Wyoming chose the Western Meadowlark as its state bird — the same choice as Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana and Oregon. It sings from fence posts over the sagebrush in summer and feeds on the ground in open country. It does not make Wyoming's top 25 feeder birds.
Wyoming's feeder list is unusual in another way: nothing on it comes close to every feeder.
The twelve birds Wyoming 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 only 33 participants in Wyoming — a small sample, so read this as a picture of what is common rather than a precise ranking. The percentage is the share of Wyoming feeder sites that reported the bird at least once.
| # | Bird | Share of WY feeders |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black-capped Chickadee | 68.6% |
| 2 | House Finch | 65.7% |
| 3 | Dark-eyed Junco | 65.7% |
| 4 | Eurasian Collared-Dove | 62.9% |
| 5 | House Sparrow | 60.0% |
| 6 | American Robin | 57.1% |
| 7 | Downy Woodpecker | 57.1% |
| 8 | American Goldfinch | 54.3% |
| 9 | Red-breasted Nuthatch | 51.4% |
| 10 | Northern Flicker | 51.4% |
| 11 | Mountain Chickadee | 48.6% |
| 12 | Black-billed Magpie | 45.7% |
Four things in that list worth knowing
No bird is everywhere
Wyoming's most reported feeder bird is at 69% of sites. In many eastern states the top bird is above 90%, often with several others close behind. Wyoming feeders range from towns on the plains to mountain cabins over a mile high, and each gets a different set of birds — so no single species reaches every yard.
Rosy-finches by the flock
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch comes in at #24, at one in five feeder sites. But when it comes, it averages more than forty birds at once. It is a finch of high mountain snowfields that drops down to feeders in winter storms — brown with pink on the wings and belly and a grey crown.
Two chickadees
Black-capped Chickadee is first; Mountain Chickadee, with a white stripe over the eye, is eleventh. In the foothills you can get both at the same feeder.
Crowds of blackbirds and sparrows
House Sparrows average more than twenty birds per visit, Red-winged Blackbirds nearly as many, and American Crows around ten. Weight-triggered feeders and seed on the ground away from the main feeder help the smaller birds get a turn.
What is on our Wyoming mug, and where each bird actually ranks
The Backyard Birds of Wyoming mug shows the Black-capped Chickadee (#1, 69%), the House Finch (#2, 66%), the American Robin (#6, 57%) and the American Goldfinch (#8, 54%). All four are in the Wyoming top eight.
The one we would add next is the Dark-eyed Junco, 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 both chickadees, the House Finch, nuthatch and rosy-finches. Suet brings the Downy Woodpecker and the flicker. Nyjer holds the goldfinches and siskins. Millet scattered on the ground brings the juncos and tree sparrows.
Where these numbers come from: Project FeederWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Top 25 Feeder Birds for Wyoming, 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; group sizes are the average when the bird was seen.
See the mugs for the other states → · Identify a bird in three questions →