Whether you’re visiting New York for a short city break or stopping in The Big Apple as part of a longer American holiday, Central Park is one of the premier birdwatching spots in the United States, attracting birders from around the globe.
Spanning 843 acres, the park is home to approximately 230 bird species that inhabit its meadows, rocky crags, woodlands, streams, ponds, and lakes. In 1998, the National Audubon Society designated Central Park an Important Bird Area in New York, recognising its role as a vital man-made habitat for birds. Some species are year-round residents, while others pass through during their spring and autumn migrations along the Atlantic Flyway.
In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin, an eccentric drug manufacturer, released 60 non-native European starlings into Central Park, followed by another 40 the next year, in an ill-conceived attempt to introduce all the birds mentioned in William Shakespeare’s works to North America. Today, it is estimated that around 200 million starlings across North America are descended from these initial introductions. Unfortunately, they are now considered an invasive species, having a negative impact on many native bird populations.
For bird enthusiasts, several guided bird walks are available, led by knowledgeable and entertaining local experts who can help you spot some of the park’s rarer avian residents. Ask your hotel for recommendations. Alternatively, grab a field guide and a pair of binoculars, and see what species you can discover on your own.
The magnolia warbler is a small, bright songbird with a slender bill and a long tail. The male has black and grey upperparts, a bold white wing bar, and bright yellow underparts streaked with black. Its head has a grey crown and a distinctive black mask. The female is more subdued with grey upperparts with two narrow white wing bars and yellow underparts marked with faint, indistinct dark streaks. Her head is also grey, with a subtle grey band around the neck.
This warbler was first documented by American ornithologist Alexander Wilson, who discovered it in a magnolia tree near Fort Adams, Mississippi, giving the bird its name. Unlike some other warblers, the magnolia warbler is fairly easy to spot, as it tends to stay low in shrubs and trees, actively foraging for insects on the underside of leaves. Magnolia warblers migrate south for the winter, so they can only be seen in Central Park during the summer months.
The Northern cardinal, one of North America’s most iconic birds, is instantly recognisable thanks to its vibrant plumage and distinctive crest. The male is a brilliant scarlet red with a black mask and throat, and has a thick, conical reddish-orange bill. The female is a soft pale brown with warm red accents on her wings, tail, and crest.
Both sexes owe their striking colouring to their diet, which includes seeds rich in carotenoid pigments. The Northern cardinal holds the title of state bird for seven U.S. states – more than any other bird – and serves as a mascot for numerous professional and college sports teams, including the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
The eastern screech owl is a compact, stocky owl with a short tail, a large round head, and distinctive ear tufts. Its plumage comes in two colour morphs – rufous or grey – both intricately patterned with streaks, spots, and bars. They have bright yellow eyes and a yellow beak. The grey morph closely resembles the western screech owl, but the latter can be distinguished by its darker beak.
Despite its name, the eastern screech owl doesn’t screech. Instead, its call sounds a bit like horse’s neigh. Strictly nocturnal, they are challenging to spot at night, but during the day, you might find one roosting in a tree cavity. They are often seen in the woodland areas of Central Park or the natural forest of Inwood Hill Park. Known for their fierce hunting skills, they earned the nickname “feathered wildcats” in the past.
Blue jays, a familiar member of the crow family, are easily recognised by their striking appearance. They have vivid blue upperparts, wings barred with black, a bold white wingbar, and pale grey underparts fading to a white belly. Their face is whitish, with a prominent blue crest and a distinctive black collar around the neck.
Often referred to as jaybirds, these birds are remarkable mimics and known for their loud, piercing warning calls when alarmed. Autumn is one of the best times to spot them as they gather in large flocks to collect and bury thousands of beechnuts, acorns, and hickory nuts. Later, during the winter months, they return to retrieve and consume the stored cache.
The cedar waxwing is a sleeky, silky songbird, with a large head, short neck, and broad bill. Its upperparts are grey-brown, with red tips on the wings and a bright yellow tip on the tail. The breast is a soft brown, transitioning to a yellow belly. On its head, a striking black mask bordered by a thin white line gives it the appearance of a bandit, while a crest, often lying flat against the back of its head, adds to its distinctive look.
Named after the wax-like tips on their wing feathers, cedar waxwings share this trait with Bohemian waxwings, though they are slightly smaller and have a noticeably browner plumage. They feed primarily on berries, favouring those from eastern red cedars, a type of juniper, as well as dogwood, hawthorn, and winterberry. Cedar waxwings have been known to become intoxicated after consuming overripe, fermented berries.
The Baltimore oriole is a medium-sized songbird with a sturdy build, thick neck, long legs, and a pointed bill. The male has a black upper mantle and orange shoulder patches. The rest of the upperparts are orange, and the dark wings have white bars. The underparts and outer tail feathers are a bright orange, while the head is entirely black, with a dark sharply pointed bill. Females range in colour from brown to yellowish, with darker wings.
The bird was named for the male’s colours, which resemble the coat of arms of 17th-century Lord Baltimore, an English peer, politician, and the first proprietor of Maryland. It is the official state bird of Maryland and has lent its name to several baseball clubs in Baltimore city.
The American robin is a large, round-bellied thrush and one of the most abundant birds in North America. It has grey-brown upperparts and brick-red underparts, with white feathers under the tail. Its head is black, with white markings around the eyes and white streaks on the throat. While both sexes look similar, females tend to have duller plumage, though there is enough overlap which makes sex identification unreliable when observing in the field.
The bird was named after the European robin, with which it shares the characteristic red breast. However, the two are not closely related, as the European robin belongs to the Old World flycatcher family. A familiar sight in Central Park, the American robin can often be seen running and stopping on the ground while searching for worms, insects, and grubs.
The northern flicker is a member of the woodpecker family, with a slim head, slightly downcurved bill, and long, flared tail. It has greyish-brown upperparts marked with black bars, and brown underparts adorned with spots, bars, and crescents, along with a distinctive white rump. In the eastern range, northern flickers display yellow tail feathers and yellow colouring under the wings, while those in the western range show red. A black patch on the throat is common to all, but eastern males have a black “moustache,” while western males sport a red one, making them easy to distinguish from females.
The northern flicker is known by a variety of nicknames, including clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird, many of which mimic its calls. It is the state bird of Alabama, where it is affectionately called the “yellowhammer.” Uniquely among woodpeckers, the northern flicker frequently feeds on the ground.
The red-tailed hawk is a bird of prey with a robust body, broad, rounded wings, a short, wide tail, and a hooked bill. Most individuals have rich brown upperparts and white underparts, with streaks on the belly. The tail is rufous on top and pale beneath, with a dark terminal band. Plumage can vary, with dark morphs appearing chocolate brown and rufous morphs having a reddish-brown breast and dark brown belly. The bill is dark, while the cere, legs, and feet are yellow.
Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk, arrived in Central Park in 1991 at the age of one and remained there until his death in 2023. He earned his name due to the unusually light colouration on his head. Pale Male was one of the first red-tailed hawks known to nest on a building rather than a tree, and over the years, he had several mates and produced numerous offspring.
The ring-necked duck is a medium-sized diving duck with a sloping forehead and a peaked crown, resembling the tufted duck in appearance. The male has glossy black upperparts, grey underparts, and a white shoulder patch. Its head is black, with yellow eyes and a grey bill marked with a white band and black tip. The female is warm brown with a darker back, a grey head, and white eye-rings surrounding her brown eyes. Her bill has a more subtle white band compared to the male.
Named for the cinnamon ring around its neck, this characteristic is often difficult to see, which has led to the bird being sometimes called the “ringbill”. The ring-necked duck is a regular vagrant in Europe, as well as in Central and northern South America. The best time to observe ducks and other waterfowl in Central Park is from late autumn through early spring.
