Last Updated on March 22, 2023 by Lily Aldrin
The Appalachian Highlands, Eastern New England Uplands, and The White Mountain area are all found in New Hampshire, the “Granite State.” Many birds visit, and some even settle in these three key locations, which are a blend of attractive habitats!
We’re going to speak about a few of those birds today. We’ll talk about New Hampshire’s most popular backyard birds.
New Hampshire is home to a variety of beautiful and vibrant birds. This may associate with its topography that which attracts a plethora of bird variety to it. Due to the abundance of woodland and its temperate weather, birds tend to reside in New Hampshire or pay frequent visits to it to forage.
| Image | Name |
|---|---|
 | Northern Cardinal |
 | Song Sparrow |
 | House Finch |
 | Dark-eyed Junco |
 | Red-Bellied Woodpecker |
 | Red-Winged Blackbird |
 | Downy Woodpecker |
 | Pileated Woodpecker |
 | Blue jay |
 | Common Grackle |
 | Eastern Bluebird |
 | Belted Kingfisher |
 | Blue-Headed Vireo |
 | American Robin |
 | Scarlet Tanager |
 | Black-capped Chickadee |
 | American Crow |
 | American Goldfinch |
 | White-breasted Nuthatch |
 | Hairy Woodpecker |
 | Tufted Titmouse |
 | Gray Catbird |
 | Purple finch |
 | Eastern screech owl |
Common Birds of New Hampshire
1. Northern Cardinal
Color
Northern cardinals have bright-red, gorgeous feathers all over their bodies and a red crest over their heads. Like other cardinal species, the Northern cardinal has a large beak that helps them split open seeds.
Females also have a similar body shape to males, but their plumage is pale brown and duller, with orange plumage on the tails, wings, and crest. Northern cardinals may be found all year round in New Hampshire, and they can also be found in open woodlands. They also are one of North America’s most frequent birds.
A significant population is found in the eastern area of the Rocky Mountains, whereas there is very few west of the Rockies.
Habitat
The Northern Cardinal prefers mixed woods with an open understory for foraging and deep cover for breeding.
Food
In these areas, they may find both fruit-bearing trees like oaks cherries; besides from them, they also find. Insect-rich flora to feed on.
Cardinals consume nuts, berries, caterpillars, spiders, insects, tiny lizards, and hatchlings of other birds and frogs, among other things.
2. Song Sparrow
Song Sparrows are a species of bird found in North America. The range of these birds extends from Ontario to the United States and Mexico. They may be found in various settings, although they prefer deep vegetation and heavy bushes.
Food
Ants, insects, spiders, moths, bugs, crickets, caterpillars, and snails are the tiny insects and invertebrates they consume.
These birds have a distinctive song that may be heard near water or on farmlands searching for food or nesting places. The finest time to listen to their music is in the spring.
3. House Finch
House finch is known to be one of New Hampshire’s most frequent backyard birds, and the males may be identified by their distinctive color.
Color
The rosy red plumage of the little bird spreads from its neck and chest to its wingspan, with brown streaks running down its body and tail. However, keep in mind that the richness of the red hue is strongly linked to the bird’s nutrition.
Females, on the other contrary, have a pale brown and grey coloring. These birds are among one those birds that may be found in your garden all year and may even nest in bird boxes.
4. Dark-eyed Junco
They are tiny birds belonging to the sparrow family. The junco is found across the Northern Hemisphere, including America, Eurasia, and Greenland. Juncos may be found in a variety of environments, including woods, deserts, marshes, and agriculture.
Because they prefer to live near people for safety reasons, they will commonly occupy human constructions such as stables or other outbuildings.
Food
Arthropods such as bugs, beetles, crickets, moths, spiders, and berries from shrubs and trees make up their diet. They are nomadic birds, which means they tend to migrate and they go south during the winter months.
5. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
The state of New Hampshire has a diverse range of woodpecker species. The Red-bellied woodpecker is known to be one of the most colorful woodpecker species, yet it is not the most common.
Additionally, these birds are accustomed to living in cities and visiting bird feeders, and sometimes even building nests in bird boxes.
Color
The back of the bird is decorated with a distinctive checkered pattern and a brilliant orange-red patch that runs throughout from the top of the head to the back.
As the name indicates, it also has a little crimson color on its belly. The bird eats a variety of insects and tiny fish found in ponds and rivers.
6. Red-Winged Blackbird
These birds are fascinating and spectacular birds prevalent in much of North America.
Color
The body is black with brilliant yellow and red feathers on both shoulders.
Males have a dark brown plumage with thick white streaks running across their wings and bellies, while females have a dark brown appearance with strong white streaks running through their wings and stomachs.
The bird-like to be near water and will frequently land in yards with bird fountains.
7. Downy Woodpecker
Even though New Hampshire has a wide range of woodpeckers, you’re more likely to see these birds than any other bird because they’re the most prevalent.
They’re smaller as compared to the other birds and possess unique red napes and stripes of white color on their heads, making them easy to spot.
They should not be confused with the Hairy Woodpecker, which is much bigger. Take note of the tail. The outer tail feathers of downy woodpeckers feature dots.
Food
Like the Red-bellied woodpecker, this bird is accustomed to living in urban areas and will browse in backyards, particularly if food, berries, or black oil sunflower seeds are placed out in the open.
Insects such as bees, beetles, caterpillars, worms, invertebrates, or maggots that hide beneath bark or logs and nuts, cherries, fruits, acorns, and seeds from maple and oak trees, are eaten by Downy Woodpeckers.
They may store seeds for the winter by burying them in tree holes or on the tops of fence posts.
Range
They are moderate birds that are widely distributed across North America. They may be found all over Canada and the eastern United States. Downy Woodpeckers may be seen in all 50 states.
Habitat
They may be found in a variety of environments, including deserts, prairies, highlands, woodlands, and swamps.
8. Pileated Woodpecker
One of the largest woodpecker species found in New Hampshire is the Pileated Woodpecker.
Color
The fiery red crown on its head distinguishes the bird, making it much easier to notice and identify. Males have black wings, while females have brown wings, allowing you to distinguish between them.
Food
While searching for insects, they are noted for the characteristic deep holes in rectangular style it produces in neighboring tree trunks.
Insects would account for half of the bird’s daily meals in an ideal world. On the other hand, Pileated woodpeckers would appreciate a secondary snack of fruits and nuts.
9. Blue Jay
They are fascinating bird species. Their range extends from the east coast of Canada to Texas. Deciduous woods, mixed woodlands, pine forests, shrub areas, and hilly areas.
Food
Blue Jays consume various foods, including nuts, seeds, insects (especially grasshoppers), fruits, eggs, nestlings, and carrion.
Blue jay migration patterns change according to the season. They will move south during the winter season when very little food is available due to leafless trees. In New Hampshire, they are the most frequent blue-colored birds. The bird is easily recognized by its dazzling cyan hue, black choker, and blue crown on its head.
It’s important to note that the blue color of the feather is caused by the structure of the feather rather than pigments; therefore, each particular plume is actually white. Some people might consider Blue jays to be a nuisance because of their extremely loud and persistent cries, despite their beautiful color and magnificent appearance.
Blue jays are incredibly intelligent and cunning since they can mimic a hawk’s cry to warn other birds. They’re also capable of cracking open hard nuts!
10. Common Grackle
The Common Grackle has a medium to big body size. The bird has a big beak and an even extended tail.
Habitat
The bird-like congregate in huge groups, particularly in lofty trees in old woods. When the birds are in a group, they may be fairly vocal, making them easy to recognize and identify.
Color
In addition, the bird has a distinct color pattern. The heads and necks of both males and females are covered in an iridescent blue plumage. Females, on the other hand, are usually paler than males.
11. Eastern Bluebird
The Eastern bluebird may be seen in abundance across New England. The bird is distinguished by its strikingly bright blue plumage covering its forehead, feathers, and back. The remainder of the physique is usually coated in white, brown, or bronze tones.
Habitat
Eastern bluebirds prefer to fly above broad fields and the countryside. Thus they are uncommon to land in backyards.
When they’re not foraging mealworms, lizards, tiny spiders, or tree frogs, the bird likes to rest on telephone lines and fence posts.
12. Belted Kingfisher
Even though the belted kingfisher is only seen in small numbers in the northeast, it appears to enjoy New Hampshire!
Color
They have a distinct appearance that makes them quite easy to recognize. The crown on top of the bird’s slate-blue head and the blueish grey plumage on the rear and tails, with black and blue wings, is the bird’s most distinguishing traits.
The underbelly of the bird is usually yellow. Female Belted kingfishers, on the other hand, have a broad brown-colored band across their bellies, which is how they got their name.
13. Blue-Headed Vireo
This Vireo can be found in mixed forests where pine trees and deciduous trees coexist in the summer. It moves slowly around the branches when it feeds, hunting for insects. Its nest, a hefty cup hung on a twig’s fork, is usually simple to spot.
The songbird is a tiny, stocky bird with a long and hefty tail. In comparison to singers, the bird’s legs are also thicker.
Color
The bird’s rear, tails, and wings are all a soft olive green hue. The bird’s name comes from white undersides and dark bluish-gray head coloration.
14. American Robin
This common bird has a striking orange hue that is uncommon among North American birds. The bird’s underparts and breasts are usually covered with reddish-orange plumage. Besides the white neck, the remaining of the robin’s body is midnight black.
Aside from its hue, the bird is noted for producing some of the most colorful eggs, which have a dazzling sky blue color, which makes them easy to spot from afar. The bird has a beautiful singing tone and will linger around in backyards, eating insects and fruits.
In North America, this bird is a tiny yet ubiquitous bird. During the summer, these birds are mostly found in the eastern parts of the United States of America as well as in Canada. The robins move to Mexico during the winter and stay until April.
Habitat
Grasslands, gardens, and even parks can also be located in wetland regions around ponds or lakes, which are all common habitats for robins.
Food
Earthworms are the principal food of robins, which they locate by probing soft dirt with their beaks.
15. Scarlet Tanager
The Scarlet Tanager is a cardinal rather than a manager despite its name. The hue of the bird is a vivid reddish-orange.
Both males and females have the color, which covers the bird’s whole body apart from the blackish tail and wings. Scarlet Tanager males are almost too brilliant and exotic for the northern woods.
Habitat
These birds are rather widespread in oak woodlands in the summer, although they typically stay hidden while they feed in the top leafy branches. When these birds return from their winter habitat in South America in the spring, a late freeze will push them out into the open as they seek insects along roadsides or in gardens.
Food
Scavenges mostly in huge trees (particularly oaks), intentionally seeking insects amid the leaves. Occasionally flies out to collect insects in mid-air and may hover for a little while capturing an item. It also forages in low bushes or on the ground in cold weather.
16. Black-capped Chickadee
These tiny songbirds dwell in the Northern Hemisphere and are also prevalent. This bird eats insects and seeds mostly but will also consume nuts, berries, and tree sap.
They feed on snow-covered trees or shrub buds in the winter. Birds flock to bird feeders in search of seeds or suet. Frequently reserves food to reclaim it later.
This little bird’s short neck and huge head give it a striking, spherical body form. They also have long, slender tails and a short beak that is somewhat thicker than that of a warbler but not as thick as a finch.
Black-capped Chickadees rarely stay at feeders unless they want to take grain to eat elsewhere. They are athletic and form flocks. With a bouncing flight, they frequently fly across roadways and open spaces one at a time.
17. American Crow
In North America, the American Crow is considered a common and prolific bird. As it hunts down for food on the surface or goes up to consume insects from trees, this bird eats both plants and animals.
It lives in rural regions, suburban communities, municipal parks, and other areas with plenty of food or water sources across North America.
Crows can congregate in communal roosts on winter evenings, especially when not breeding.
Food
Ants, worms, slugs, roundworms, frogs, tiny reptiles, crabs, carrion, rubbish, and offspring of other birds, grain, cherries, and fruit appear to be among their favorite meals.
18. American Goldfinch
The American Goldfinch is a tiny bird with a wide range of habitats. They are endemic to North America and breed in the far North. The migration movements of these birds are determined by their habitat.
Food
When they can locate them, they consume grasshoppers, crickets, aphids, weevils, beetles, and seeds and fruits.
It forages among plants, bushes, and trees to obtain the seeds, frequently climbing acrobatically on plants like thistles. Usually forages in flocks, except during mating season. Frequently visits feeders in search of tiny seeds.
19. White-breasted Nuthatch
The White-breasted Nuthatch belongs to the Sittidae family of birds. They may be found across Eastern North America, from Canada to Florida, and even into Mexico.
White-breasted, the back of a nuthatch is gray-blue, with a white face and white underparts. The black or grey hat and neck surround the face and provide the appearance of a hood on this bird. Chestnut is commonly found on the lower abdomen and under the tail.
Insects, seeds, nuts, and berries, which they obtain on trees or in feeders, are the nuthatches’ main sources of nutrition. White-breasted Nuthatches are fast-moving birds that scurry over trunks and huge branches, their straight, pointed beak digging into bark furrows.
20. Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpeckers are a widespread North American bird with a wide variety of habitats. Canada, the United States, and Mexico are all home to them. They dwell in various environments, although the woods, jungles, and suburban areas near homes are the most prevalent.
Food
They eat largely termites and other invertebrates that they locate on the ground or obtain through pecking at tree bark. They’ll consume fruit, larvae, nuts, spider, slugs, tiny reptiles like lizards and snakes, and larvae discovered beneath logs or rocks, among other things.
21. Tufted Titmouse
The Tufted Titmouse is a tiny, stocky songbird with a short tail and an average weight of 8.6 grams.
Habitat
Parks, yards, forests, meadows, lots of trees areas, and suburbs are among the titmice’s preferred habitats, including gardens, lawns, woods, farms, wooded areas, and suburbs.
Food
It consumes caterpillars, ants, beetles, and spiders, particularly during the summer months. The diet adjusts to include more cherries and nuts from oak and hickory trees when winter arrives.
22. Gray Catbird
Gray Catbirds are named for the catty mew sound they make, lasting up to 10 minutes.
Grey feathers, a black head and tail, and a red mark under their seats distinguish these medium-sized songbirds.
Habitat
Gray Catbirds live in dense shrubs, small trees, forest edges, and hedgerows.
Dogwood, winterberry, and serviceberry are examples of fruit and fruit trees or shrubs that might draw more of these birds to feeders.
23. Purple Finch
The Purple finch is one of the most striking birds that may be seen in New Hampshire. The bird’s predominant color is raspberry-red, with purple tints strewn throughout its body, despite its name.
Habitat & Food
They have a rather wide bill relative to other sparrows and are usually found perching in open woodlands and forested places. However, because they eat insects, they usually graze on the ground.
24. Eastern Screech Owl
Despite their tiny structure, they are amongst the most widespread birds that one may see in New Hampshire. The bird blends in well because of its modest coloring, making it tough to see.
Even though the bird is completely nocturnal, it enjoys hanging out in residential neighborhoods and suburban regions. The bird is noted for having artificial ear tufts that it uses to communicate with other birds and scare them.
Conclusion
We have talked about a variety of birds that can be seen throughout the length and breadth of New Hampshire. The distinctive features of these birds have been discussed and their eating patterns and preferences.
FAQ
Is there any state bird of New Hampshire?
Yes, it is the purple finch.
Can we look for an eastern screech owl in New Hampshire?
Yes, the eastern screech owl resides in New Hampshire.
Are hairy woodpeckers omnivores?
Yes, when it comes to their foraging regime, they are omnivore birds.
Which bird has a fiery red crown?
Pileated woodpeckers have such features.
