Quick answer
Where you live in Texas changes the yard list a lot: the Piney Woods of East Texas share their birds with the Southeast, the Rio Grande Valley has Green Jays and Great Kiskadees, and far West Texas has desert birds like the Pyrrhuloxia. The state bird, the Northern Mockingbird, is an everyday yard bird across much of the state, and spring brings Painted Buntings and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.
In this guide
Texas is big enough to hold several bird worlds at once. Across much of the state, the everyday backyard crowd includes the Northern Mockingbird, which is the state bird, along with the Northern Cardinal, White-winged and Mourning Doves, House Finch and Great-tailed Grackle. In the eastern and central parts of the state, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays and Carolina Wrens join them. Winter brings American Goldfinches, sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers from the north, and spring brings hummingbirds, Painted Buntings and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.
Where you live changes the list a lot. The Piney Woods of East Texas share their birds with the Southeast. The Rio Grande Valley has species found almost nowhere else in the US, and far West Texas has desert birds. The tables below start with the statewide picture, then break it down by region.
Texas backyard birds by season
| Time of year | Birds in Texas yards and at feeders | Set out |
|---|---|---|
| All year | Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, White-winged Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, House Finch, Great-tailed Grackle; in the east and center also Carolina Chickadee, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker; in the center, south and west also Black-crested Titmouse, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Inca Dove, Lesser Goldfinch | Black oil sunflower, safflower, white millet, suet, water |
| Winter (roughly November to March) | American Goldfinch, Chipping and White-crowned Sparrows, White-throated Sparrow in the east, Dark-eyed Junco in the north and west, Harris's Sparrow in north Texas, Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, American Robin | Sunflower chips, nyjer, millet on a tray, suet, open water in freezes |
| Spring (March to May) | Returning hummingbirds and Purple Martins, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Painted and Indigo Buntings, orioles, and migrant warblers, tanagers and grosbeaks, especially near the coast | Nectar, orange halves, millet, a bird bath |
| Summer (June to August) | Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the east, Black-chinned Hummingbird in the center and west, Painted Bunting, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift | Nectar changed often, water in shade, millet, no-melt suet dough |
| Fall (September to November) | Migrating hummingbirds, returning sparrows and goldfinches, migrant warblers, flocks of blackbirds and grackles | Nectar until the last hummingbird leaves, sunflower, millet |
Seasons run early in Texas. Hummingbirds and martins can arrive in South Texas and along the coast while the north of the state is still getting freezes, and winter birds stay into April in some years.
Birds by region: East, Central, Coast, South and West
| Region | Signature yard birds | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| East Texas (Piney Woods) | Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pine Warbler, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird | Much like the Southeast; Ruby-throated is the summer hummingbird |
| Upper Gulf Coast | Boat-tailed and Great-tailed Grackles, White-winged Dove, Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker | Spring migration can bring big fallouts of warblers, tanagers and orioles after storms |
| Central Texas and Hill Country | Black-crested Titmouse, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinch, Bewick's Wren, Inca Dove, Painted Bunting | Black-chinned is the summer hummingbird |
| South Texas and Rio Grande Valley | Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Plain Chachalaca, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Altamira Oriole, Long-billed Thrasher | Many of these are found in the US only in South Texas |
| West Texas and Trans-Pecos | Pyrrhuloxia, Cactus Wren, Curve-billed Thrasher, Scaled Quail, Black-throated Sparrow, Ladder-backed Woodpecker | Water often draws more birds than food |
| Panhandle and North Texas | Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Harris's Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco in winter, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in summer | Coldest winters in the state; Mississippi Kites nest in many towns in summer |
The state bird: the Northern Mockingbird
The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas, and it suits the job. It is a slim gray bird with a long tail, and it flashes big white wing patches and white outer tail feathers when it flies. Its song is a long medley of phrases, many borrowed from other birds, with each phrase usually repeated several times before it moves on. In spring and summer, unmated males often sing at night.
Mockingbirds rarely eat at seed feeders. They eat insects in the warm months and switch to berries and fruit in fall and winter, when one bird may guard a fruiting shrub from every other bird in the yard. To bring them in:
- Plant native fruiting shrubs such as yaupon holly, possumhaw and American beautyberry.
- Offer suet, mealworms or chopped fruit on a tray.
- Keep a bird bath filled, especially in summer heat.
Mockingbirds defend their nests boldly and may dive at cats, dogs and even people who get close in spring. That phase passes once the young leave the nest. More ideas are in the guide to attracting mockingbirds.
Cardinals and doves at Texas feeders
Northern Cardinal and Pyrrhuloxia
Northern Cardinals live year-round across most of Texas and come readily to safflower and black oil sunflower on hopper and platform feeders. In West and South Texas, look twice at any cardinal-shaped bird: the Pyrrhuloxia is a close relative that is mostly gray, with a red-tipped crest and a stubby yellow bill; the male adds a red face and red down the center of the breast. See how to attract cardinals for feeder and shrub ideas that suit both.
White-winged Dove
The White-winged Dove was once mainly a bird of South Texas brushland. It has since spread across much of the state and is now common in many Texas towns and cities. Compared with a Mourning Dove, it is stockier, with a square tail tipped in white, a bold white stripe along the edge of the folded wing, and blue skin around a red-orange eye. In flight, broad white wing bands make it easy to spot. Its song is often written as "who cooks for you."
White-winged Doves eat sunflower, millet, milo and cracked corn, and they arrive in groups. If they crowd out smaller birds, use tube feeders with short perches or feeders caged for small birds, and scatter a little millet on the ground well away from the main feeders to give them their own spot.
Other doves
The Inca Dove is small and slim, with a scaly-looking pattern and a long tail, and it shows rusty wing patches in flight. Its call is often described as sounding like "no hope." The Eurasian Collared-Dove, a non-native bird with a black half-collar on the back of its neck, is now found all over Texas. The collared dove identification guide covers how to separate it from native doves.
Hummingbirds and buntings
East Texas hosts the Ruby-throated Hummingbird in summer, while Central and West Texas have the Black-chinned Hummingbird. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird, with a green throat and a red bill, lives year-round in the Rio Grande Valley and along the South Texas coast. In late summer and fall, Rufous Hummingbirds pass through, especially in the west, and some hummingbirds spend the winter along the coast and in South Texas.
- Timing: have feeders up by early March along the coast and in South Texas, and by mid-March across most of the rest of the state. Leave them up through October. Near the coast and in South Texas, one feeder left up through winter may host a wintering hummingbird.
- Recipe: 1 part plain white sugar to 4 parts water, no red dye and no honey. See the hummingbird nectar recipe for details.
- Heat: in a Texas summer, nectar spoils fast. Hang feeders in shade and change the nectar every day or two when it is hot.
The Painted Bunting breeds across much of Texas from about April to September. The male is almost unbelievable: blue head, red underparts and a green back. Females are a clear lime green. They feed low, close to cover, and take white millet from a low tray or the ground near shrubs. The guide to attracting painted buntings has the details.
Feeding birds in Texas weather
- Heat and drought: water brings in more birds than seed for much of the year. Keep a shallow bird bath in partial shade, and rinse and refill it daily in summer.
- Humidity: along the coast, seed can clump and mold within days. Fill feeders with only a few days' worth, use covered feeders, and clean them often.
- Suet: plain suet turns soft and rancid in heat. Offer it from about November through February, and switch to no-melt suet dough in warm months or skip it.
- Ants at nectar feeders: use an ant moat filled with water above the feeder. Never put grease or insecticide on the hanger.
- Freezes: hard freezes reach most of Texas from time to time, including the south. During a cold snap, keep feeders full and water open, and add extra suet and millet for birds that are not used to the cold.
- Grackles: Great-tailed Grackles can empty a feeder fast. Tube feeders with short perches and safflower in place of sunflower help keep more food for smaller birds.
Questions people ask
Which common birds of Texas are found across much of the state?
Across much of the state, the everyday backyard crowd includes the Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal, White-winged and Mourning Doves, House Finch and Great-tailed Grackle. In the eastern and central parts of the state, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays and Carolina Wrens join them.
What birds are common in Texas in winter?
American Goldfinches, Chipping and White-crowned Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Cedar Waxwings and robins, plus Dark-eyed Juncos in the north and west and White-throated Sparrows in the east.
What is the dove with white on its wings in Texas?
The White-winged Dove. It has a white stripe along the edge of the folded wing, broad white wing bands in flight, a square tail tipped in white and blue skin around the eye.
When should you put out hummingbird feeders in Texas?
By early March along the coast and in South Texas, and by mid-March in most of the rest of the state. Leave them up through October, or through winter near the coast and in South Texas.
Written by the Backyard Birdcam team with AI assistance. Found something we got wrong? Email shop@smarternewsnow.com and we will fix it. How we write our guides.
