Birds of South Carolina

South Carolina, in particular, is a bird-watchers paradise. It is home to more than 430 species of wild birds and more than 5,000 acres of preserved wildlife habitat. April through September are the prime months for bird watching in South Carolina but there are many other times throughout the year when you can enjoy the state’s lush marshes and wetlands without having to share them with other people.

Luckily in North and South Carolina, there are some beaches that are protected as national or state seashores and therefore development is not allowed. What is more the reserves on public land are managed and protected directly by the state Department of Natural Resources in partnership with other government agencies and local preservation groups. These reserves are open for bird-watching all year, whether it is during the morning, afternoon, or evening hours.

Bird watchers who come to South Carolina will find an abundance of bird-watching opportunities, especially within two miles of Myrtle Beach, which is known as a hot spot for rare species such as Brown Pelicans and Ospreys.

The South Carolina Audubon Society has helped to establish more than 60 bird-watching sites throughout the state like Huntington Beach State Park, Bear Island and Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, however, one of my favorite birdwatching spots in SC is the Congaree National Park.

Congaree National Park (formerly named Congaree Swamp National Monument) is South Carolina’s first national park and it is the 57th area to be designated as a national park nationwide.  This park is located only about 15 miles off of U.S. Interstate 77. In that short 15-mile drive, however, the landscape changed from that of an urban and industrial center to rural forest and farmland. The park actually does not lie on a swamp.

Instead, it rests on the Congaree River floodplain. The river floods the park about 10 times per year creating swamp-like conditions but the swampy flood waters are not permanent so when the park was designated “Congaree National Park” the word “swamp” was removed from its name. The birds you can see in the Congaree Park are Barred Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, Summer Tanager, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Red-shouldered Hawk as well as some warblers and nuthatches.

What are the Most Common Backyard Birds in South Carolina?

Bird watchers living in the southeast can be content knowing there are numerous potential species simply waiting to be spotted. All you need to do is find a good spot in your yard or by the window and wait!

The following list includes some of the more common backyard birds in South Carolina:  Eastern Phoebe, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Robin, Carolina Wren, Pine Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown Creeper, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Crow, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, American Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Northern Flicker, Tufted Titmouse, Pileated Woodpecker, Pine Siskin, and Blue-headed Vireo.

What is the State Bird of South Carolina?

In 1948, the Carolina Wren was designated the state bird of South Carolina. This bird’s habitat in South Carolina ranges from farms, and forests to swamps.

Carolina Wren has a round body and a lengthy tail that it frequently cocks up. This bird’s large head and curved short and slender beak distinguish it from a wren. Carolina wrens use dust bath and their bills and wings to preen.

Carolina and Bewick’s wrens are the two wren species that share a similarity in appearances; both have unstriped backs, clear chests and bellies, and a broad white eye stripe. The Carolina Wren can be distinguished by its buffy to orange underside compared to Bewick’s medium to dark gray. Another distinctive feature is the dark and longer tail in Bewick’s Wren’s and light-colored in Carolina Wren.

Contrary to other wrens, only the male Carolina Wren sings. It will often be heard singing a loud “tea-kettle tea-kettle tea-kettle” or “cheery-cheery-cheery.” However, their partner may occasionally be heard adding a vibrant, drawn-out trill to the song’s closing notes.

Carolina Wren can be seen regardless of the time of day. These birds are adaptable and can live in a wide range of environments, preferring damp woodland habitats to arid ones. When feeding, they require areas with a lot of shrubs or brushes to hide.

Some other fascinating birds you can find in SC are-

1. Spotted Redshank

Family: Scolopacidae, Sandpipers

Description 12″ (30.5 cm). A slim, yellowlegslike shorebird; bill long and slender with a droop at the very tip, lower mandible red; legs orange or orange-red legs. Breeding adult has underparts black; upperparts spotted with white; wing linings, upper rump, and back show white in flight. Adults in winter are uniformly gray above and white below; juveniles similar except for warm brownish-gray barring on underparts.

Habitat Breeds in marshy sites in bushy tundra and taiga edge; frequents marshes, ponds, wet meadows, and mudflats during migration and winter.

Nesting 4 eggs are pale green, spotted and blotched with dark brown, in a shallow scrape lined with a small quantity of stems, leaves, and a few feathers and placed in the open.

Range Breeds in northern Eurasia. Winters from Mediterranean region to eastern China south to equatorial Africa and Southeast Asia.

Voice A clear chew-whit, with rising inflection.

Discussion The Spotted Redshank is a rare spring and fall visitor to the Aleutian Islands and Pribilofs; accidental outside of Alaska, but records appear to be slowly increasing throughout North America.

2. Terek Sandpiper

Family: Scolopacidae, Sandpipers

Description 10″ (25.5 cm). A medium-size shorebird with a long, upturned, pale-based, dark bill; short orange-yellow legs; upperparts gray- brown, contrasting with black scapular lines. In flight shows dark lead edge of wing in contrast with white trailing edge of inner wing.

Habitat River meadows, marshes, vegetated banks of lakes, ponds, and streams; in winter on mudflats and shallow estuaries.

Nesting 4 pale buff eggs, spotted and blotched with black-brown, in shallow vegetation-lined cup on the ground.

Range Breeds in central and eastern Eurasia. Winters from the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and Hainan south to South Africa, India, East Indies, New Guinea, and Australia.

Voice A rolling series of shrill whistles.

Discussion A rare Eurasian migrant on the western Aleutian Islands, Pribilofs, St. Lawrence Island, and southern coast of Alaska; also several records for the Pacific Coast of the United States and one from Massachusetts.

3. Limpkin

Family: Aramidae, Limpkins view all from this family

Description ADULT Has rich brown plumage overall, darkest on belly and flight feathers and palest on face. Head, neck, and back are adorned with white, streaklike spots; those on back and wing coverts are largest and most arrowhead like. Bill is dull yellow and legs are dark. JUVENILE Similar, but with smaller, less distinct white markings.

Dimensions Length: 25-28″ (64-71 cm)

Habitat Widespread in Central and South America, but restricted here to wetlands in Florida where it is a scarce resident.

Observation Tips Easiest to see in Everglades; despite size, surprisingly easy to overlook.

Range Florida, Southeast

Voice A loud, far-carrying and vaguely crane-like screeching kee-ow.

Discussion Large and distinctive wetland bird with the body of a heron (plumage recalls that of immature night-heron), but a massive bill reminiscent of an ibis or a large shorebird. Note also the long, powerful legs. Feeds mainly on apple snails, curvature of bill tip assisting in extraction of snail’s body from its shell. In flight, wings are broad, appear relatively long and square-ended. Sexes are similar

4. White-winged Dove

Family: Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves view all from this family

Description ADULT Gray-brown overall, with a pinkish flush most evident on neck and breast. Bill is dark, legs are reddish, and note black crescent below eye, which has red iris and blue orbital skin. In flight, white outer margins to upper wing coverts contrast with blackish outer wing. JUVENILE Similar, but with less striking wing markings and subdued colors and markings on head.

Dimensions Length: 12″ (30 cm)

Habitat Mainly Central American species with toehold in parts of southern U.S., favoring arid scrub and adjacent farmland. Locally common summer visitor, but present year-round in southern Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Observation Tips Easy to see in suitable arid habitats.

Range Rocky Mountains, Texas, California, Florida, Southeast, Southwest

Voice Series of owl-like cooing calls is sometimes rendered as “who cooks for you.”

Discussion Compact and proportionately plump, arid-country dove. Forms flocks, especially outside breeding season, easily recognized in flight by white, crescent-shaped mark on upper wings; white tip to tail is most obvious when fanned, on takeoff and landing. Sexes are similar.

5. Cassin’s Auklet

Family: Alcidae, Auks, Murres, Puffins

Description ADULT Has smoky blue-gray plumage overall, darkest on head, back, and upper wings, and palest below (white belly is seen in flight). Eye has pale, yellowish iris and white “eyelids.” Bill is relatively narrow and pointed, mostly dark, but with a pale base. JUVENILE Similar to adult, but with darker, duller eye color.

Dimensions Length: 8-9″ (20-23 cm)

Habitat Very locally common, breeding on isolated islands. Nests in burrows and under boulders, with activity at colonies taking place after dark. Suffers badly from introduced ground predators, but local extinction of these is helping redress balance.

Observation Tips Hard to observe except at sea because of nocturnal habits at breeding colonies (which are themselves hard to access) and pelagic, offshore life outside breeding season.

Range California, Northwest, Alaska, Southeast

Voice Vocal, after dark, uttering hissing screeches.

Discussion Dumpy seabird. Looks short-necked when swimming. Often dives or paddles away (rather than flies) from boats. Sexes are similar.

6. Magnificent Hummingbird

Family: Trochilidae, Hummingbirds

Description 4 1/2 -5 1/2″ (11-14 cm). A large, long-tailed hummingbird. Male deep green above, black below, with iridescent purple forehead and crown and metallic-green gorget. Female olive green above, gray below, with lightly streaked throat and pearly gray tips on outer tail feathers. Immature male heavily flecked with iridescent green below.

Habitat Canyons, deciduous and pine-clad slopes, and streamsides.

Nesting 2 white eggs in a tiny nest of lichen and plant down placed on a horizontal limb.

Range Breeds in mountains of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and western Texas. Winters in Mexico.

Voice   A high-pitched teek, not as drawn out as call of Blue-throated Hummingbird.

Discussion The Magnificent Hummingbird flies more slowly than the smaller hummers, sometimes sailing on set wings. It is more of an insect gleaner than the other species, though it takes its share of nectar from flowers and feeders.

7. Gray Kingbird

Family: Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers

Description 9″ (23 cm). A stocky, large-headed, pale gray flycatcher of coastal habitats. Underparts whitish; dusky blackish patch through eye; bill heavy; tail notched, without white.

Habitat Coastal, in mangrove thickets, on telephone wires, and in small groves of palms and oaks.

Nesting 3 pinkish eggs, blotched with brown, in a grass-lined stick nest placed in a mangrove thicket, usually over or near salt water.

Range Breeds in coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and northern Gulf Coast. Winters in tropics.

Voice   A shrill, buzzy pe-cheer-y.

Discussion Like other kingbirds, this species is fearless, even chasing hawks and crows. Noisy and belligerent, it frequently emits harsh notes as it sits on telephone wires or exposed branches, ready to dart after flying insects.

8. Red-whiskered Bulbul

Family: Pycnonotidae, Bulbuls

Description 8″ (20 cm). Grayish above, whitish below, with long conspicuous black crest, red cheek patch and undertail coverts, and black, white-tipped tail.

Habitat Residential areas, parks, and gardens.

Nesting 2-4 pinkish-white eggs, spotted with reddish brown, in a cup of dead leaves and grass that is lined with fine roots and hair and placed in a bush or small tree.

Range Native to Southeast Asia. Introduced and established in region around Miami, Florida.

Voice Various chattering notes; a whistled queekey!

Discussion This species has long been adapted to living in the vicinity of towns and villages in Southeast Asia, and is now successful in suburban Miami. Bulbuls are noisy, gregarious birds, usually traveling in flocks in pursuit of insects and fruit.

9. White-eared Hummingbird

Family: Trochilidae, Hummingbirds

Description 3 1/2″ (9 cm). A small hummingbird. Both sexes have long, broad white stripe behind eye and red bill with dark tip. Male green above and below, with purple crown and iridescent blue-green chin; female lacks bright crown and chin and is whitish below with green spotting and barring on throat and sides.

Habitat Mountain woodlands.

Nesting 2 white eggs in a moss nest interwoven with needles, lichens, and twigs, placed in a small tree.

Range Irregular summer visitor to extreme southeastern Arizona; rare in New Mexico and Texas.

Voice Breeding male utters a long, monotonous clinking sound: tink-tink-tink.

Discussion Early in the year male White-eared Hummingbirds establish individual feeding territories. As the breeding season approaches, several males gather in an area where they court vigorously. Females with a nest visit these groups and return to their nesting area with a male.

10. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Family: Anatidae, Ducks and Geese

Description ADULT Has an orange-brown back, breast, and lower neck. Upper neck and head are gray, except for rufous crown. Belly is black and note the pale wing panel; in flight, wings look contrastingly black and white. Legs are pink and bill is bright red. JUVENILE Similar to adult, but plumage colors are duller and belly is grayish. Bill and legs are gray.

Dimensions Length: 20-22″ (51-56 cm)

Habitat Associated with freshwater wetlands, but also feeds on farmland and grassland. Widespread in Central and South America, this species reaches the northern limit of its range in Texas, where it is locally common, and southern Arizona. Present year-round, although range is more extensive in summer.

Observation Tips Easy to see in southern Texas, especially in winter; hotspots include the Santa Ana and Aransas National Wildlife Refuges.

Range Texas, Southeast, Florida, Southwest

Voice utters a whistling pe-choo.

Similar Species Fulvous Whistling-Duck D. bicolor (L 18-20 in) has similar habits and posture to Black-bellied. However, it is less colorful overall, plumage being rather uniformly orange-brown, darkest on crown, nape, and back. Bill and legs are blue-gray and wings appear uniformly dark in flight. A tropical species at the northernmost limit of its range in southern Texas. Seen only occasionally in region covered by this book, typically during post-breeding dispersal in late spring.

Discussion Colorful long-necked, long-legged duck that often adopts an upright posture, which adds to impression of it being a nervous bird; indeed, typically it is extremely wary. Note also the proportionately long wings. Often perches on branches or rocks, and nests in tree holes. Highly gregarious outside the breeding season. It feeds on aquatic plants, grass, and cereals, as well as freshwater invertebrates; typically it feeds at night. Sexes are similar.

11. White-tailed Kite

Alternate name: Black-shouldered Kite

Family: Accipitridae, Hawks and Eagle

Description Adult has mainly pale gray back and upper wings, except for black “shoulders” (inner upper wing coverts). Head is paler whitish, but note the large, red eye with black surrounding patch. Tail is pure white when seen from below, but gray-centered seen from above. Underparts are mainly white, but seen from below in flight, note the dark wingtips and carpal patch. Legs and feet are yellow. JUVENILE Similar to adult, but breast, nape, and crown are flushed and streaked orange-buff, and back feathers have pale margins.

Dimensions Length: 15-16″ (38-41 cm); Wngspn: 3′ 4″ (1 m)

Habitat Local resident of grassland habitats with scattered trees; seldom numerous.

Observation Tips Often active at dawn and dusk when white plumage shows up particularly well.

Range Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, California, Texas, Florida

Voice Utters whistling calls.

Discussion Attractive and distinctive raptor that is larger and much paler than Mississippi Kite. In flight, often looks all-white, but close view reveals distinctive pattern of gray and black on upperparts. Frequently hovers, while searching for prey, but also glides with wings held in a “V”; also perches on roadside posts. Sexes are similar.

12. Thick-billed Kingbird

Family: Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers

Description Recalls Cassin’s Kingbird, but with a massive bill and much darker upperparts, particularly in adult bird. Throat is white and underparts are pale, flushed yellow on belly and undertail coverts, particularly in immature birds.

Dimensions Length: 9″ (23 cm)

Habitat Rare summer visitor (Jun-Sep) to cottonwood woodland in southern Arizona.

Range Southeast, California, Southwest

13. Cave Swallow

Family: Hirundinidae, Swallows

Description 5 1/2″ (14 cm). A stocky swallow with a square tail, steel-blue upperparts, buff throat and rump, and chestnut forehead. The more widespread Cliff Swallow is similar, but has chestnut throat and white forehead, or, in Southwest, a chestnut forehead.

Habitat Chiefly open country near caves and cliffs.

Nesting 4 brown-spotted pinkish eggs in a mud nest lined with grass, roots, and feathers, attached to a cliff wall, cave, or, occasionally, to a bridge or old building.

Range Breeds in southern Texas, southeastern New Mexico, and rarely in southern Arizona. Winters in tropics.

Voice Series of squeaks, twitters, and warbles.

Discussion These birds are extremely local north of the Mexican border, and relatively few nest within the United States. Most nests are in inaccessible places, plastered to walls far inside remote caves and crevices. Like all swallows, Cave Swallows catch their insect prey on the wing.

14. Buff-collared Nightjar

Family: Caprimulgidae, Nightjars

Description 9″ (23 cm). Mottled gray-brown with buff collar. Male has white patches at corners of tail.

Habitat Dry canyons and rocky streambeds.

Nesting Nesting habits unknown.

Range Resident in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

Voice A staccato cu-cu-cu-cuc-cuc-cuc-uh-chee-ah, heard at night.

Discussion This little-known nightjar is a rare summer visitor to the Southwest. It is much more common south of U.S.-Mexico border.

15. Spot-Billed Duck

Family: Anatidae, Ducks and Geese

Description 24″ (61 cm). Similar to American Black Duck. Bill black with yellow terminal band; face and neck pale gray; distinct dark cap and eyeline; lower body dark; white tertials conspicuous in flight.

Habitat Shallow freshwater lakes and marshes.

Nesting 8-10 grayish-white eggs in down-lined nest of grasses and rushes placed on ground near water.

Range Breeds in eastern Asia from Siberia south to India and Southeast Asia. Winters south to the Philippines.

Voice Similar to quack of Mallard.

Discussion An accidental visitor to North America; less than five records from the Aleutian Islands.

16. Black Noddy

Family: Laridae, Gulls and Tern

Description 12″ (30 cm). Smaller and darker than Brown Noddy, with a more extensive pure white cap. Rest of plumage dark brownish black, feet brownish black; bill long, thin, straight, and black; tail wedge-shaped.

Habitat Small oceanic and coastal islands in breeding season; otherwise wanders at sea.

Nesting 1 whitish egg, spotted with brown, in a stick nest lined with grass or seaweed, placed in a tree or bush.

Range Tropical portions of Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. In North America found only in Dry Tortugas, Florida (rare).

Voice A sharp kit, kit.

Discussion This pantropical tern is of extremely local occurrence in North America, but each year since 1960 birds have been found among nesting Brown Noddies in the Dry Tortugas. Although seen there regularly, the Black Noddy has not yet been known to nest there.

17. Vaux’s Swift

Family: Apodidae, Swifts

Description 4-4 1/2″ (10-11 cm). A tiny swift. Dark overall, with dingy lighter underparts, especially pale on throat and upper breast. Wings long, stiff, and gently curved; tail slightly rounded. See Chimney Swift.

Habitat Forests and woodlands.

Nesting 3-5 white eggs in a nest of small sticks cemented together with saliva and attached to the inside surface of a hollow tree.

Range Breeds from southeastern Alaska and Montana to central California. Winters in tropics.

Voice   A bat-like chipping. Usually silent on migration.

Discussion The better-known eastern Chimney Swift now uses chimneys for nesting, whereas the Vaux’s is still mainly a forest dweller. These swifts have stubby tails, each feather ending in a naked shaft with a hard spine that helps to support the bird as it clings to vertical surfaces, such as its nesting cavity walls. Its fast flight is characterized by sailing glides between spurts of rapid flapping.

18. Jabiru

Family: Ciconiidae, Storks

Description 51-60″ (129-153 cm). Huge, much larger than Wood Stork. Adult wings and body all-white; the naked head, massive, slightly upcurving bill and legs all solid black; has conspicuous red throat patch. Immature mottled gray-brown, head blackish.

Habitat Tropical and semi-tropical llanos and savannas with scattered trees and wetlands; also rice fields, wet woods; vagrants in U.S. may associate with Wood Storks.

Nesting 2-4 whitish eggs in stick nest set high in trees, often atop a palm; sometimes in loose colonies. Seasonal timing irregular.

Range Resident from southeastern Mexico through Central and South America to Northern Argentina and Uruguay; accidental stray in our area to southern Texas.

Voice Normally silent.

Discussion The largest flying bird in the Americas, this dramatic, improbable-looking species is related to the Old World storks, a status it shares in our area only with the Wood Stork. Jabirus fly with slow, methodical wingbeats as they patrol wetlands, often in flocks, looking for prey, which consists mostly of fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects and small mammals.

19. Crested Myna

Family: Sturnidae, Starlings and Mynas

Description 10 1/2″ (27 cm). A chunky, robin-sized bird. All black with prominent bushy crest. In flight, shows large white patch on each wing and white tail tip. Eyes, bill, feet yellow.

Habitat Cities, suburbs, farms.

Nesting 4 or 5 greenish-blue eggs in a large nest of grass, string, and so on, in a hole or cavity in a tree, building, or box.

Range Introduced from southeastern Asia to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1897, whence it spread through lower Fraser River Valley; it is seen sporadically in neighboring Washington.

Voice Song a variety of rich or harsh phrases with much repetition. An excellent mimic.

Discussion Crested Mynas roost in colonies, but the flocks are small compared with those of European Starlings. Bold and fearless, these birds waddle on streets amid traffic and pick food from lawns, roadsides, and gardens.

20. Short-tailed Shearwater

Family: Procellariidae, Shearwaters and Petrels 

Description 13-14″ (33-36 cm). A dark shearwater, with dark bill and feet. Distinguished from Sooty Shearwater by slightly smaller size, dull gray (rather than whitish) wing linings, shorter tail and bill, and slightly faster wingbeat.

Habitat Open ocean.

Nesting 1 white egg laid in a burrow in a nesting colony.

Range Breeds on coasts and islands of southeastern Australia. Summer visitor to Pacific Coast of North America, from Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands south to California; rare south of British Columbia.

Voice Silent at sea.

Discussion This species, abundant near its breeding grounds, is called the “Mutton Bird” in Tasmania and Australia, where the young are taken for food. In the Bass Strait, which separates Tasmania from mainland Australia, an observer once saw a flock he estimated to contain 150 million birds. After the breeding season this species migrates in a great figure eight: first northward toward Japan, then on into the waters around Alaska, then southward along the Pacific Coast of the United States, and then southwestward across its earlier flight path to Australia.

21. Smith’s Longspur

Family: Emberizidae, New World Sparrows

Description Adult breeding male has streaked brown back and brown wings with two white wing bars and white “shoulder” patch. Head has dark cap with white supercilium and eye surround, and white spot on ear coverts. Underparts and neck are orange-buff.

ALL OTHER PLUMAGES Recall breeding male, but are duller overall, lack white “shoulder” patch, but have streaked back and nape; black elements of head pattern are replaced by streaked brown, white elements are replaced by buff.

Dimensions Length: 5 3/4-6 1/2″ (15-17 cm)

Habitat Local summer visitor (mainly Jun-Aug) to northern tundra; winters in grassland in south-central U.S., from Texas to Iowa.

Observation Tips Note its limited range.

Range Eastern Canada, Plains, Texas, Southeast, Alaska, Great Lakes, Western Canada

Voice Song is a sweet whistling trill; call is a dry rattle.

Discussion Breeding male is distinctive. All birds have noticeably “warm” buff plumage. Forms flocks outside breeding season, when easy to overlook in favored grassland habitats. Bill is narrower than in Lapland Longspur. Sexes are dissimilar.

22. Pink-footed Shearwater

Family: Procellariidae, Shearwaters and Petrels

Description 20″ (51 cm). A gull-sized shearwater, dark gray-brown above and whitish below; undersides of wings are white with dark borders. Bill pinkish with dark tip; feet pale pink.

Habitat Open ocean; seldom seen from shore.

Nesting 1 white egg placed in a burrow on an island.

Range Breeds on islands off coast of Chile. Nonbreeding visitor in summer to waters off California and Oregon, rarely as far north as southeastern Alaska.

Voice Silent at sea.

Discussion This pale-bellied shearwater usually stays far offshore, but when it comes within sight of land it is often seen foraging with flocks of smaller Sooty Shearwaters. At such times thousands may gather at places such as Monterey Bay or just outside San Francisco’s Golden Gate strait. The Sooties often dive for food, but the Pink-footed Shearwater seldom does. A broad-winged species, it soars more frequently and for longer periods than other shearwaters.