New Mexico's state bird is the Greater Roadrunner. It is a real New Mexico bird, and it does sometimes cross a yard — but it does not make the top 25 at New Mexico feeders.
At New Mexico feeders, the list is led by the House Finch, at 94.1% of sites.
The twelve birds New Mexico feeders report most
From Project FeederWatch, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's winter count, in which volunteers record what turns up at their own feeders. The 2023–24 season had 118 participants in New Mexico. The percentage is the share of New Mexico feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of NM feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | House Finch | 94.1% |
| 2 | Dark-eyed Junco | 89.8% |
| 3 | Spotted Towhee | 70.3% |
| 4 | Northern Flicker | 70.3% |
| 5 | White-winged Dove | 66.1% |
| 6 | Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay | 65.2% |
| 7 | White-crowned Sparrow | 62.7% |
| 8 | American Robin | 61.0% |
| 9 | Pine Siskin | 56.8% |
| 10 | Lesser Goldfinch | 55.1% |
| 11 | Bushtit | 53.4% |
| 12 | House Sparrow | 52.5% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
Juncos almost everywhere
Dark-eyed Junco is second, at 90% of sites — nearly as widespread as the House Finch.
Two towhees
Spotted Towhee (#3, 70%) has a black hood and white spots. Canyon Towhee (#14, 51%) is plain brown with a rusty cap. Both feed on the ground.
The dove with white wings
White-winged Dove is fifth, at 66%, well ahead of the Mourning Dove (#15, 48%).
A hummingbird in a winter count
Black-chinned Hummingbird is nineteenth, at 41%. FeederWatch runs from November into April, so it catches the first of them coming back in spring; through the summer they are far more common.
What is on our New Mexico mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of New Mexico mug shows the Spotted Towhee (#3, 70%), the White-winged Dove (#5, 66%), the White-crowned Sparrow (#7, 63%) and the Black-chinned Hummingbird (#19, 41%). The first three are in the New Mexico top ten; the hummingbird is our summer pick.
The ones we would add next are the Dark-eyed Junco (#2) and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (#6).
If you want more of them
Black-oil sunflower seed covers the House Finch, scrub-jay and siskins. Nyjer brings the goldfinches and siskins. Millet scattered on the ground brings the juncos, towhees, sparrows and doves. Sugar water, from spring on, brings the hummingbirds.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for New Mexico, 2023–24 season. These are volunteer reports from their own feeders, not a formal survey, and they describe the winter feeding season (November to April) rather than the whole year. Percentages are the share of participating sites that reported the species.
See the mugs for the other states → · Identify a bird in three questions →