The Most Commonly Seen Bird In Iowa Is NOT The Goldfinch

The state bird of Iowa is the American Goldfinch. It officially became the state bird in 1933. Yet contrary to popularly belief, it is not the most commonly seen bird in Iowa, and before you ask, no it's not hawks either.

If you ever want to see a goldfinch here is what they look like according to statesymbolsusa.org,

The male goldfinch has a bright yellow body with black wings and tail, and black on top of his head. The female's plumage is more muted with an olive-yellow body and dark brown tail and wings.

If you are a fan of birds, you already know the answer to this, but a list produced by avid bird watchers actually has the Goldfinch in as the 6th most seen bird in Iowa on average. The full list is as follows:

Northern Cardinal (48% frequency)
American Robin (46%)
Black-capped Chickadee (41%)
Blue Jay (39%)
Downy Woodpecker (36%)
American Goldfinch (35%)
American Crow (35%)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (33%)
Mourning Dove (32%)
White-breasted Nuthatch (32%)

Get our free mobile app

For the Summer the Goldfinch actually moves up to the top five

1. American Robin (68%)
2. Mourning Dove (52%)
3. Northern Cardinal (51%)
4. House Wren (49%)
5. American Goldfinch (49%)

You can find even more lists and statistics about Iowa birds here.

If you ever want to feed these birds with a feeder statesymbolsusa.org suggests,

The diet of the eastern Goldfinch consists mainly of seeds from dandelions, sunflowers, ragweed, and evening primrose.

Illinois state bird is the Northern Cardinal, and that actually isn't their most commonly seen bird either. You can learn more about that here. 

The Wisconsin state bird is the American robin. You can learn more about that here.