Rare Bird Review List

The species in the review list always require documentation, reviewed by the seven member Records Committee, to archive the details of birds rare in Iowa.  This list is subject to change annually as we learn more about distribution and as records ebb and flow.  Check back after the Records Committee annual meeting, usually in October, to see those changes.

The following species, although meeting criteria to be regular in the state, should be documented when they are observed away from known locations:

  • Bewick's Wren - Argyle junkyard, Lee County
Go to Documentation Form

Some Iowa Rare Birds

  • Black-headed Grosbeak
    Photo by Ann Johnson
  • Roseate Spoonbill
    Photo by Paul Roisen
  • Brown Booby
    Photo by Stephen J. Dinsmore
  • Mexican Violetear
    Photo by Paul Roisen
  • Western Tanager
    Photo by Kathi Cunningham
  • Heermann's Gull
    Photo by Aaron Brees
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
    Photo by Stephen J. Dinsmore
  • Boreal Owl
    Photo by Scott Garrett
  • White-tailed Kite
    Photo by Larry Reis
Status Bar DEFINITIONS
Casual - recorded in 3-8 of the last 10 years
Accidental - recorded in 0-3 of the last 10 years
Extirpated - Gone from Iowa
Fulvous Whistling-Duck - Accidental

Taiga Bean Goose - Accidental

Tundra Bean-Goose - Accidental

Garganey - Accidental

Eurasian Wigeon - Accidental

Mottled Duck - Casual

King Eider - Accidental

Common Eider - Accidental

Barrow's Goldeneye - Accidental

Greater Prairie-Chicken - Accidental

Clark's Grebe - Accidental

Inca Dove - Accidental

Common Ground Dove - Accidental

Groove-billed Ani - Accidental

Mexican Violetear - Accidental

Anna's Hummingbird - Accidental

Rufous Hummingbird - Casual

Broad-billed Hummingbird - Accidental

Purple Gallinule - Accidental

Limpkin - Accidental

Whooping Crane - Accidental

Long-billed Curlew - Accidental

Bar-tailed Godwit - Accidental

Red Knot - Casual

Ruff - Casual

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - Accidental

Curlew Sandpiper - Accidental

Pomarine Jaeger - Accidental

Parasitic Jaeger - Casual

Long-tailed Jaeger - Accidental

Thick-billed Murre - Accidental

Long-billed Murrelet - Accidental

Ancient Murrelet - Accidental

Ivory Gull - Accidental

Black-headed Gull - Accidental

Little Gull - Casual

Ross's Gull - Accidental

Black-tailed Gull - Accidental

Heermann's Gull - Accidental

Short-billed Gull - Accidental

Slaty-backed Gull - Accidental

Glaucous-winged Gull - Accidental

Arctic Tern - Accidental

Royal Tern - Accidental

Yellow-billed Loon - Accidental

Wood Stork - Accidental

Magnificent Frigatebird - Accidental

Brown Booby - Accidental

Anhinga - Accidental

Tricolored Heron - Accidental

Reddish Egret - Accidental

White Ibis - Accidental

Roseate Spoonbill - Casual

White-tailed Kite - Accidental

Northern Hawk Owl - Accidental

Great Gray Owl - Accidental

Boreal Owl - Accidental

Lewis's Woodpecker - Accidental

Acorn Woodpecker - Accidental

Red-breasted Sapsucker - Accidental

Black-backed Woodpecker - Accidental

Crested Caracara - Accidental

Fork-tailed Flycatcher - Accidental

Western Wood-Pewee - Accidental

"Western" Flycatcher - Accidental

Vermilion Flycatcher - Accidental

Canada Jay - Accidental

Pinyon Jay - Accidental

Clark's Nutcracker - Accidental

Common Raven - Accidental

Boreal Chickadee - Accidental

Violet-green Swallow - Accidental

Cave Swallow - Accidental

Pygmy Nuthatch - Accidental

Pacific Wren - Accidental

Curve-billed Thrasher - Accidental

Sage Thrasher - Accidental

Sprague's Pipit - Casual

Brambling - Accidental

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch - Accidental

Hoary Redpoll - Casual

Lesser Goldfinch - Accidental

Chestnut-collared Longspur - Accidental

Black-throated Sparrow - Accidental

Lark Bunting - Accidental

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Accidental

Baird's Sparrow - Accidental

Green-tailed Towhee - Accidental

Hooded Oriole - Accidental

Bullock's Oriole - Casual

Scott's Oriole - Accidental

Swainson's Warbler - Accidental

MacGillivray's Warbler - Accidental

Black-throated Gray Warbler - Accidental

Townsend's Warbler - Accidental

Black-headed Grosbeak - Casual