has a black hood and bold white spots on back, wings and tail corners, and scratches in leaf litter (Audubon).
• Anna's vs Rufous Hummingbird: magenta head versus orange. In winter, a hummingbird in Portland is almost certainly an Anna's (Bird Alliance of Oregon).
• Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker: judge the bill against the head. Cornell Lab notes the Downy's bill is about half the length of its head and the Hairy's about equal to it.
• Steller's Jay vs California Scrub-Jay: the Steller's Jay is the deep blue bird with a black crest and is commoner near dense forest.

Oregon's official list is long: Wikipedia, citing the Oregon Bird Records Committee, gives 547 species as of August 2022, and the state bird is the Western Meadowlark. The birds most people see in Oregon yards are a much shorter list. Bird Alliance of Oregon's guide to Portland metro backyard birds names 17: American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Flicker, Anna's and Rufous Hummingbirds, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Spotted Towhee, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, California Scrub-Jay, Steller's Jay, American Robin, House Finch, Bushtit and Cedar Waxwing.

Audubon Washington reports that more than 500 bird species have been observed in the state, which has 75 Important Bird Areas including 14 of global importance. The species it highlights show how varied the region is: Surf Scoter and Dunlin on the coast, and Greater Sage-Grouse, Sagebrush Sparrow and Sage Thrasher in the dry sagebrush east of the Cascades. A bird you cannot match to the yard list above may simply belong to a different habitat, so note whether you were on salt water, in wet forest or in open sagebrush.

• All year: Anna's Hummingbird, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bushtits in flocks, Steller's Jay and the woodpeckers.
• Late February to spring: Rufous Hummingbirds arrive. Song Sparrows start breeding as temperatures warm, not only by day length (Bird Alliance of Oregon).
• Early breeding season: male Spotted Towhees sing on 70 to 90 percent of mornings, dropping to about 5 percent once paired, so a singing towhee in spring is often still unpaired.
• June and July: American Goldfinches nest later than most birds, waiting for thistles.
• Winter: Varied Thrush movements vary from year to year, and some stray as far as the Atlantic coast (Audubon).

It is a feeding tip that circulates online: cooked potato is a cheap source of carbohydrate that some birds will eat. BirdTipper's guidance is the part that matters. Raw potatoes contain solanine, which can harm birds, so only cooked potato is offered; skins, green or sprouted potatoes are left out; and it is served plain, without salt, butter or seasoning, mashed or chopped small. It is a treat rather than a staple because it lacks protein, and generalists such as crows and ravens are the likeliest takers. BirdTipper also warns that food on the ground can draw unwanted animals, including coyotes.

A photo taken at the feeder or on a branch is usually enough. NatureLens identifies the bird from the photo, with free scans every day; check the result against the look-alike pairs above, and against the season: a Rufous Hummingbird in January or a Varied Thrush on an open lawn in July should make you look again. If you only remember a description, see bird identification by description.

Research and drafting for this page used AI assistance. Every number, date, price and claim was then checked against the sources listed below, which were opened and read on 2026-09-25. Where a source could not be opened directly, the fact was confirmed on another page from the same organization, and the organization is named in the text.