Birds in Hawaii in December: What to Photograph (60 Species)

60 birds were recorded seen in Hawaii in December in our iNaturalist sample; 13 of the top 50 are at their peak this month. The list is ranked by number of research-grade observations.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Top birds in December

Pacific Golden-Plover1,010 obs.

Zebra Dove993 obs.

Red-crested Cardinal896 obs.

Common Myna775 obs.

Western Cattle-Egret676 obs.

Hawaiian Goose662 obs.

Black-crowned Night Heron464 obs.

Saffron Finch435 obs.

House Sparrow416 obs.

Spotted Dove359 obs.

Java Sparrow349 obs.

Laysan Albatross340 obs.

All birds seen in Hawaii in December

#	Species	Scientific name	Family	Obs.	Peak in state
1	Pacific Golden-Plover	Pluvialis fulva	Plovers and Lapwings	1,010	Mar (past peak)
2	Zebra Dove	Geopelia striata	Pigeons and Doves	993	Dec (peak)
3	Red-crested Cardinal	Paroaria coronata	Tanagers and Allies	896	Jun (past peak)
4	Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis	Starlings	775	Mar (past peak)
5	Western Cattle-Egret	Ardea ibis	Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns	676	Dec (peak)
6	Hawaiian Goose	Branta sandvicensis	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	662	Dec (peak)
7	Black-crowned Night Heron	Nycticorax nycticorax	Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns	464	Mar (past peak)
8	Saffron Finch	Sicalis flaveola	Tanagers and Allies	435	Jan (past peak)
9	House Sparrow	Passer domesticus	Old World Sparrows	416	Aug (past peak)
10	Spotted Dove	Spilopelia chinensis	Pigeons and Doves	359	Mar (past peak)
11	Java Sparrow	Padda oryzivora	Waxbills and Allies	349	Dec (peak)
12	Laysan Albatross	Phoebastria immutabilis	Albatrosses	340	Dec (peak)
13	Warbling White-eye	Zosterops japonicus	White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies	272	Mar (past peak)
14	White-rumped Shama	Copsychus malabaricus	Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats	270	May (past peak)
15	Wandering Tattler	Tringa incana	Sandpipers and Allies	264	Jan (past peak)
16	Red-vented Bulbul	Pycnonotus cafer	Bulbuls	258	Apr (past peak)
17	Common Waxbill	Estrilda astrild	Waxbills and Allies	239	Jan (past peak)
18	Red-footed Booby	Sula sula	Boobies and Gannets	235	Dec (peak)
19	Yellow-billed Cardinal	Paroaria capitata	Tanagers and Allies	234	Jul (past peak)
20	ʻApapane	Himatione sanguinea	Finches, Euphonias, and Allies	221	Mar (past peak)
21	Ruddy Turnstone	Arenaria interpres	Sandpipers and Allies	171	Jan (past peak)
22	Northern Cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis	Cardinals and Allies	170	Mar (past peak)
23	House Finch	Haemorhous mexicanus	Finches, Euphonias, and Allies	136	Apr (past peak)
24	Scaly-breasted Munia	Lonchura punctulata	Waxbills and Allies	91	Feb (past peak)
25	Chukar	Alectoris chukar	Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies	83	Sep (past peak)
26	Sanderling	Calidris alba	Sandpipers and Allies	80	Dec (peak)
27	Indian Peafowl	Pavo cristatus	Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies	51	Mar (past peak)
28	Red-whiskered Bulbul	Pycnonotus jocosus	Bulbuls	51	Mar (past peak)
29	Rosy-faced Lovebird	Agapornis roseicollis	Old World Parrots	49	Jan (past peak)
30	Northern Mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos	Mockingbirds and Thrashers	45	Dec (peak)
31	Wild Turkey	Meleagris gallopavo	Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies	37	Mar (past peak)
32	Northern Pintail	Anas acuta	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	28	Jan (past peak)
33	Snow Goose	Anser caerulescens	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	25	Dec (peak)
34	Long-billed Dowitcher	Limnodromus scolopaceus	Sandpipers and Allies	22	Dec (peak)
35	Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	22	Mar (past peak)
36	Lesser Scaup	Aythya affinis	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	20	Nov (past peak)
37	Ring-necked Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus	Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies	19	Mar (past peak)
38	Laughing Gull	Leucophaeus atricilla	Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers	18	Jan (past peak)
39	Western Meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta	New World Blackbirds and Orioles	16	Dec (peak)
40	White-faced Ibis	Plegadis chihi	Ibises and Spoonbills	14	Jan (past peak)
41	Red-masked Parakeet	Psittacara erythrogenys	New World and African Parrots	13	Jan (past peak)
42	Northern Shoveler	Spatula clypeata	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	12	Nov (past peak)
43	Red-crowned Amazon	Amazona viridigenalis	New World and African Parrots	11	Jan (past peak)
44	Ring-necked Duck	Aythya collaris	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	10	Feb (past peak)
45	Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis	Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers	9	Dec (peak)
46	Brant	Branta bernicla	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	9	Feb (past peak)
47	Semipalmated Plover	Charadrius semipalmatus	Plovers and Lapwings	8	Jan (past peak)
48	Common Gallinule	Gallinula galeata	Rails, Gallinules, and Coots	8	Jun (past peak)
49	Eurasian Wigeon	Mareca penelope	Ducks, Geese, and Swans	8	Jan (past peak)
50	Glaucous-winged Gull	Larus glaucescens	Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers	7	Dec (peak)

Birds Seen in Hawaii in December

Top birds in December

All birds seen in Hawaii in December