Rhode Island's state bird is the Rhode Island Red — a chicken, and a famous one, bred in the state in the 1800s and now kept in backyards around the world. Rhode Island is one of two states with a chicken as its state bird; the other is Delaware.
At Rhode Island feeders, the list is led by the Black-capped Chickadee, at 94.9% of sites.
The twelve birds Rhode Island 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 58 participants in Rhode Island — a small sample, so treat close numbers as ties rather than rankings. The percentage is the share of Rhode Island feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of RI feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black-capped Chickadee | 94.9% |
| 2 | Blue Jay | 89.8% |
| 3 | Downy Woodpecker | 89.8% |
| 4 | Mourning Dove | 88.1% |
| 5 | Northern Cardinal | 88.1% |
| 6 | House Finch | 84.7% |
| 7 | Dark-eyed Junco | 84.7% |
| 8 | Tufted Titmouse | 83.1% |
| 9 | House Sparrow | 79.7% |
| 10 | American Robin | 78.0% |
| 11 | White-breasted Nuthatch | 74.6% |
| 12 | Carolina Wren | 74.6% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
A list made of pairs
Blue Jay and Downy Woodpecker tie at 89.8%. Mourning Dove and Northern Cardinal tie at 88.1%. House Finch and Dark-eyed Junco tie at 84.7%. Nuthatch and Carolina Wren tie at 74.6%. On 58 feeders, each pair is separated by nobody at all.
The chickadee is on top
Black-capped Chickadee, 95% of Rhode Island feeders. It is usually the first bird to find a new feeder, and it takes one seed at a time and flies off to eat or hide it — which is why it seems to be everywhere at once.
Robins in a winter count
American Robin is tenth, at 78% of sites — high for a winter count. Along the milder coast many robins stay through the season, gathering around berry trees rather than coming to seed.
The Carolina Wren has moved in
Twelfth, at three out of four feeders, in a state well north of the Carolinas. The wren has been spreading north for decades; mild winters help it, hard ones knock it back.
What is on our Rhode Island mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of Rhode Island mug shows the Black-capped Chickadee (#1, 95%), the Blue Jay (#2, 90%), the Mourning Dove (#4, 88%) and the Northern Cardinal (#5, 88%). All four are in the Rhode Island top five.
The one we would add next is the Downy Woodpecker, tied for second. It is on the list of designs we still owe this state.
If you want more of them
Black-oil sunflower seed covers the chickadee, jay, cardinal, titmouse, nuthatch and House Finch at once. Suet keeps the woodpeckers and the Carolina Wren coming. A low tray brings the doves and juncos. For the robins, a berry-bearing shrub.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for Rhode Island, 2023–24 season. These are volunteer reports from their own feeders, not a formal survey, and they describe the winter feeding season 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 →