14 Types of Red Birds Found In Arizona! (ID GUIDE)

Did you see a RED bird in Arizona?

Common Red Birds in Arizona

If so, I’m sure you’re wondering what type of bird it was! Luckily, you can use the guide below to help you figure it out!

There are 14 birds in Arizona that are considered “red.”

For the purpose of this article, I included primarily red and partially red birds.

Fortunately, many species of RED birds visit bird feeders, so you have a chance of attracting them to your yard. If you’re incredibly fortunate, you may even see one at my bird feeding station right now!

I have a LIVE high-definition camera watching my bird feeders 24/7. 🙂


#1. Northern Cardinal

  • Cardinalis cardinalis

Types of Red Birds found in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Males are a stunning red with a black mask and throat.
  • Females are pale orangish-brown with red on their crest, wings, and tail.
  • Both sexes have a crest on their head and a short, thick bill perfect for cracking seeds.

Without a doubt, the Northern Cardinal is one of the most popular and recognizable RED birds in Arizona. They are not only beautifully colored, but they are common to see at bird feeders!

Northern Cardinal Range Map

northern cardinal range map

And with a bit of practice, it’s easy to identify Northern Cardinals by their songs and sounds. Interestingly, unlike most other songbirds in Arizona, even females sing.

  • The most common song you will probably hear is a series of clear whistled melodies that sound like the bird is saying “birdie-birdie-birdie” or “cheer-cheer-cheer.” (Listen below!)
YouTube video

#2. House Finch

  • Haemorhous mexicanus

Red Birds species that live in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Males are rosy red around their heads and upper breasts. They have brown streaks on their back, tail, and belly.
  • Females are brown with streaks on their back, tail, and belly.
  • Both sexes have notched tails and conical beaks designed to eat seeds.

It’s common to see these red birds in Arizona near people.

Look for them around buildings, backyards, parks, and other urban and suburban areas. As you can see, only males are red.

House Finch Range Map

 

house finch range map

House Finches are often the first birds to discover new bird feeders. These birds are intensely curious and rarely travel alone, so their arrival often helps other birds find your feeders too! I see them eating sunflower seed, Nyjer seed, and safflower in my yard.

House Finches have an enjoyable song, which can be heard year-round. Listen below to a series of jumbled, warbled notes.

YouTube video

#3. American Robin

  • Turdus migratorius

american robin red birds in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • A beautiful thrush that features a rusty red breast and a dark head and back.
  • Look for a white throat and white splotches around the eyes.
  • Both sexes are similar, except that females appear paler.

American Robins are one of the most familiar red birds in Arizona!

Although I think their breast looks orange, many others consider it rusty red.

They inhabit a wide variety of habitats and naturally are found everywhere, from forests to the tundra. But these thrushes are comfortable around people and are common to see in backyards.

American Robin Range Map

american robin range map

Even though they’re abundant, American Robins rarely visit bird feeders because they don’t eat seeds. Instead, their diet consists of invertebrates (worms, insects, snails) and fruit. For example, I see robins frequently in my backyard, pulling up earthworms in the grass!

These red birds also commonly nest near people. Look for an open, cup-shaped nest with 3-5 beautiful, distinctive sky blue eggs.

American Robins sing a string of clear whistles, a familiar sound in spring. Many people describe its song as sounding like the bird is saying, “cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up.” Listen below.

YouTube video

#4. Summer Tanager

  • Piranga rubra

summer tanager red birds in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Medium-sized bird with a blunt bill.
  • Males are brilliant red with a fuller body a larger head, and a shorter bill.
  • Females are medium-sized with yellow bodies, greenish on the back and wings, with a longer bill.

Summer Tanager males are one of the few COMPLETELY red birds in Arizona.

This species is found high among treetops searching for flying insects. They also move slowly through the tree, and on the branches hunting for insects.

Look for this bird in open oak, hickory, or mixed oak-pine woodlands. You can also find this tanager in orchards, parks, or along roadsides.

Summer Tanager Range Map

summer tanager range map

Believe it or not, Summer Tanagers eat bees and wasps!

How do they not get stung? Once caught, these red birds beat their victim against a branch before eating it, so they’re less likely to suffer an injury.

Summer Tanager males sing a song with variations but typically consists of five or more parts with two to four notes. Listen below.

YouTube video

#5. Pine Grosbeak

  • Pinicola enucleator

Pine Grosbeak red birds in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Large, plump finches. Look for dark gray wings with two white lines across the middle.
  • Males are reddish-pink and gray.
  • Females and young males are grayish with reddish-orange or yellow tints on the head and rump.

These red birds are one of the largest finches in Arizona!

If one lands on your feeder, they’re typically easy to identify since they’re bigger than most other birds.

Pine Grosbeaks frequently visit feeders, especially during the winter. If you want to attract them, try using a hopper or platform feeder because of the bird’s larger size. Fill the feeders with sunflower seeds.

Pine Grossbeak Range Map

pine grosbeak range map

Male Pine Grosbeaks sing a high-pitched warble that goes up and down. Listen below! Females don’t sing very often.

YouTube video

#6. Purple Finch

  • Haemorhous purpureus

purple finch red birds in Arizona

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Small, with a conical seed-eating bill.
  • Males have a raspberry red head, breast, and back.
  • Females have prominent streaks of white and brown below, with strong facial markings, including a whitish eyebrow and a dark line down the side of the throat.

Males are described as looking like they were dipped in raspberry juice.

Look for these beautiful red birds to visit feeders in Arizona, especially during winter. Your best chance to attract them is using black-oil sunflower seeds. Having conifer trees in your yard is also a great way to encourage these finches to visit.

Purple Finch Range Map

purple finch range map

Purple Finches can be challenging to identify because they look incredibly similar to the more common House Finch. I’ve made this mistake many times, believing that I saw a Purple Finch when it was, in fact, just another House Finch. To tell them apart, look at their back. The Purple Finch’s back has red coloring, while the back of a House Finch has none.

Males sing a rich, musical warble. Listen below!

YouTube video

#7. Red Crossbill

  • Loxia curvirostra

red crossbill pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Sparrow-sized. Look for their distinctive crisscrossed bills (which means the upper and lower tips of their beak don’t align; they cross, like crossing your fingers)
  • Males are red overall with darker brownish-red wings and white wing bars.
  • Females are full-bodied and yellowish with dark unmarked wings.

As their name suggests, Red Crossbills have crisscrossed bills, similar to if you cross your fingers. They adapted these oddly shaped bills to help them break into tightly closed cones, giving them an advantage over other red bird species in Arizona.

They’re found in large coniferous forests during their breeding season, mainly spruce, pine, Douglas-fir, hemlock, or larch with recent cone crops. But in winter, they wander wherever they need to go to find food. While not incredibly common, these red birds will sometimes visit bird feeders in Arizona and eat sunflower seeds.

Red Crossbill Range Map

red crossbill range map

Red Crossbills are highly dependent on conifer seeds. They even feed them to their babies instead of insects like most other songbirds. These finches typically breed in late summer but can breed any time during the year if a large enough cone crop is available.

Males sing a variably sweet warble, which sounds like “chipa-chipa-chipa, chee-chee-chee.”Females rarely sing, but call notes are sharp and metallic.

YouTube video

#8. Red-naped Sapsucker

  • Sphyrapicus nuchalis

red-naped-sapsucker

These woodpeckers have black bodies, a white vertical stripe down the wing, and a red crown. Male birds have a red throat and red nape (back of the neck). Females also have a red throat, but there’s also a small white patch just under the bill, and their nape can be white or red.

Red-naped Sapsucker Range Map

red-naped-sapsucker range map

Red-naped Sapsuckers are commonly found near aspen, birch, and willow trees. Look for their presence by examining these trees for tiny drilled holes.

To slurp up sap, these migratory woodpeckers have a specialized tongue. Believe it or not, they have stiff hairs on the ends, which helps drink the sap more effectively. The sap wells they create are vital to them, and they spend much of their time defending them from other birds.

The most common sound you’ll hear is a harsh, repeated “waah.” Some people think they sound like a small child crying.


#9. Vermilion Flycatcher

  • Pyrocephalus rubinus

vermillion flycatcher pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Small bird with a flat head and short, thin bill.
  • Males are a fiery red with a brownish-black streak color through the eye, also on the back and wings.
  • Females are brownish with a reddish belly.

Their scientific name (Pyrcephalus) means “fire-headed,” which describes these red birds well and helps identify them!

Vermilion Flycatchers are found in open shrubbery country areas like farmlands, shrublands, deserts, and canyon mouths in all seasons.

Vermillion Flycatcher Range Map

vermillion flycatcher range map

These red birds spend most of their time in Arizona sitting on exposed perches, waiting to catch flying insect prey (hence the name). They fly out in a quick swoop, grab their game, and quickly get back to their same perch to consume. If they catch a grasshopper or a butterfly, they typically smash it against a tree to overpower and soften it before eating.

Males sing a straightforward chirpy song that is repeated. Listen below to the “pit-pit-pitasee.”


#10. Hepatic Tanager

  • Piranga flava

hepatic tanager pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Males are medium-size, red overall with gray-streaked on their back and wings. Their bill is long and silver.
  • Females are a greenish tint of yellow with gray cheeks. They have dark gray bills and legs.

Typically, you’ll find these red birds in Arizona in pinewood or mixed forests. A forest canopy thick with vegetation is a perfect place for nesting.

Hepatic Tanager Range Map

hepatic tanager range map

Hepatic Tanagers enjoy hopping through trees and shrubs, searching for food such as insects. They’ll usually feed in pairs or groups.

This bird’s songs are a series of rich, slurred, whistled notes with short pauses. Listen below.


#11. Painted Redstart

  • Myioborus pictus

painted redstart pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Both sexes have a bright red breast and belly with black on the head, back, and sides.
  • The wings and the outer part of the tail feature white patches.

One of the most beautiful-looking red birds in Arizona!

You’ll typically see Painted Redstarts in forests by rivers or streams, arid woodlands, and mountains where they forage for prey in branches and leaves.

Painted Redstart Range Map

painted redstart range map

Though this species is a warbler, it eats more like a woodpecker and a hummingbird! They prefer to forage for insects, but they also like tree sap and sugar water. In the winter, they’re often seen at feeders offering peanut butter or suet.

Painted Redstarts have a beautiful song. Listen for a rich phrase of “cheery cheery cheery chew.”


#12. Pyrrhuloxia

  • Myioborus pictus

pyrrhuloxia pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Medium-sized bird with a yellow short parrotlike bill.
  • Males are mostly gray but have red on the face, crown, throat, breast, wings, and tail.
  • Females are gray with only red on the crown, wings, and tail.

Look for this unique-looking reddish bird in Arizona!

Pyrrhuloxias (pronounced pir-uh-lok-see-uh) often visit backyard bird feeders. They prefer sunflower seeds from ground feeders or seeds that have fallen on the ground.

Pyrrhuloxia Range Map

pyrrhuloxia range map

This species has an undulating (rollercoaster-like) flying pattern. Males court females by giving a distinct call, fluttering their wings, bowing their heads, and giving her a gift.

This birds song contains rich, loud whistles “chewee chewee chewee wheet wheet wheet.” Listen below.


#13. Red-faced Warbler

  • Cardellina rubrifrons

red faced warbler pics

Photographer: © R.& N. Bowers/VIREO

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Slim and more petite with short wings and a long tail.
  • Both sexes are similar with gray above and white below, with red above the bill and a red throat.

You’ll find Red-faced Warblers in canyons and by streams, but only in Arizona and New Mexico. These red birds like to breed in very high elevations in Arizona.

This warbler prefers coniferous trees but will sometimes stay in deciduous trees. They spend most of their time foraging for insects on the branches of trees and pursue prey in flight.

Males put on a mating display showing their red faces and the white mark on their rump. They’ll continue to do this until they find a mate. What’s unusual is the female responds to the chosen male with a similar display.

These red birds sing a wonderfully sweet song – “sweet-sweet-sweet-weeta-see-see-see.” Listen below.


#14. Elegant Trogon

  • Trogon elegans

elegant trogon pic

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Medium-sized hunchback bird with long wings and tail.
  • Males have a bright red belly with a white band on the breast, metallic green on the head, back, and chest, with a black face and throat. The wings and tail are black and white, and the tail has a squared end.
  • Females are grayer on the head and chest, with red on the belly and a white mark under the eyes.

In Arizona, you’ll find these red birds in sagamore canyons, oak trees along riversides, edges of vegetation, or pine-oak woodlands.

From their perch, Elegant Trogons sit and wait for their prey. Once spotted, they fly out to catch the insect mid-air!

The exciting thing about these red birds is they use old woodpecker holes for nesting. But, unfortunately, they cannot make the hole themselves, so they have been heavily dependent on woodpeckers to reproduce successfully.

The Elegant Trogon has a unique song that is frog-like and is repeated several times. Listen below.


Do you need additional help identifying a red bird you have seen?

If so, this field guide should be able to help you.


Which of these red birds have you seen before in Arizona?

Leave a comment below!

To learn more about other birds that live near you, check out these guides!

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One Comment

  1. What a great list. I have a couple of Vermillion Flycatchers on the Lookout Mtn Golf Course by my home in North Phoenix (Moon Valley). This allowed me to finally identify them. Thank you.
    Not on the list however is the Acorn Woodpecker. Just red on his head though.
    I have several around my place in Pinetop, AZ.