Field Guide · Regional

Wildlife in Florida

The birds, plants, and insects most often recorded in Florida. A starting field list, drawn from iNaturalist research-grade observations, for what is likely living near you.

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Birds

Birds Commonly Recorded In Florida

Most-recorded birds reported across the state.

  1. White Ibis White Ibis Eudocimus albus 48,063 records
  2. Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 39,834 records
  3. Anhinga Anhinga Anhinga anhinga 36,481 records
  4. Great Egret Great Egret Ardea alba 35,716 records
  5. Little Blue Heron Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea 27,876 records
  6. Red-Shouldered Hawk Red-Shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus 27,147 records
  7. Osprey Osprey Pandion haliaetus 25,593 records
  8. Boat-Tailed Grackle Boat-Tailed Grackle Quiscalus major 24,213 records
  9. Tricolored Heron Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor 23,843 records
  10. Northern Mockingbird Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos 22,308 records
  11. Common Gallinule Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata 21,062 records
  12. Brown Pelican Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis 20,727 records
Plants

Plants Commonly Recorded In Florida

Plants observers log most often statewide.

  1. White Beggarticks White Beggarticks Bidens alba 35,195 records
  2. American Beautyberry American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana 21,867 records
  3. Spanish Moss Tillandsia usneoides 19,629 records
  4. Cabbage Palmetto Cabbage Palmetto Sabal palmetto 14,294 records
  5. Resurrection Fern Resurrection Fern Pleopeltis michauxiana 14,176 records
  6. Largeflower Mexican Clover Richardia grandiflora 13,688 records
  7. Muscadine Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia 13,061 records
  8. Saw Palmetto Serenoa repens 13,050 records
  9. Sea Grape Coccoloba uvifera 12,708 records
  10. Virginia Creeper Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia 12,342 records
  11. Brazilian Pepper Brazilian Pepper Schinus terebinthifolia 11,440 records
  12. Shiny-Leaved Wild Coffee Psychotria nervosa 10,284 records
Insects

Insects Commonly Recorded In Florida

The insects that turn up most in records.

  1. Gulf Fritillary Gulf Fritillary Dione vanillae 24,705 records
  2. Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Romalea microptera 22,442 records
  3. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera 18,349 records
  4. Monarch Monarch Danaus plexippus 17,196 records
  5. White Peacock Anartia jatrophae 16,988 records
  6. Eastern Pondhawk Eastern Pondhawk Erythemis simplicicollis 12,963 records
  7. Zebra Longwing Zebra Longwing Heliconius charithonia 12,473 records
  8. Blue Dasher Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis 12,260 records
  9. Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis 9,601 records
  10. Halloween Pennant Celithemis eponina 8,781 records
  11. Common Buckeye Common Buckeye Junonia coenia 7,742 records
  12. Atala Atala Eumaeus atala 7,102 records

Go Deeper

Use the live finder to narrow this to your town and season. Then read Who Lives Here, how to attract wildlife to your yard, and planting for local wildlife. For tools and field guides, see the recommended gear.

Photographs via iNaturalist contributors, used under their Creative Commons licenses: (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley  ·  (c) Dan Roach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dan Roach  ·  (c) Nick Pederson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Nick Pederson  ·  (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY)  ·  (c) MARMAR, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by MARMAR  ·  (c) Richard Wottrich, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Richard Wottrich  ·  (c) z7nikon, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by z7nikon  ·  (c) Andrej Chudý, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)  ·  (c) Kevin Milazzo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)  ·  (c) uzun, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by uzun  ·  (c) BJ Stacey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by BJ Stacey  ·  no rights reserved, uploaded by 葉子  ·  (c) Alex Abair, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Alex Abair  ·  (c) camilleclark, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Dakota Parish, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dakota Parish  ·  (c) Mary Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)  ·  (c) Suzanne Cadwell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Virginia Rivers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Roger Smith, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND)  ·  (c) Cameron Eckert, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Cameron Eckert  ·  (c) Dustin Griffin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dustin Griffin  ·  (c) Dennis Vollmar, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Dennis Vollmar